Natural interiors bring a breath of fresh air to the often cold and grey urban atmosphere, and creates a calming oasis in the home not often found these days. What’s more, with the emerging consciousness of the climate crisis and the need for sustainable choices – a natural aesthetic is becoming more and more popular.

So, how can you bring nature into your interior? Well, there are a few basic rules to follow:

• Use natural, environmentally friendly & sustainably sourced materials as much as possible.

• Stick to a natural neutral colour palette without bold, garish accents.

• Natural accessories & textiles are the way to go

• Think outside the box – bring the outside in

Natural materials

First things first – banish any thoughts of synthetic materials. That means, no plastics, no artificial wood – keep to materials found in nature. Think bamboo, linen, oak, organic cotton… Preferably untreated, too.

Furniture made of rattan, bamboo is very popular, and really emulates that natural look. Furniture made from these materials is also environmentally friendly thanks to its easy processing and quick resource renewal. You can pick up some great pieces second hand, which is even kinder on the environment (cheaper, too!)

Natural stone (whether in the form of wall tiling, flooring or decorative pieces), un-coloured glass and wrought metal are also often found in natural interiors, and create a great contrast to wood. We love big cast iron mirrors as statement pieces for a bedroom, or terracotta floors for the kitchen.

Neutrals

The environment is the perfect guide when choosing interior colours. Think earth tones only found at the beach, or in the forest. Neutral tones should be the base, but warmer shades of the colour palette such as beige, brown or ochre provide depth & prevent the room from looking too washed out. Walls should generally be kept white, or at least in pale tones in order to emphasise the natural light of the space as much as possible.

If you want a splash of colour, stick to one accent for the entire space – too many will overwhelm the interior & begin to verge on garish.

Natural accessories – plants, and more plants!

If you’ve been anywhere near social media recently, you will know that the world of houseplants has become a cult-like obsession – and with good reason! Plants are the easiest way of bringing the natural world into your home, and they have health benefits too. They oxygenate the air around you & create a kind of urban jungle! Use simple terracotta or clay pots to display them to keep with the natural colour scheme & keep the focus on the plants.

In addition to potted plants, place fresh, preferably wild, flowers in simple glass vases. If you love walking, pick up any nice looking twigs or leaves that you find on a walk & arrange them too – they make a great long lasting centrepiece. Any florist should also sell these too.

Keep the arrangement of pots, vases and plants simplistic. Try to think about how things would look in nature, and go from there – if in doubt, follow your intuition.

For textile accessories, think organic – unbleached cotton for bedding, linen curtains & cushions, or hand-woven jute rugs. Baskets are always a good choice too, both for practical reasons (think storage) or decorative: a few artisanal baskets hung on the wall above the sofa or bed looks fabulous!

Bringing the outside in – on a budget

If you love nature and this style appeals to you, but you don’t want to, or are unable to, transform the whole interior right away, there are many small ways to bring nature into your home without a complete renovation. In addition to the plants, leaves and twigs already mentioned, interesting pebbles and stones you bring back from holiday are also a lovely decoration idea. You could, for example, put them in a simple glass bowl or rounded vase, and place a candle in the centre.

You can do the same with souvenirs from the beach – shells, corals, starfish and fine sea sand will look great in glass or in frames on the wall & give you an opportunity to look back on precious family memories!

You can frame other natural objects too – how about pressed flowers from the garden or colourful autumn leaves? Prints cut out of old botany or science textbooks will also look good on the wall – look for them in antique or charity shops.

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