Biophilic design – what is it?

Harriet Goodacre

October 24, 2023

Our homes should reflect who we are and how we like to use our space, however, they should also suit our mood. Increasingly we are seeing the stressors of a fast past life, and we seek sanctuary and calm in our own home so it’s important that we dress our homes to create this much needed repose. So, how do we achieve this? One way is to incorporate biophilic design elements into your interior.

But What Does Biophilic Design Mean Exactly?

Image credits: Large scale windows, City apartment, Green library

From a grandiose viewpoint, biophilic design is the architecture of life. Its ultimate goal is to reenergise by using the five senses in harmony. It taps into sight, smell, touch, taste and hearing to create a sense of calm and peace. To do this it uses features from the natural world, such as vegetation, water and sunlight to create pleasingly tactile and visual experiences.

It’s more than just a design theory, it’s been found to support our psychological well-being, improve cognitive function and even our physical health!

So, on a very basic level, what is biophilic design? It’s bringing the outside in, allowing us to reconnect with the natural world by increasing natural daylight, organic textures and plant-based materials.

How To Incorporate Biophilic Design

We explore some of the long-term investments you can make to your home to increase its biophilic design credentials as well as some quick wins for that instant change for the better.

Structural Changes

Image Credits: Joey’s Water Sculpture, Living Wall

How much natural light we get is a big factor in our mental health; the trend for large bi-fold doors, bigger windows and skylights aren’t just adding value to our homes but also benefitting our well-being. This is one of the main structural changes you can make whilst renovating to increase the amount of natural light in your home.

You could also add in elements of water into your design, like a roaring fire on a cold winter day, a water feature can bring a sense of serenity. We’ve seen mirrors that have water running down them (think Joey from Friends) and even whole walls adapted into a gentle flow of water.

A more common and easier option is to create a living wall, the use of indoor loving plants growing organically over a wall which adds greenery and life to a space.

Decorarive Changes

Image Credits: Tactile Living Room, Matrix Collection

Some quick wins include how you decorate and style your home. First, consider your colour palette. Shades of green are refined into muted tones of green-grey and earthy browns with darker tones grounding the scheme. Hints of teal blue and blush pink enliven the muted scheme whilst retaining that natural feel.

Flooring is also a large consideration, wood springs to mind but consider a wood effect tile for the same look and feel but with added practicality. We’d also suggest looking at other textures like stone effect, real stone, crackle tiles (for your walls) as well as naturally coloured terrazzo and marble. The tone of your flooring is also important, you want to layer your overall interior scheme, so you want your flooring to sit in harmony with your wall colours as well as flowing nicely around the home.

When it comes to styling, it’s all about textural layering! Natural materials should play a huge role in your scheme, from a woven jute rug and linen upholstery to boucle cushions, wicker chairs and ceramic accents. You can play with different tones within your scheme, but they need to feel harmonious and balanced, so you want to achieve an even spread of each colour. The idea of biophilic design is to reinvigorate the senses, not overwhelm them, so this isn’t the place for feature walls or objects.

Love to see more about biophilic design styling? Take a look at our Healing Nature interior trend for some inspiration.