Did you know that a healthy lifestyle isn’t just what you eat and how active you are, but it also is an awareness of the world around you and an embracing of spaces that influence positive mental states? We also take in nutrients and vitamins through sunlight and other environmental factors, providing a truly holistic approach to how we live.
No matter where you live – the city, the suburbs, or the country, everyone can benefit from bringing a little bit of nature into the home. Take a look at these creative ideas to help create indoor spaces that help influence the nature lover in you.
Benefits of Using Natural Effects in the Home
The addition of nature in the home is a way to both mentally and physically create a more relaxing atmosphere. Greenery and living plants reduce stress and anxiety and filter out airborne pollutants, and using natural scents influence hormonal responses that can provide a sense of relief, focus, and relaxation.
Lighting enhancements that mimic natural lighting and brightening rooms with daylight are also ways to influence your circadian cycle for an overall healthier you. And don’t forget fresh air! It stimulates a better mood and better environment, and can actually help you stay focused.
11 Ways to Bring Nature into Your Home
If you love living healthy and want to inspire healthy choices in your entire family, start with their environment. Simply being surrounded by a more natural, mentally stimulating, and relaxing living space works to reduce tensions and reduce stressors. Simple home decor choices are easy to incorporate throughout your entire home, allowing everyone to reap the benefits.
1. Natural Lighting
Natural lighting is possibly the most influential option you can take advantage of. Open your drapes and let the sunlight in, and when you struggle with low lighting due to location or poor window placement, consider adding mirrors throughout the home. Even framed mirrors within a bathroom can work to brighten and reflect the often small, and poorly placed windows found in dressing and bathroom spaces. Who doesn’t want to start their day with the reflective glow of dawn rising?
2. House Plants
Another simple, yet effective addition to your home are houseplants. Not only does the addition of a living plant cheer up any space, but plants also pack an added health boost through their ability to filter out toxins from your environment. Some are better at doing this than others, so be sure to pick which ones are best for you!
3. Indoor Herb Gardens
Don’t be held hostage by the seasons or lack of space! Fresh herbs don’t require much space at all and are ideal for windowsill placement to provide fresh greenery and flavor all year round. As a plant, they freshen up any space they are in, offer soothing aromatics, and enhance your foods with favors and nutrients you definitely want to take advantage of.
4. Use Natural Materials
Instead of synthetic materials, try to incorporate natural materials into your flooring, wall, and furniture choices. Tiles, plank floors and walls, wooden furniture, and stone provide a natural flow and help mimic the great outdoors. You don’t have to add a lot of any choice into one area or room either, instead use it as a detail option to highlight the colors and textures of your home and to help develop an overall theme that flows from room to room.
5. Hang Nature Inspired Art and Photography
The use of photography and nature-inspired art can bring interest to your walls and flat surfaces. Don’t over clutter with them, but use them to bring light and interest in areas that may be lacking in windows.
6. Install a Living Wall or Water Feature
If you have space, consider adding a living succulent plant frame, a water feature (or both) to a living area. As mentioned, living plants enhance any area with both mental and physical stimulation, and water provides a soft, soothing sound for your senses to enjoy. There are also tabletop fountains that blend well into decor that are simple and easy to maintain.
7. Display Fresh Flowers
During the warm seasons, finding or growing fresh flowers to display isn’t usually a difficult thing to do. However when the fall and winter kick in, fresh flowers aren’t as common. Luckily there are excellent businesses that solve this problem and can provide a weekly delivery via mail or service to provide you a selection of fresh, fragrant, and bright options to help bring a bit of life to your surfaces through the year.
8. Include Eco-Friendly Items
Why buy new when you can purchase recycled furnitures and decor through various home supply sources, or add to their interior design with reclaimed wood, stone, and other building materials. Barnwood, for example, is popular for flooring, highlight walls, and even bed headboards.
9. Use Natural Materials in Displays
Dry grasses, herbs, and flowers to use in various small displays around the house! These help create a feel of nature and work for year round interest.
10. Enhance Natural Air Circulation
Diffusing natural essential oils is amazing for your psyche, with many specific to various needs – such as stress relief, focus, and even emotional support. These are fresh, natural scents that can be bright and cheerful, woodsy and rich, or simply spicy and intoxicating.
11. Brighten Dark Areas with Natural Paints
Have some dark areas in the house? Paint a highlight wall with bright, outdoor hued eco-friendly paint to bring attention and light to the area. Don’t shirk from sunshine yellow, soft greens, or even a dark color to make other areas pop a bit more!
Conclusion
If you’ve been looking for ways to welcome nature indoors, these ideas are sure to get you started. They are easy to integrate into existing decor, and provide ample opportunity to turn them into DIY projects you will absolutely adore.