Why Biophilic Design Is the Secret to Creating a More Peaceful Home
Home should be the place where we can shut the door on everything else for a while.
That doesn’t always happen. We bring our phones home. We bring work home. There are televisions, computers, notifications, laundry, dishes and a list of things we haven’t gotten around to yet.
I don’t know about you, but my house has never magically transformed into a peaceful retreat simply because I walked through the door.
That’s one reason I find biophilic design interesting. It’s based on a fairly simple idea: incorporating elements of nature into our surroundings can help create spaces that feel more comfortable and restorative.
And fortunately, you don’t need to own a cabin in the mountains to do it.
Why Do We Find Nature Relaxing?
Think about the places people choose when they want to get away.
We go to the beach. We rent cabins. We hike through the woods. We sit beside lakes. We travel ridiculous distances to watch sunsets that technically happen at home every night.
There’s something different about experiencing them when we’ve stepped away from our normal routine.
Research into our relationship with natural environments has also explored how exposure to nature can affect things like stress, attention and well-being.
Biophilic design takes some of those ideas and applies them to the places where we spend our everyday lives.
A Peaceful Home Doesn’t Have to Be a Perfect Home
I think this distinction matters.
When we talk about creating a peaceful home, it’s easy to picture one of those immaculate rooms in a decorating magazine where apparently nobody owns a phone charger, has mail sitting on the counter, or actually lives there.
That’s not what I’m talking about.
A peaceful home can still have laundry.
It can have kids.
It can definitely have cats.
Mine has all three.
The goal isn’t perfection. It’s creating little areas within your home that make you feel good when you’re in them.
That might mean having plants near a sunny window, using natural wood and fabrics, displaying shells you’ve collected at the beach, or hanging artwork that reminds you of somewhere you love.
Nature Gives Our Eyes Somewhere Else to Go
One thing I like about nature-inspired interiors is that they give us something visually different from the technology surrounding us all day.
Instead of another screen, you’re looking at the grain in a piece of wood, leaves on a plant, sunlight coming through a window, or a landscape hanging on the wall.
Artwork can be particularly useful when the view outside isn’t exactly spectacular.
Not everybody gets mountains outside the bedroom window. Sometimes you get the neighbor’s shed.
A painting lets you choose the view.
Why I Paint the Subjects I Do
My own artwork probably tells you quite a bit about where I’d rather be.
I paint northern lights, forests, mountains, wildlife, water, sunsets and winter landscapes. I keep coming back to these subjects because nature gives me an endless supply of things I want to paint.
I’m also drawn to places that feel a little removed from everyday life.
There’s something appealing about a cabin surrounded by snow or a sky filled with northern lights. For a moment, there’s nothing demanding your attention.
That’s a feeling I try to capture in my paintings.
Your Home Should Feel Like Yours
Biophilic design can sound like another decorating trend when you first hear the term, but I don’t think it needs to be treated that way.
You don’t have to buy a bunch of new things or redesign your house.
Start with what you already love.
If you’re happiest near the ocean, let some of that influence your space. If you love walking through the woods, natural wood, plants and forest artwork might feel more like you. If you collect rocks, shells, driftwood or other things from places you’ve visited, display them instead of hiding them in a box somewhere.
Your home should tell your story, not somebody else’s.
Final Thoughts
There will always be something that needs to be done. That’s life.
But I think there’s value in creating a home that gives us places where we can temporarily ignore some of it.
Biophilic design is simply one way of doing that—bringing natural materials, plants, light, meaningful objects and nature-inspired artwork into the spaces where we live.
You don’t need to turn your house into a luxury retreat.
Sometimes you just need a comfortable chair, something beautiful to look at, and five minutes when nobody is asking you for anything.
Discover More Original Artwork
“Every painting in my collection is inspired by the places, memories, and moments that remind us to slow down, breathe deeply, and reconnect with the natural world.”