How to energize your home with biophilic design

Let's start with the basics, like defining it. If you haven't heard of biophilic design, you certainly aren't alone -- but you may be more familiar with the concept than you realize. It's a set of principles that aim to improve our connection with nature as a way to reduce stress, help focus, and even support immune response.

It involves making the most of the sensory elements of nature, such as the feel of fresh air and the sound of water. It’s also about introducing natural materials, colors, textures, patterns and even technologies that evoke a feeling of nature, and remembering that our homes need to have spaces that energize, stimulate and connect us with each other, while being calming, relaxing and restorative.

Ultimately, it's about using nature to make your home a place to recharge.

The biophilic design craze has been fueled by a host of scientific studies that indicate that being closer to nature, whether that’s in the form of houseplants or natural light, is beneficial for your health. A landmark 2019 study found that children in Denmark who had been exposed to more greenery had 55% less mental health problems later in life compared to those who weren’t exposed to nature.

And just because we love statistics, here's some more benefits of biophilic design;

• Office design: productivity can be increased by 8%, rates of well-being up by 13%, increases in creativity, with reduced absenteeism and presenteeism
• Hospitality design: Guests willing to pay 23% more for rooms with views of Biophilic elements
• Education spaces: increased rates of learning 20-25%, improved test results, concentration levels and attendance, reduced impacts of ADHD
• Healthcare spaces: post-operative recovery times decreased by 8.5%, reduced pain medication by 22%
• Retail: the presence of vegetation & landscaping has been found to increase average rental rates on retail spaces with customers indicating they were willing to pay 8-12 % more for goods and services.
• Homes: can become more calming & restorative, with 7-8 % less crime attributed to areas with access to nature and can command an increase of 4-5% in property price.

If the jury's still out, we encourage you to give it a try for yourself, and let us know in the comments section if you are able to notice a difference.