It’s undeniable that biophilia has been a huge design trend over the past year. From articles on how to ‘reconnect with nature’ and advice on ‘how to plant an urban garden’ there’s been an explosion of wide-reaching interest surrounding the topic.

So…what is it?

Biophilic design is a way of innovatively designing and incorporating the natural world into the places we live, work and learn.

Here at Tom Raffield we couldn’t have welcomed this biophilic trend with wider spread, open arms: the great outdoors, hard work and green spaces are three of the things we feel most passionate about. The rush to add greenery to our homes and work spaces even inspired our brand new exclusive range of indoor steam bent planters: The Green Range.

A month since The Green Range launch and we still can’t stop thinking about the benefits of bringing the outdoors in. So, here’s our round up of the top reasons to add a hint of green to your space.

For the home

Our homes should provide a respite from our busy, modern lifestyles.

Blurring the boundaries between inside and outside can be easier than you think – adding natural, raw materials such as wood (steam bent preferably!), stone and slate to your home all nod at the biophilic trend that’s taking interiors by storm. But why not go one better and add some living plants?

 

Air quality

With so many of us living in crowded towns and cities where outdoor pollution levels are on the rise, there’s no surprise that our indoor air purity is also starting to deteriorate and suffer.

Cue indoor plants.

Plants purify our air by simultaneously absorbing particulates and carbon dioxide and creating oxygen through the process of photosynthesis.

Although keeping houseplants alive may be an intimidating or guilt provoking thought for the many of us blessed with the ‘black thumb’, it turns out there are several kinds of indoor plant that are hard to kill (and look great in our Green Range Planters). Our tried and tested homely favourites include the String of Pearls succulent (photographed above in our Morvah Ceiling Hanging Planter).

Mental wellbeing

Another hot topic. Mental health disorders have taken a leap out of the shadows and have thankfully become more socially accepted and talked about over the last few years. Accordingly, there’s been a huge surge of interest in our general wellbeing.

Cue indoor plants, take two.

Adding plants to our homes has been proven to reduce stress levels and create a calming, restorative atmosphere. i.e. the perfect place to unwind and relax.

Consider investing in a few plants for each room of your home and adding more in the rooms you tend to spend more time in – such as the living room and bedroom.

For the workplace

With biophilia becoming an increasingly talked about topic/trend amongst the design community, and with more companies making the wellbeing of their employees a higher priority in the workplace, ‘going green’ has become a common goal for many businesses.

Here’s why we should be introducing our green friends to our places of work.

Acoustics

Open plan offices full of people are noisy, fact. Whether it’s a ringing phone, clicking keyboards or just chatty colleagues next to you, everyone has experienced that ‘ahhh I can’t concentrate’ moment at some stage of their career.

Adding plants (acoustically absorptive materials) to office spaces can help the situation and dampen the reverberations produced by sound energy - without the investment in costly sound masking systems.

Here at TR HQ we are big fans of potted succulents, indoor palms and cacti. We’ve filled our office with our brand new Green Range planters and haven’t looked back since. There’s even been an outbreak of plant naming arguments...

Not just a pretty...colour

Let’s talk about creativity. Priding ourselves as an innovative design company, coming up with fresh and creative ideas is an integral part of our day to day running at Tom Raffield.

Studies show that the colour green is strongly associated with creativity and that introducing some greenery to an office space can increase productivity, help spark innovative ideas and keep staff feeling engaged and motivated.

Win win!

Posted: 06.07.18
Updated: 15.04.21