Biophilic Design 101: Why Your Home Needs Natural Elements for Better Health
Biophilic design is the 2025 wellness trend your home needs. Learn simple ways to use natural elements, from your bedroom to your living room, to create a calmer space.
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- https://www.latimes.com/spaces/build/story/simulated-nature-biophilic-designhttps://www.latimes.com/spaces/decor/designers/story/designing-by-mood-for-wellness-homeBiophilic design goes beyond aesthetics to satisfy an innate biological need for connection with nature.
- Incorporating natural elements like light, organic shapes, and plants can significantly lower stress and blood pressure.
- We evolved in the outdoors, so our bodies and minds struggle to adapt to sterile, strictly urban environments.
- You don’t need a full renovation; simple additions like water features or maximizing airflow make a difference.
- Using natural patterns and fractal geometries in decor can improve cognitive function and perceived safety.
This design philosophy is the key to a calmer, less stressful home. It’s not just about adding a few plants — it’s about using natural light, organic materials, and specific colors to fundamentally change how your space feels.
You’ve probably heard the term tossed around by designers and wellness influencers alike: biophilic design. But it’s not just about aesthetics. It’s about reconnecting humans with nature in the spaces where we live and work. And with so much of life spent staring at screens, that connection feels more important than ever. Our homes are becoming sanctuaries, or at least they’re supposed to be. Biophilic interiors use the calming, grounding effect of nature to create spaces that just feel... better.
What Exactly Is Biophilic Design?
Biophilic design basically means bringing nature into the places where we live and work. The word “biophilic” comes from “biophilia,” a term coined by biologist E.O. Wilson to describe humans’ natural love and connection to the outdoors. In design, this just means incorporating natural elements. Things like light, plants, water, and organic materials. And it works.
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Evolved Human Nature Relationships
It sounds a bit scientific. But it’s actually quite simple. For the vast majority of human evolution, we lived in the natural world. We didn’t live in concrete boxes. We lived in the natural habitat. Our bodies and brains adapted to process the sights, sounds, and smells of natural landscapes. This created a deep biological tendency to seek out life. But modern society changed the script. Now, we spend about 90% of our time indoors. This disconnect creates a bit of friction. A subtle anxiety.
Urban environments and city life often strip away the natural features we are hardwired to expect. Natural environments, however, provide greater emotional restoration, with lower instances of tension, anxiety, anger, fatigue, confusion, and total mood disturbance than urban environments with limited characteristics of nature. That’s why biophilic design focuses on bridging that gap. It’s an attempt to restore that human nature connection within the built environment. It acknowledges that our place-based relationships with the land shouldn’t end just because we walked through a front door.
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Mental Health and Health Benefits
The impact of this disconnect isn’t just a feeling. It’s physical. Extensive research, including work by groups like Terrapin Bright Green, suggests that sterile environments can actually be detrimental to building occupants. Conversely, bringing nature in has tangible health benefits. Studies suggest that visual connection with nature can lower blood pressure and heart rate. It helps reduce stress. It’s not magic. It’s biology. When you look at plant life or natural materials, your parasympathetic nervous system engages. You relax. This stress reduction is critical for mental health. But it goes beyond just being calm.
Biophilic design seeks to improve cognitive function too. Human wellbeing relies on environments that stimulate us without overwhelming us. Indoor environments that lack these cues can feel dead. By using biophilic principles, we can create an interior space that actively supports human benefits like better focus and mood. Additionally, the use of daylighting in biophilic design enhances mood and productivity in interior spaces.
Studies show these spaces can reduce stress and enhance creativity. But you don’t need a study to know that a room with a big window and some plants feels better than a room without. It’s a shift toward prioritizing our well-being on a sensory level. Kelsey Fisher, Lead Designer at Havenly, says that she focuses a lot on how a client wants to feel emotionally in their space. “It has such an effect on your mental clarity [and] comfort...” Biophilic design is just that. Feeling good in your space.
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So, How Do You Actually Do It?
It’s not about turning your living room into a jungle. Unless you’re into that. Instead, it’s about a few key elements that mirror nature. This is where we can look at ancient practices like Feng Shui. They’ve been using a similar framework for centuries with the five elements.
Natural Shapes and Forms
When you look at a forest, you rarely see a perfectly straight line. Nature is full of curves. Arches. Imperfections. Yet, standard interior design is often obsessed with the grid. Right angles. Sharp corners. To soften a room, you need to incorporate natural shapes. Think about organic forms. An oval coffee table. A curved armchair. These naturalistic shapes mimic the natural geometries found outdoors.
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There is a reason we find these natural forms comforting. They imply a sense of fluidity. They allow the eye to slide over the room rather than getting stuck on a sharp edge. Interior designers often use natural patterns to achieve this. You might see this in wallpaper that mimics the complexity of leaves or waves. These are sometimes called fractals. Complex, repeating patterns found in nature. Using organic shapes and natural patterns can actually increase perceived safety. We feel more at ease in spaces that flow. Creating spaces that offer broad views and sheltered spots further fosters a sense of security and curiosity.
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Environmental Features and Direct Experience
Getting the look is one thing. But biophilic design elements are also about the experience. The direct experience of the elements. It’s not enough to just hang a picture of a tree. Consider environmental features like natural ventilation. Can you feel a breeze? Can you hear the wind? Natural systems are dynamic. They change.
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Natural processes involve movement. Think about water features. The sound of trickling water is a great starting point for enhancing feelings of tranquility. It masks traffic noise. It brings a dynamic, moving element into a static room. Or consider natural light. It changes color throughout the day. It creates shadows that move. This connects you to the time of day and the season. It grounds you.
Natural Materials
This is what most people think of. Wood, stone, clay, linen, and rattan. Kelsey Fischer notes that “comfort-driven spaces rely on tactile textures... that invite touch.” It’s about things that feel real.
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Natural Color
This connects to Feng Shui elements. Designers Benjamin Stelly and Tanya Selway say, “Warm, earthy shades like clay or terracotta bring a sense of grounding... while deep blues or greens can feel more calming.” Think soil, sea, and forest. Not just a beige box.
Using natural colors is a huge part of this. But it’s not just about painting a wall green. It’s about the relationships between colors. Spatial relationships. Lighter ceilings like the sky. Darker floors like the earth. This mimics the natural environment and helps us feel oriented.
White is often treated as a shortcut to calm. But designers and wellness experts say how a space feels has less to do with neutrality — and more to do with how color, texture, and light interact with the nervous system.
Light and Air
This one is so important. Maximize your windows. Use sheer curtains. And actually open them. Proper airflow is critical.
Plants
From a single statement monstera to a wall of photos, greenery adds life. Literally.
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Starting Small: Room by Room
You don’t have to renovate. Here are simple ways to start, room by room.
Living Room
Add those plants. Get a natural woven rug. Choose art that reflects landscapes.
If you have the space, create a central focal point using other natural elements. A fireplace works. Or a large, raw wood table. It anchors the room.
Kitchen
An herb garden in terracotta pots on the windowsill. Simple. Or maybe just some open shelving with your wood and ceramic pieces out.
Bathroom
A wood bath mat feels amazing. Or hang a bundle of eucalyptus in the shower. It smells incredible when it gets steamy.
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Creating a Sanctuary
If you really want to incorporate nature, look at your floor plan. Is there a flow? Or is it blocked? Biophilic design elements work best when there is space to breathe. Consider green walls in smaller spaces. They pack a punch of plant life without taking up floor space. Even simple potted plants clustered together can mimic a small garden. This is vital for urban parks and apartments where green spaces are limited.
Bedroom
This is your sanctuary. So the layout really matters. The goal is to support your circadian rhythm and create calm. A bedroom should make you exhale when you walk in, not tense up. So maybe swap blackout curtains for linen shades that filter the morning light. Choose calming bedding. Moss green or taupe. And try to avoid putting your bed directly under a window. Feng shui practices suggest it can disturb sleep.
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Smarter sleep starts here
It’s Not Just a “Nice-to-Have” Anymore
As more of us work from home, this stuff stops being an extra. It’s becoming part of how we define a livable space. The 2025 Wellness in Design report found that nearly 70% of homeowners now consider natural elements “essential.” So it’s not just a niche idea. Biophilic design is becoming increasingly popular due to its ability to improve occupant health and well-being. And it connects to sustainable design, too. Using renewable resources like wood and wool is just smarter than relying on synthetics. “Making a mood-based design stick means really spending quality time curating the mood you want to create as an authentic expression of yourself,” says Kelsey Fischer.
Biophilic design isn’t just about how your space looks. It’s about how it feels. So, when your home needs a change, maybe don’t just buy a new trend. Bring in something real. Something alive. It might be exactly what both your home and your spirit actually need.
Because at the end of the day, to enhance well being, we need to remember where we came from. We aren’t machines. We are biological beings. And our design process should reflect that. Whether it’s local materials or just opening a window, every little bit helps reduce human destructiveness on our own psyche.
