Contents
How to surround your home with nature to improve your mood and energy
Psychology
Biophilic architecture tries to integrate the natural environment into the home to make us feel better
It is indisputable that plants give joy; a touch of “green” can make a flat place a very cozy room. Our most primal instinct draws our attention to plants. Therefore, whether it is a well-kept garden, or some strategic pots in a small apartment in the city, we tend to decorate our homes with natural elementsLike looking for what we miss even if we don’t realize it.
Life in cities, which takes place between asphalt and large buildings, often deprives us of the enjoyment of nature. If we do not have green areas nearby, if we do not see even a glimpse of the environment to which we belong directly – because man does not know
development in a properly paved city – we can miss the countryside, the so-called nature deficit disorder, even though we are not aware that we are missing something.
As a result of the idea of, even living in the cities, remaining minimally connected by the natural environment, the current of the biophilic architecture, which aims, from the creation of the foundations of a building, to integrate these natural elements. «It is a trend that comes from the Anglo-Saxon world, and that in recent years has promoted the introduction of plant references or natural elements in architecture and interior design. There are studies that already show the positive impact of the benefits that all these references of nature suppose to the psychology of people ”, explains the architect Laura Gärna, director of Gärna Estudio.
The importance of nature
The architect, specialized in this “natural integration”, comments that human beings, by tradition, need this contact with the environment, since it is only for a few centuries that we have been living in closed interior spaces. «We have to go back to basics, putting plants at home, choosing designs that evoke nature … and we must not only do it with the decoration, but also from the architecture “, he adds.
Although we identify plants as the most obvious representation of nature, Laura Gärna also talks about elements such as water, or natural light, essential for recreate the outside in our interiors.
Water and natural light
Everything comes from our ancestors; the human being has always been outside, living according to the light cycles (the so-called circadian rhythms) ”, points out the architect. Therefore, since the human eye is ‘designed’ to live with white light During times of activity, and a dimmer light at night, it is important to try to replicate these patterns within our home. «The ideal is to talk about dimmable lighting, which are going to adapt to the light from outside, “says the professional.
Water is another essential element. The architect comments that “if we like the beach so much”, or we feel so much attraction to aquatic areas It is because in cities we normally live oblivious to it, and “we miss it.” For this reason, he recommends, for example, buying a small water fountain, or including decorative motifs that refer to it, although he recognizes that it is something that is easier to integrate from architecture than from decoration.
How to integrate the natural at home
The final recommendation of the architect, is try to include these elements to our home; if it cannot be from architecture, in a more “homey” way. Indicates that the most obvious is the inclusion of plants in the house. «Although each one maintains his style, it is important to have natural plants, surround yourself with them and learn to take care of them, ”he says. Likewise, it recommends inserting some elements alluding to nature, such as a wallpaper with plant motifs («recommended especially for closed places and with less light»), green elements, or natural tones such as earth or beige, natural fabrics or patterns, even photographs alluding to nature. In general, “everything that can transport us mentally to the natural world.”