As we’ve found ourselves spending more time indoors than ever before, with daily walks and weekend adventures being our only forms of escape, it’s no surprise that our interiors are starting to be influenced by the natural landscape. Nature has this incredible power to influence our physical and mental state – from refreshing and reinvigorating your mind, to having a calming, relaxing effect on your body. It’s these elements of nature, and its impact on our wellbeing, that we have seen come into the forefront of interior design. From calming blue hues to vibrant and reinvigorating greens, the influence of nature in interior design has become more noticeable than ever.
We’ve taken a look into the different ways in which design is inspired by nature, and how to decorate your home with this in mind. From earthy tones to ocean hues, it’s easy to get interior design inspiration from nature!
Sea blues
There’s something about being by the sea that evokes a sense of calm and peace, allowing you to escape the hustle and bustle of everyday life. Sitting by the sea and listening to the waves wash up against the shore, whether that’s powerful stormy seas, or the gentle lapping of the tide against the beach, is arguably one of the most refreshing and revitalising feelings around. Whilst many of us can’t get to the coast at the moment, we can still use sea blue hues to create a calming and refreshed space at home.
Upholster your furniture in deep blues or turquoise tones to replicate the seaside – our new Marina brushed linen cotton was designed with exactly that in mind! Give depth to the space by styling with varying complementary shades of ocean blues, soft greys and seaweed greens, for example in scatter cushions or accessories – while ensuring the room remains relatively bright. If the space has limited natural light, adding mirrors to the wall is a great way of opening up the space and making it feel brighter, and circular mirrors provide a nod to nautical interiors.
Find out more about creating coastal inspired homes here
Natural materials
There has been a significant movement in recent years towards choosing more natural home decor, using materials such as wood, stone, natural linens and glass in place of more synthetic materials. We’re loving the move towards a more sustainable and nature-inspired lifestyle (our quality beechwood frames are guaranteed for a lifetime!) and seeing how natural materials are once more coming back into the forefront of interior design. From rattan accessories, such as our Wonder light shade, to simple wooden side tables, and sofas and chairs upholstered in our soft linens, there are endless ways in which to bring natural materials back into interior design, allowing you to create a calm, cosy and uplifting space in your home.
Vibrant greens
When thinking about nature inspired designs, one of the first things that comes to mind is vibrant greens – from the rolling hills of the countryside to parks full of luscious trees and new growth. Green is such a positive colour, and as well as its connotations with nature and growth, it’s also a colour that exudes restfulness, positivity and calm.
With this in mind, bringing accents of green into your home can help create a space in which you can truly relax. Whether you inject pops of green through scatter cushions and throws, or choose to go bold with a statement green sofa, the choice is yours – but there’s no doubt the addition of green will brighten up your home!
Decorating your home with plants
Don’t forget the importance of a bunch of freshly cut flowers, or a collection of houseplants either. Plant décor is something that has risen in popularity over the last couple of years alongside the idea of bringing the outside in, and the variety of colours of nature within plants and flowers can be the perfect way of bringing colour to a space. Bringing nature indoors and creating your very own wilderness, will instantly make a room feel brighter and full of life.
Find out more about how plants can create a happier home here: How plants create a happier home – Exclusive advice from Patch Plants – Inspiration corner (sofa.com)
Earthy Tones
When times have been challenging, we’ve often found ourselves drawn to nature and its warm earthy tones. From terracotta hues, to dusky browns and burnt oranges, there’s something about these pigments from nature that provides a warm, comforting embrace. For this reason, there’s been a marked move away from cool greys and whites, and towards the much more soothing tones that have been inspired by the earth.
Use these earthy hues as a comforting backdrop against a statement sofa, or take a slightly more subtle route, introducing terracottas and burnt oranges in the form of scatter cushions, terracotta accessories and wall art. However you decide to introduce touches of earthy hues, they are the perfect way to inject some warmth into your home.
