Stacey Lapuk, ASID

There are 15.

Fifteen patterns of biophilic design. Fifteen distinct opportunities to bring nature inspired interior design into your life and into your home for the measurably proven benefits to your health, well-being and even your happiness.

There were 14. And then came AWE. That feeling of connectedness. Magical sunsets, inspirational artwork, a bud opening on an orchid in your entry. The sound of water finally running after so much drought. So now there are 15.

I LOVE nature! Really. I love spending time outdoors.  I like  the warmth of the sun on my skin, and the sound of the ocean. And I love what I get to do in nature. I hike, horseback ride, bike ride, raft, ski – just about anything outside in nature. 

I think one of the reasons I like the outdoors so much has to do with my height. I’m under 5’0” – actually under 4’11” – and being this short, I get claustrophobic very easily.  If I’m in a group of people, it’s difficult to make eye contact. If I’m at a standing room only concert, I’m staring at the middle of someone’s back. 

This feeling of claustrophobia was then transferred to my home. I found that I physically NEED to have light, high ceilings, and lots of windows in my home in order to feel comfortable, in order to breathe. I have to bring nature inside to have living things around me – plants, wood, shells and stones, in order to relax. 

Imagine living in isolation, without access to the outside world. You don’t smell the grass or the scent of a flower. You don’t hear the birds sing or the running water of a brook. You can’t experience the sunrise, feel the awe and wonder of the mountains. It’s easy to see how depression would set in. Lack of energy, lack of desire. 

The point is, nature is critical to our health and well-being. Because we physiologically need beauty in our lives, through our experiences with nature. The science of neuroaesthetics  – beauty and the brain – is catching up with what we know intuitively. That beauty is a necessary component to our well-being. And that we feel better in the beauty of our natural environment, outside.

Think about your own home, particularly through Covid. Being cooped up there most of us realize it’s become stale. The best way to bring new life into your home, make it more beautiful so you feel happy every time you walk through your front door is to implement the 15 patterns of Biophilic Design. I know it sounds like a disease, but think of it as literally meaning Love of Nature and natural materials and systems.

Whether you’re simply updating a room or planning a major renovation, paying attention to Biophelia has now been measurably proven to be beneficial to you. It can lower your blood pressure, excite you, calm you, regulate your heart rate among a myriad of other benefits. You can literally align your biology with your home’s interior design, and create happiness.

We can bring in more light, more beauty. Nature creates conditions that are conducive to life. So bringing in nature will help us create a more beautiful experience of home.

Do you feel at home, in your home? Is it your sanctuary, do you feel alive there? Do you feel safe? 

Biophilic Design is made up of 15 specific patterns, 15 ways in which you can bring nature into your home. Nature inspired interior design is composed of the textures and colors, the shapes and even the expressions – of the breeze, light and shadow, the mystery of what’s over the ridge and the awe of a sunset. Implementing aspects of nature into your home will bring you joy, health and happiness. 

Here are a couple of examples. Notice the size of the window in this first before and after room. We didn’t physically change the window, but by designing the treatment the way we did we gave the appearance, the feeling, of a larger window. This allows a greater expanse of the outdoors to come in. It feels better as it addresses the biophilic pattern called our visual connection to nature.