How to Add Greenery to Your Home: Your Guide to Nature Inspired Interior Design
In this blog, we’ll introduce you to some of our favourite nature inspired interior design concepts – and give you a few innovative ideas on how to add greenery to your home. Keep reading to discover how plants can completely transform your living space!
Article by Jude Kamal, Founder & Registered Interior Designer of Sansa Interiors
We’ve spent more time at home over the past two years than probably anywhere else. If being stuck inside, staring at the same four walls, has left you feeling like you need a change, you are not alone. Nature inspired interior design, especially, has taken off since the start of the pandemic. Because we couldn’t go out, exploring or travelling, we brought all the things we were missing into our homes instead.
At Sansa Interiors, we’re continuing to see a demand for nature inspired home design, even with less restrictions in place. Natural materials like rattan and jute are replacing synthetic fibres like velvet; an eclectic mix of light and dark woods is being used to create a homey, organic look; and houseplants are put on every available surface to give a room a touch of the exotic
How to Create “The Nature Inspired Look”
Step 1: Use Sustainable Materials. To create a truly “natural” design, you’ll want to think about the impact your design choices are having on the planet. Look into sourcing recycled materials or reclaimed elements where possible. Not only will this give your house a very homey, lived-in feel, it will also help conserve precious resources.
Step 2: Let the Sun In. A really easy way to let nature into your home is to fill it with natural light. This is a really good idea anyway, because being exposed to sunlight has lots of different health benefits. It can help balance our body’s hormones, boost circulation, and improve the quality of our sleep. It can even produce endorphins in our brain, which makes us happy! Install south-facing windows to get the best of the sunlight throughout the day. Or, put in a skylight to add interest and create relief in a dark bathroom.
Step 3: Run Wild With It. Nature inspired decor can be used to create a cosy, rustic atmosphere throughout your home. Natural fiber rugs, cotton bedding, and exposed wood are all subtle ways of inviting the outside world into your living room, bedroom, bathroom, and more.
Nature Inspired Interior Design Ideas for 2022
1. Natural Materials
Use naturally occurring elements, like wood, cotton, leather and stone, to express your connection to the earth. If the beach is your happy place, this could mean featuring shells, pebbles, or seagrass in your designs. Or an exposed brick wall is an effective way to blend natural and urban influences.
2. Earth Tones
Earth tones can be used to create a warm, cosy, back-to-nature atmosphere in any room of the house. As well as different shades of brown, from deep chocolate to rich caramel, mustard yellow, forest green, and red clay are all popular choices in this category. Offset dark colours with plenty of natural light, or really lean into the cave-like ambience by furnishing it with lots of tactile materials like wood, metal, and leather.
3. Plants
Plants lend colour, interest, and charm to a variety of surfaces. Plus, they have the added benefit of improving the air quality, reducing stress and anxiety, and boosting your mood overall. The current trend is for exotic, tropical plants and succulents, which are very low-maintenance. But if you still think you’d struggle to keep them alive, you can now get artificial greens made from recycled plastic, so you can enjoy the faux natural look guilt-free.
Adding Greenery to Your Space
There are many ways to add greenery into any space. The easiest way is to place a few potted plants throughout the space.
Other ways include:
Create a miniature terrarium garden and making it your own using small, slow-growing plants. Succulents and cacti do well (and look great) in open terrariums, whereas tropical plants prefer the humidity of a sealed environment. You can place the terrarium in your entryway or as table accents.
Instead of hanging pictures on the walls, put up some plants instead. Suspend hanging planters from the ceiling or create a green moss wall to add a touch of greenery to any blank space. Using trailing succulents, you can create a curtain of greenery for the full “jungalow” effect.
Growing your own herbs is a practical way to introduce greenery indoors. The fragrant smell and fresh taste of mint, basil, and rosemary will bring your kitchen and your cooking to life. Put them on a windowsill where they’ll have access to enough sunlight, and give them plenty of room to grow in individual pots.
Nature Inspired Home Design by Sansa Interiors
Have we planted a seed in your mind?
If you want to find out more about how nature inspired design can transform your living space, take a look at some of our recent residential projects below – or contact us via our website for more information.
Looking for an Interior Designer in Toronto?
We can help! We specialize in complete architectural interior design services for full house renovations. Our team serves downtown Toronto, Etobicoke, Mississauga, and the rest of the Greater Toronto Area.