A Dedication To Biophilic Design
Humans are meant to interact with the natural world. Communing with nature has positive effects on human health, and biophilic design works to fulfill this biological need when you're indoors. Our newest collection draws from this life-giving concept, which seeks to connect our inside spaces with the healing properties of nature. Incorporating these elements into your home can reduce stress, increase creativity and clarity, inspire healing, and lead to an overall feeling of happiness and well-being.
Think of the way your body responds to the color of sunlight as it changes throughout the day—yellow in the morning, blue at midday, and red in the afternoon/evening. Body temperature, heart rate, and circadian functioning are all affected by this transition—blue light triggers serotonin, while its absence (which occurs at night) produces melatonin.
Research has shown that views of nature—even through images—can reduce stress, increase positive emotional functioning, and improve concentration and recovery rates. Recorded benefits include: lowered blood pressure and heart rate; reduced attentional fatigue, sadness, anger, and aggression; improved mental engagement/attentiveness, attitude and overall happiness. (Source: Terrapin Bright Green)
Why is biophilic design so important to take into consideration, especially during the unprecedented times we find ourselves in?
Biophilic design seeks to connect people’s inside spaces to nature. This started as an architectural movement but has been increasingly adopted in interior design as well. I used it as a key element for inspiration this fall, considering that all of our products begin in nature. We don’t use any synthetic fibers, and we love for our customers to have the opportunity to create a connection to nature, both through our home textiles and by bringing other natural objects into their home environment.
What are the key characteristics of biophilic design?
Key characteristics of biophilic design include the following:
- Creating a connection to nature in an indoor space
- Bringing in nature and greenery to your indoor space
- Use of natural materials and natural colors in your home design and decor
How did this collection incorporate the ideas of biophilic design?
The inspiration for fall began by contrasting the natural environment where our product begins with the structure of architecture in the home, where our product ultimately resides. Biophilic design is the bridge between these two points. You see this when you look at our Manzanita Quilt—how the hand-stitching creates an irregular vine-like pattern along the quilt which contrasts the plain-weave structure of the pattern. We’ve brought something organic into this structure.
Do you try to incorporate biophilic design into your life/home?
What I love about my home is the connection to nature while being in the heart of San Francisco. Out of every window we can view trees and greenery. This home is currently undergoing a remodel to create more connection between our inside and outside spaces to create a more eco-friendly living space. While in my temporary space, I brought plants from our garden—to bring nature with us—and have updated my family’s bed linens to the new, nature-inspired colors of my favorite organic Coyuchi products, which will also work well in our remodeled home.
What are some easy ways people can begin incorporating biophilic design into their homes?
At Coyuchi everyone is given a plant for their desk on the first day of work. This fills our office with greenery. Bringing a new plant into your work environment—which is home now for so many people—is a great way to start. I also think it’s worth looking at opportunities to update from a synthetic fiber to a natural fiber. A great place to start is by replacing an old, poly-filled mattress pad with our fully organic cotton one. Or you can replace a polyester throw with one of our super-soft organic throws to infuse your living room with new, natural color.
How are the colors and textures within the Coyuchi Fall 2020 collection a dedication to biophilic design?
Each new design is meant to invoke this feeling of nature within, whether it’s a color pulled from the ocean or a weaving technique that mimics rocky coastal terrain. The colors we created are inspired directly from nature. We have a series of greys and sea-blues that are inspired by our coast which pair well together, and a warmer series of natural undyed cottons, gingers, and rust which reflect the colors of our earth.
