The Original Biophilic Designer

For a great number of us, nature calls loudly. It calls us out of our neat, hard-walled boxes and into the wild. Sadly, we can’t always answer that call, and must remain for the time being inside the confines of our manmade dens.

Pinterest predicts that 2022 will be a year of biophilic design, in which nature itself and natural-looking elements are incorporated into indoor spaces. It goes far beyond a potted plant here and there, and is a response to the need to connect with nature on a more consistent basis than we are sometimes able to.

When nature’s built into your home

You’ve seen house plants. Now meet living rooms. Millennials are turning to plant-first design solutions this year to increase their connection to nature and enhance their wellbeing. Staircase gardens, biophilic interiors and floral ceilings are all trending up. And don’t leave the office out!

Pinterest Predicts

Check out these samples of biophilic design, where nature intersects with the indoors in a big way:

Our Roots

Why are we drawn to the natural world so much??

Could it be that it’s simply part of our DNA?

Think back to the first man.

Then the LORD God planted a garden in Eden in the east, and there he placed the man he had made.

The LORD God placed the man in the Garden of Eden to tend and watch over it. 

Genesis 2:8, 15 NLT

Can you imagine that first garden, perfect in every way? Even though it was flawless, it needed taken care of. Adam had to interact with nature in the garden in order to take care of it.

I imagine he didn’t need shelter, because he didn’t even need clothes! His was the first home, made entirely of what grew from the ground. There were no walls or windows to hem him in. He lived surrounded by all shades of natural green, bathed in sunlight every day.

I wonder what he had to do! Did he prune? Did he plant seeds where he wanted new plants to grow? Did he move saplings to new ground? Who knows!!

In any case, we were originally created to inhabit nature. Our “roots” call to us.

Our Designer

There’s something else about nature that calls to us. The Creator of it all has left his fingerprint everywhere out there!

For ever since the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky. Through everything God made, they can clearly see his invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature.

Romans 1:20a

Do you think, perhaps, that nature calls us to remember our Creator? It tells us that Our God is

• faithful,
• powerful,
• artistic,
• our provider and
• our sustainer.

Now it’s your turn!

Does the great outdoors call to you? Can you put your finger on why?

What does nature tell you about God’s invisible qualities?

What elements of nature have you added to your indoor spaces to help yourself cope with being “stuck inside”?

Share in the comments below–I’d love to hear your responses!

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Featured Photo by Cherry Laithang on Unsplash