Exploring Ideas For A Biophilic Home Design

23 December 2023

Biophilic design has become a popular global interior design trend. Pinterest Business reported a 100% increase in searches for “biophilic design bedroom” between 2019 and 2021.

This design approach is rooted in biophilia, humans’ innate affinity with the natural world.

Moreover, it has practical applications in design. Research indicates that it can positively affect productivity and well-being.

For instance, a study showed that people spent 11% more time in biophilic-inspired hotel lobbies.

Similarly, schools in Washington State saw a 5% increase in student test scores and a 15% reduction in absenteeism with a biophilic design approach.

Let us explore what interior designers suggest for a biophilic home and ideas that you must explore!

Understanding Biophilic Home Designs

The modern world of technology has taken a new direction towards nature. Robotics, AI, and the Internet of Things (IOT) have caused urban architects to incorporate biophilic designs.

These designs involve greenery and natural elements. It helps to improve air quality, airflow, circadian rhythm, heart rate, and human health.

Biophilic designs stimulate visual connection and enhance the multi-sensory experience using indoor plants and natural patterns.

Stephen Kellert and Edward O. Wilson, who founded biophilic designs, have made nature feel more accessible at home. He incorporates plants, sunlight, natural materials, and fresh air.

How To Make Your Home Biophilic?

Given below are the different aspects that you can add to your home for a biophilic design—

Add Plenty Of Greens

Integrating plants into your interior design can create a natural and inviting ambiance. Adding greens helps enhance the aesthetic aspects of a biophilic home, ensuring a calming environment. Moreover, indoor plants help purify the air inside your home.

However, this does not necessarily mean you must go overboard and transform your home into a tropical paradise.

You can opt for potted plants, hanging baskets, or even a simple vase with fresh-cut flowers. Match your live elements with the color scheme of your decor. Most home designing experts advise you to get more succulents for your home. These plants require less watering but look amazing in every setting.

Alternatively, nature-inspired artwork, botanical prints, or murals can bring the outdoors in.

The idea is to create a synergy between the artificial environment and the natural world. This home design can positively impact your mood, health, and well-being.

Therefore, incorporating natural elements into your interior design can create a more harmonious and balanced living. This biophilic element can be functional and beautiful at the same time.

Enable Natural Lighting

Incorporating natural light into interior spaces has numerous benefits.

Biophilic design emphasizes the connection between humans and nature. Therefore, it prioritizes light and space to create a healthier, harmonizing, and more comfortable environment.

Biophilic home designs use different components of warmth and sunlight. Natural light can blend the boundaries between the interior and exterior of a space.

For instance, large windows and skylights can allow sunlight to stream in, making a space more open and inviting.

Additionally, glass roofs and walls allow you to save electricity with natural lighting during the daytime.

If you can reduce your exposure to artificial lighting, you say goodbye to stress and fatigue. It helps invigorate the body and mind.

Therefore, we can design spaces incorporating biophilic principles to improve our well-being and strengthen our connection to nature. It creates spaces that promote well-being and encourage a greater appreciation for the natural world.

Use Organic Decor Items

Biophilic design is a concept that aims to connect people with nature by incorporating natural elements into the built environment.

To create a peaceful atmosphere and promote a sense of well-being in your home, incorporate natural materials like leather, wood, and stone for your decor items. This brings a natural touch to the textures, colors, and forms around your home.

Furthermore, using subdued and organic color schemes can also help to enhance the calming and stress-reducing properties of biophilic design. Handcraft your decor with jute ropes,

Therefore, you can create an affordable and easy-to-maintain space with these decor items. That is aesthetically pleasing and enhances your physical and mental health.

Maintain The Patio

Biophilia is an evolutionary concept that suggests humans have an innate affinity for nature. This idea is gaining traction in outdoor architecture and design as well.

Biophilic design is a concept that aims to create a connection with nature and its resources. To achieve this in your outdoor space, you can incorporate some major additions like the following:

Eco-friendly composite decking.
Vertical gardens.
Green screens in small spaces.

Native plants can help support wildlife and blur the boundaries between the territory and nature. Therefore, it is essential to consider factors such as sunlight exposure and irrigation when selecting plant species for your patio.

Furthermore, incorporating water elements like fountains or cascades can help create a tranquil atmosphere.

It is also important to choose outdoor furniture inspired by nature instead of plastic. Install fire pits made of natural materials like stone or metal. This can help create a comfortable and inviting outdoor biophilic space.

Let The Air Flow

Achieving a biophilic home design involves paying attention to the air circulation within each room.

You can start by determining the direction of the wind around your home. Next, open your windows accordingly to facilitate the flow of fresh air.

Additionally, you can enhance the airflow in your home by ensuring that your rooms are spacious and free of clutter.

Consider using furniture that provides ample storage space to keep your rooms organized and uncluttered. This allows the air to circulate freely throughout your home.

By creating a well-ventilated and spacious environment, you can enhance the biophilic design of your home. Therefore, bring nature indoors and improve your overall well-being.

Add Water Features

Adding water features like cascades, fountains, or reflecting pools to your outdoor space can incorporate a biophilic design. It helps create a serene atmosphere.

The sound and sight of water can instantly transport you to nature and induce a feeling of tranquility and relaxation.

You can go for a small pond or stream in your backyard if you have a generous budget. This addition can create a more natural and immersive experience.

However, a small water fountain in your garden, patio, or deck can do the trick if you prefer a simpler option.

It’s a quick and easy way to add elegance and calmness to your outdoor space!

Wrap It Up With A Fire Pit

Adding a fire pit to your outdoor space can significantly impact its ambiance and appeal.

By creating a warm and inviting atmosphere, fire pits can make your outdoor area a more comfortable and enjoyable place to spend time.

Furthermore, fire is a natural element that can uniquely evoke feelings of tranquility and connection with nature.

Therefore, incorporating a fire pit into your outdoor design can help create a biophilic environment that promotes relaxation and well-being.

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Ankita Tripathy

Ankita Tripathy loves to write about food and the Hallyu Wave in particular. During her free time, she enjoys looking at the sky or reading books while sipping a cup of hot coffee. Her favourite niches are food, music, lifestyle, travel, and Korean Pop music and drama.

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Tips to an Adjusting and Fitting Bi-Fold Doors

When it comes to bi-fold doors, a lot of people prefer using their own handyman skills instead of hiring one. The thing is that though you can easily fix up a problem like adjusting the height or making the door a bit less creaky using your skills, it is not really possible for everyone to actually install the entire door themselves. In this reference, you should remember that though you actually try to save up a bit on the cost of the door, you purposely cause yourself more harm because if the door is not set right, it might just crash causing injuries and damage. Remember that an average price of the bi-fold doors can be in between $50 to $150. And if you actually hire someone for this purpose, you can pay a similar amount for the installation. So, it is tempting to implement the entire process yourself. But the problem is that if you go wrong here, then it could just cause more damage than good. It is really not that hard because these bi-fold doors just need a tiny bit of patience. Doing so can help you get the benefit of installing the entire door yourself, with minimal supervision. You should remember that, if there is any remote chance that your handyman skills are not that good, you should hire an expert. Here’s a few aspects to evaluate- One of the first things you should do here is understand where you need a new door. In most cases where you have bi-fold doors that have been around for years, a bit of adjustment and fitting tricks tend to do the job. You can try lubricating the door using some oil or simply get ahead with the adjustment using some of the tips that are mentioned at the end of this article. But there is a long list of things that can go wrong in this reference. One of the major problems that individuals face here is the door or the fitting not opening the right way. It is vital that the height along with the width be measured accurately, so that when you adjust these bi-fold doors, your setting is just right. Another aspect is that you can try tipping panels. The first step is to consider the size of the door and ensure that you cover all the steps of taking down the door correctly. Any mistakes here, then you have trouble setting them back again. You should also ensure that the alignment and fastening is done properly so that in post repairs, there is no risk in using these bi-fold doors. Also, the hardware needed for this process should be kept alongside because a little lapse here means you are holding the door with no screwdrivers to put things back in place. Adjusting the doors When you adjust the bi-fold doors, ensure that you first loosen the screw that sits on the top of the bracket and then slide the same slightly. This should be done along with tracks to leave enough room between the top and your door. Then again tighten the screw and close the door to check. For the floor bracket, you have to shift the pins on either door bottoms. In one case you have to loosen a screw that slides the bracket in and out. To adjust the height, you have to just screw the bottom pin using a wrench and pliers. This can be done without taking off the door too. So, it is better to hire an expert to fit the bi-fold doors if you don’t find it easy to do the same by yourself.

10 Amazing Air Conditioner to Try Right Now

Selecting the best Air Conditioner can be a difficult task, especially when you want to make a long-term investment in your home. It is not easy to tick your requirements against the desired features and functions. However, doing so will determine whether you will go home with a costly lesson or a cooling solution. So, if you would like to experience excellent air conditioning benefits, check out the following list. 10 Amazing Air Conditioners to Try Right Now: LG LW8017ERSM: LG LW8017ERSM has been acknowledged as one of the most proficient and energy-efficient air conditioners that can cool a 340 square feet area. The unit can be a bit expensive to operate than the others, but what matters is a quality machine that does a lot more than the standard models. LG LW8017ERSM can remove up to 2.2 pints of moisture every hour. Keystone KSTAW05B: Keystone KSTAW05B has 5000 BTU, and this makes it suitable for small rooms. It can cool a 150 square feet area. It only weighs 40 pounds making it easy to be installed in most of the windows. Additionally, it is cost-efficient due to its small size and lower power consumption attributes. Keystone air conditioner has many features, such as remote control, programmable timer, and auto mode, making it comfortable to operate. Haier HWF05XCR-L Haier HWF05XCR-L is another fantastic air conditioner that you can try out. On its high setting, it can only make a maximum of 49 decibels of noise. The appliance can work better in small rooms since it can only cool up to 150 square feet of area. Moreover, it is a louver and can only point in one direction instead of four. The AC has a dehumidifying setting for pulling air moisture, ensuring a dry home. Honeywell HL09CESWK: Honeywell HL09CESWK is a powerful and dependable AC that is stylishly made. It can cool a room of up to 400 square feet. For safety purposes and peace of mind, it contains thermal overload protection. Additionally, Honeywell HL09CESWK has dual filters that are set to protect your system from dust and hair, and this extends the appliance’s life and performance. The system also has a 24-hour energy saver timer and remote control that bears a digital display. Frigidaire Gallery 12,000 BTU Cool Connect Smart Cylinder Portable Air Conditioner: Frigidaire Gallery 12,000 BTU Cool Connect Smart Cylinder Portable Air Conditioner is the 21st-century wonder of efficiency and luxury. It contains 12000 BTU allowing it to cool larger room spaces for approximately 550 square feet. It is incorporated with LED lighting and the latest mesh grill. The fact that it has 360 degrees airflow enables it to move upwards in a continuous spiral motion, and this ensures sufficient air circulation in the room for evenly cooling. Whynter Elite ARC-122DS: The Good Housekeeping Institute named Whynter Elite ARC-122DS as the overall best portable air conditioner. It can cool approximately 400 square feet of space. It has full thermostatic control with a digital readout and a 24-hour programmable timer. It is also eco-friendly as the auto drain function removes the entire condensate in most environments. Whynter Elite ARC-122DS also has a remote control and activated carbon air filter. Whynter ARC-14S: Whynter ARC-14S is another fantastic air conditioner that you can choose. It weighs approximately 80 pounds. The appliance can cool up to 5000 square feet of space. It has full thermostatic control of 61°F - 89°F containing digital readout. It is eco-friendly and a dehumidifier. The Fan also includes Activated Carbon Filter. GE AEM05LX: GE AEM05LX is an efficient unit for small or medium houses. It can cool a space of about 260 square feet. It contains the energy-saving mode. Companies such as Cool Runnings Darwin offer a one-year warranty for the labor, parts, and compressor of this appliance. GE AEM05LX is lightweight meaning it is easy to install. Its yearly cost of energy is also low. Friedrich Chill CP06G10B: Friedrich Chill CP06G10B can cool up to 250 square feet of space, and this makes it suitable for larger houses. It has a timer to control when to go off or on throughout the day. It also has energy saver mode, and auto restart mode that turns the AC back to your preferred setting after the power is back. Della 8,000 BTU Portable AC: Della 8,000 BTU Portable AC is an affordable unit that can cool up to 150 square feet of rooms. It contains a digital display with custom touch controls. It includes a quick install kit and one hose to make the setup easy. It also has a minimal volume of noise, making it suitable for small rooms. Read Also: 13 Ways To Maintain The Coolness Of Your Air Condition Unit Interiors To Reduce The Heat Build-Up In Your Homes Best Practices That Extend The Life Of Your Appliances

How You Can Increase the Value of Your Home with Stone Veneers

Stone veneers are a popular but often misunderstood product, though they’re slowly increasing in popularity. Installing stone veneer is a rather affordable way to add value to your property and improve the overall curb appeal. Let’s take a look at what stone veneers are and the main types of stone veneers on the market. Then we’ll share how you can increase the value of your home with stone veneers and where you may want to have them installed. An Introduction to Stone Veneers: Stone veneer refers to any outward facing material made from stone that is not designed to be load bearing. You can find both thin and full stone veneers. Full veneers are three to five inches thick and weigh far more than “thin” veneers. Thin veneers are three-quarters of an inch to one and a half inches thick. Because they are thinner, there is less time and labor required to install them. Thick “full” veneers may require advanced engineering to keep them in place, while thin stone veneers may be supported by the wall. Thin veneers can often be used on taller or higher projects. Now let’s look at how stone veneers add value to your home. The Aesthetic Value: Stone has a natural look and feel. Kafka natural stone veneer, for instance, comes in a variety of styles and finishes, so you can select the type that either matches the natural environment or accentuates it. You’ll create a look that will not only be a timeless classic but one that appears upscale, as the real stone is so expensive. This explains why a stone veneer project has roughly a 92% return on investment when you sell your home. Your home will also stand out from those around it that are clad in brick or vinyl siding. The Simplicity: Stone veneers meet pretty much all applicable building code requirements. Note that if you like the look of stone but don’t want to redo the entire home, you could have a stone accent wall put on the front of your home, or create stone pillars on the porch. Or you could put stone veneers around a gas or electric fireplace to make it resemble a real, stone fireplace without the time, cost and engineering changes necessary for a new stone fireplace installation. The Structural Benefits: Stone is very durable. After all, it takes a long time to weather. This makes stone an excellent choice for the exterior of your home; it will survive repeated freezes and thaws. A stone veneer wall can typically weather abuse by mother nature and casual impacts. It is water-repellent, pest-resistant and otherwise one of the most durable options on the market. The Economic Benefits: A properly installed stone veneer is maintenance free; you won’t have to repaint it as the colors won’t fade on exposure to sunlight or flake off with rain and wind. You won’t have to replace it in a few years because it has warped due to exposure to the elements. And as mentioned, stone veneers make a home appear high-end, resulting in higher offers for the property when you try to sell it. Stone veneers provide you with the best of both worlds. They provide the durability, attractiveness, and strength of stone. This is all without the high cost and advanced engineering requirements necessary to install full stone walls. Read Also: The Key Benefits Of Using SIPs To Build A Home 5 Ways That Ensure That Your Home Is Safe For Living Featured Image: Royalty

Exploring Ideas For A Biophilic Home Design

Understanding Biophilic Home Designs