I didn’t know there was an actual term for bringing nature into our homes until I learned about biophilic design.

The idea itself isn’t particularly complicated. Most of us enjoy being around nature. We vacation near the ocean, rent cabins in the mountains, walk through parks and spend ridiculous amounts of money on houses with good views.

Then we go home and spend most of our day staring at a computer. There’s a bit of a disconnect there.

Biophilic design tries to close some of that gap by incorporating elements of nature into the places where we live and work.

What Does Biophilic Design Mean?

The term biophilia refers to our natural tendency to seek connections with nature and other living things. Biophilic design takes that idea and applies it to buildings and interior spaces.

That can mean using natural materials such as wood and stone, adding plants, allowing more natural light into a room, using organic shapes and natural colors, taking advantage of outdoor views, or incorporating artwork inspired by nature.

It doesn’t mean your house has to look like a greenhouse.

Actually, if I filled my house with that many plants, I’d probably spend half my life trying to keep the cats out of them.

The idea is simply to create spaces that maintain some connection to the natural world.

Why Has Biophilic Design Become So Popular?

Think about how much of modern life happens indoors.

We work inside. We drive inside vehicles. We shop inside stores. Then we come home and spend more time looking at televisions, computers and phones.

For many people, getting outside has become something we have to intentionally make time to do.

At the same time, research into environmental psychology has explored how exposure to nature may affect stress, attention and our overall sense of well-being. That has helped bring more attention to the idea that the environments we create aren’t just about appearance. They can affect how we experience a space.

I think most of us understand that intuitively anyway.

There’s a reason people pay more for an ocean view.

Where Does Artwork Fit In?

This is the part that interests me most as an artist.

Not everybody has a wall of windows overlooking the mountains. Some of us would very much appreciate one, but apparently those houses cost money.

Artwork gives us another way to bring the places we love into our everyday surroundings.

A painting of the ocean obviously isn’t the same as standing on the beach. A northern-lights painting isn’t going to replace watching the aurora overhead. But art can remind us of those experiences and bring some of their atmosphere into a room.

That’s one reason I keep returning to nature in my own work. I paint landscapes, wildlife, water, forests and a probably unreasonable number of northern lights.

They’re subjects I genuinely enjoy.

And if I’m going to spend hours staring at something while I paint it, that’s fairly important.

Biophilic Design Doesn’t Have to Become Another Decorating Trend

This may be my favorite thing about the concept.

You don’t need to replace everything you own because somebody announced that this year’s fashionable shade of beige is slightly different from last year’s fashionable shade of beige.

You can work with what you already have.

Open the curtains. Move a chair toward a window you enjoy. Add a plant. Bring in some wood or natural texture. Hang artwork that reminds you of somewhere you’d rather be when February has lasted approximately nine months.

It doesn’t have to be expensive or complicated.

Creating a Home That Actually Feels Like Home

I think we sometimes get too caught up in what our homes are supposed to look like.

Your house doesn’t have to impress the internet. You’re the one who has to live there.

If being surrounded by plants makes you happy, fill the place with plants. If you love the ocean, bring some of that into your home. If you’d rather be sitting beside a lake, walking through the woods or watching the northern lights from a cabin, choose things that remind you of those places.

Biophilic design gives that idea a formal name, but the basic concept is pretty simple:

Bring more of what you love about the natural world into the places where you spend your life.

For me, paintings are part of that.

For you, it might be a window full of plants, a wooden table that’s been in the family forever, a collection of seashells from vacations, or artwork that reminds you of a place you don’t get to visit nearly often enough.

And really, that’s what makes a home personal in the first place.