1. Biophilia isn’t just plants

Biophilia can be defined as human being’s innate love of other living organisms. The broadness of the term organisms may surprise you! Water has organisms, rocks have organisms, wood has organisms. 

2. There’s often more than one sensory benefit of Biophilic design components

You can use a fake plant, sure, and you’d get the stress reducing benefit provided by the visual of the plant. But if you have a real plant, you’ll get the other sensory benefits as well. The clay of the pot, the soil, and the humidity created all conspire to give your body biophilic benefits. You can use a photo of a view but also consider a mirror to the actual view or creating your floorplan around a window.

3. Biophilic designs connect you to nature in the built environment

 Access to nature, air flow, long views, the full spectrum of lighting, a mix of natural elements in your materiality all mingle to create a beneficial biophilic experience in a home. 

4. Biophilia certainly isn’t new

Humans have always lived by the principles.  Look at the earliest known house, the Knap of Howar, the work of Gaudi, Frank Lloyd Wright and Frank Gehry’s architecture. The term “Biophilia” was coined back in the 1960s by Erich Fromm and popularized in the book Biophilia by EO Wilson in 1986. 

5. Biophilia can save the world

If we remember and celebrate our love of all living things; conservation, preservation and restoration will prevail in all we do as humans. Interior designers play a role in helping their clients receive the benefits, and remembering the critical role nature plays in our enjoyment of life!

_{A beautiful antique oak table, vintage chairs, wrought iron, a magnificent orchid and a huge photo of the surrounding topography combine to create this biophilic dining room in the mountains of Malibu, near Calabasas. Art by Teddy Thoren. Photo by Mike P Kelley}