Biophilic Design Ideas You'll Fall for This Autumn

Published on 06 Sep 2023

Imagine your average day. If you’re like most people, it’s probably hygienic, dry, relaxed. Protected in a vehicle, you travel from home to work and back, never encountering earth or vegetation. It’s safe and comfortable. Biophilia, the love of nature, was never your thing anyway. One day, though, you feel it:

Drumming.

At first, you picture Jumanji turned real—but wait. That’s not adventure on the horizon. It’s a hospital visit. And the drumbeat is blood pressure coursing through your ear canals.

“Chronic stress,” your GP suggests. “You need time outside or biophilic design in your home.”

A natural kitchen. That’s the advice? Surely not. Well, according to stress experts at Healthline, it’s true. Humans need nature. But how do we offset the demands of domestic life without—*shudder*—hiking? Simple: the right biophilic architecture and natural kitchen updates can save your life.

Maximise Natural Light

Your first port-of-call should be to ask, “What is biophilia?” Understanding that “philia” means “love of” and “bio” means “life” is essential because the concept underpins all biophilic city, office and home designs. Once that's clear, applying a love-of-life approach is easy. You just need to add more life to your kitchen.

Case in point, research suggests that many westerners spend 90% of their lives inside buildings, despite artificial light negatively impacting their positive mindsets and sleeping patterns. Thus, to create a paradise in your kitchen, one of the best places to start is with its light sources.

If you’re remodelling, why not add a kitchen conservatory area, a small orangery kitchen extension or possibly a simple kitchen window to your blueprints? And if knocking through walls isn’t possible, how about installing a kitchen skylight? All these options add light and fresh air.

At Sigma 3 Kitchens, we maximise natural light, offering chef’s tables for windows where regular base units won’t fit so you can prep food in sunlight. Similarly, we replace chunky cabinets with stylish shelving options and add bi-fold doors to cupboards minimise light obstruction in places that require a biophilic design.

Feature Natural Stone and Wood

Light is a good starting point but strong biophilic design also incorporates natural materials for best results, similar to the Scandi concept Hygge. The overlap makes sense since different cultures often reach a similar design destination when looking to resolve a universal human problem.

Woollen rugs and flagstone floors satiate nature cravings, as with Hygge, but so does maximising the use of natural features like wood-effect cutlery inserts, crate drawers and stone-effect countertops. And whichever features you decide to use, dark kitchens provide the ideal background.

Harness House Plants

Integral to biophilic design, house plants do most of the heavy lifting. Luckily, they’re also easy to install, not least on solid oak shelving. Besides oxygenating the air, their presence is also proven to soothe human minds in a way that artificial house plants never will.

The best house plant options for you are whatever ones match your taste and goals. For example, do you like Japanese design? If yes, your ideal plants might be potted topiary trees and Japanese peace lilies. Alternatively, if you want a quintessentially English kitchen, how about wall hanging plants?

Biophilic Design Finishing Touches

Having flooded your space with natural light and filled it with a whole ecosystem of natural products, only sentient life can further the cause. Do you have pets? A furry buddy is the ultimate biophilic pick-me-up. Not only do they provide companionship but they also encourage you to spend time in true natural spaces.

Our world-class designers at Sigma 3 create pet-friendly kitchens all the time for animal-loving clients. In fact, the cavities in chef’s tables and kitchen island shelving help us excel at this challenge. We’ve become true experts on both your needs and those of your potential fur babies, be they cats, budgies or 100lb Rotties.

But don’t worry if you’re not an animal person. You can still create unique biophilic designs using features like rattan mirrors, indoor water features and curved furniture made of FSC® certified board. Admittedly, that’s a lot to digest. Fortunately, we can clear up any confusion with friendly experts at your closest Sigma 3 showroom. They’ll handle everything! Or, if inspiration is all you want, become a Sigma 3 Insider. You’ll get free design tips and lifestyle guides just for joining.

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