If you enjoy taking a hike in the woods, lingering in your garden, or relaxing by the lake, you may be doing more for yourself than you realize. Research continues to back up Harvard biologist E. O. Wilsonโs theory of biophilia, which inextricably links human happiness with nature. Ponder this: Have you ever paid more to spend a night in a hotel room with a view of the ocean or mountains? Sent flowers to a sick friend in the hospital? Felt gloomy being cooped up in the midst of winter? Studies suggest that exposure to natural elements like wood, water, and plants can lift your mood, reduce stress, and make you more productive. With colder, shorter days approaching, consider the addition of these natural elementsโwhether a complete room revamping or a couple of small touches to perk up your spirit and the ambiance of your home.
Wood you like to feel better?
Different kinds of flooring, sculpture, and even lighting accents made of wood can bring an earthy feel to any room. Dominic Carota, president of Blair House Interiors of Latham, says that growing concern for the environment coupled with an increased desire for natural looks has put some interesting options for flooring in the limelight.
โWhat weโve been finding with our clients is that theyโve determined for us what the mission is for their homeโoften they want to make environmentally responsible choices, and our job is to do that,โ Carota says. For clients that request hardwood floors, Blair House Interiors has been working with Carlisle Wide Plank Floors, which uses reclaimed wood from old barns and other structures. The allure of this option is not only the environmental benefit of recycling wood, but the opportunity to admire the historical character of rare and even extinct woodโlike the antique chestnut boards that the company recovers from barns, farmhouses, and other old buildings.
Carota says another trend in natural flooring is cork, which is made from the bark of the cork oak. The tree is able to survive and regenerate new growth, making it an optimal choice when considering sustainability. Cork tiles come in a variety of looks, resist pressure and moisture, are softer and warmer underfoot than most other flooring, and have excellent acoustic properties that absorb vibration.
Both Carota and Barbara DeStefano, an interior designer and certified Feng Shui consultant in Port Ewen, say that they have become fans of bamboo flooring for its sustainability and visual appeal. โI love the look of bamboo floors,โ DeStefano says. โAnd I love using them because theyโre a very sustainable element. There are many different varieties and theyโre absolutely beautiful.โ Like cork, bamboo can be harvested without killing the root, allowing additional growth.
If youโre not planning a major renovation, think about integrating wood objects on a smaller scale. Raj Singh, owner of Antara Home in Albany, has added an assortment of dried natural elements to his lineup of home goods. The line will include bamboo and manzanita, which has thick, twisty branches, as well as dried eucalyptus and willow. Singh says these items, which range in height from two to six feet and are called โbranch candelabras,โ make dramatic centerpieces or hall decorations that help soften the feel of a room. โThey really blur the line between sculpture and plant and theyโre very well suited for a contemporary environment,โ Singh explains, adding that they would flatter any home that blends Old World craftsmanship and contemporary design.
Other wood objects that can add a soft touch are light fixtures, furniture, and even a wood-related textile. Carota says that Blair House has sourced wooden sconces and chandeliers that are painted to appear weathered and antiqued. DeStefano helped design an office in which she placed a desk created from a planed and honed tree trunk that came from Fabulous Furniture in Boiceville, which creates specialized pieces of furniture that retain the natural lines and imperfections of the hardwoods the shop works with. Carota says natural textiles are becoming popularโtensile, a material made of cellulose and a byproduct of wood processing, is gaining momentum along with hemp, flax, linen, and organic cottons. Carota has been using some of these fabrics to cover walls instead of painting them. โIt gives a very nice acoustic element and it also is great aesthetically,โ he says.
Room with a view
When DeStefano is working with a client, she says there are three things she considers. One: What are the attributes of the structure? Two: What are the qualities of her client? And three: What surrounds the space?
The answer to the third question can provide the simplest and most riveting solution to bringing the outdoors in: Make your backyard environment part of your indoorโs allure. DeStefano, who lives in a townhouse with a view of the Rondout River, brought her view of the water inside by lining a dividing wall with a mirror to reflect it. โItโs kind of a fool-your-eye, you have the surrounding view and the space appears larger, too,โ she says. โIt makes the space feel substantially larger than it is.โ DeStefano frequently implements this idea with clients. One house she worked in was situated in a secluded section of woods, and windows in an area of the living space were left uncovered, inviting nature in. DeStefano has also transformed an outdoor spaceโshe worked to create a walking garden with plants and rock ledges that provided not only a pleasant respite outside, but was situated right in front of windows so that it could be enjoyed from inside as well.
โFrequently, apartment dwellers have real limitations with their views,โ DeStefano says, but there are ways to bring in natural elements to help balance the energy of the room and make it more appealing. She once worked with a resident of a Manhattan apartment building who had only one windowโa view of a brick wall barely two feet outside. DeStefano installed five glass shelves into the window and formed โa full circle of creative cycleโ with different elementsโthe first shelf housed a fountain; the second, a plant; the third, red candles; the fourth, some rock crystals; and the fifth, a metal sculpture. These things were placed in a cycle of the elements according to Feng Shui (water, wood, fire, earth, metal; repeat) but also allowed the resident access to the light of the window without the oppressive view.
Rock the house
โWeโve done interior walls with stone, and although itโs been done for years, it creates a wonderful aesthetic,โ Carota says. In one project, Blair House combined the elements of rock and water to create a natural-looking indoor waterfall that covered a section of the wall from the floor to the ceiling, eight feet tall and ten feet wide. โRunning water creates a really wonderful feel, especially if itโs in a natural setting. Weโre seeing a lot of this in day spas because itโs very relaxing, and people are not just employing this in a commercial setting but also in their homes,โ Carota says. The waterfall that Blair House created was made with dry-laid river rock using a minimal amount of mortar. Copper piping providing a filtration system and water ran down the rock wall into a basin before being recycled through again. โWe were able to really bring a nice element of the outdoors in,โ he says.
Rock and water also play integral roles in feng shui. DeStefano uses a bagua, a template in feng shui that is used to map areas of a location that correspond to specific aspects of a personโs life. For spaces relating to relationships and career, DeStefano recommends incorporating aspects of earth and water elements. โFor example, relationships are very much connected with the earth element, and in those areas of the home related to relationships I would be inclined to use something of the earth element like stone,โ DeStefano explains. โAnything of the earth, marble, sculptures made of that. Another area of the bagua relates to the career and is symbolic of our journey and our path, our flow in life, and the element is water.โ For some clients, DeStefano has set up fountains and even created custom designed saltwater aquariums.
Planting the seed
โWhen there are no plants or living things in a room, thereโs a coldness,โ says Chris Grigas of My Favorite Things, a full-service florist in Albany. โIt feels unnatural to me, so I always try to incorporate some plants or flowers into a room. Anytime I do an arrangement and put plants or flowers into a room, it changes the atmosphere.โ
To enjoy the benefits of indoor plants, Grigas recommends asking a professional for advice in selecting unique, low-maintenance varieties for your home. Grigas suggests looking for indoor types of ferns, like the Boston fern. โFerns are great because they are really pretty, they last all year long, and you can cut them back and theyโll regrow,โ Grigas says. Heโs also a fan of the African mask, an easy-to-care-for plant that is more distinctive. โWhen you look at the face of the leaf it actually looks like a mask, itโs very dramatic,โ Grigas explains, describing the plant as two feet tall with long stems that bear 20 to 40 elongated,
black-and-green-veined leaves.
If you are a โblack thumb,โ you can still enjoy the presence of plants in your home. My Favorite Things, like many florists, offers a delivery service that will bring unique arrangements of fresh flowers to your home on a weekly or monthly basis. Grigas will create and deliver arrangements using unique elementsโincorporating things like moss-covered branches or pitcher plants (carnivorous white plants with deep, burgundy veins). โIโll take curly willow and wind it into a ball and put it in the vase, and then do the arrangement so the stems are going through it,โ Grigas says. โIt gives you the feeling of a plant with the flowers above and the ball of curly willow in the vase that almost looks like roots. The arrangement actually looks like a plant growing in the vase.โ
Grigas uses lots of natural materials in his out-of-the-box approach to floral designโinstead of ho-hum wicker baskets he uses ones that are made of branches or birch twigs and offers pieces of naturally shaped granite with cut bottoms and a small drilled hole perfect for displaying a single flower.
DeStefano feels that bringing living elements into a room has multiple benefits. โPlants are incredible from a design perspective,โ she says. โThey bring in color and balance the negative aspects of a space.โ She loves indoor plants like the dracaena marginata, a potted plant with three or more stalks and palmlike fronds, and also recommends lush, green varieties of philodendron.
Bringing it home
โWhat is outside always affects what I do on the inside,โ DeStefano explains. She uses โthree Isโ when designing a roomโintuition, inspiration, and intention. If youโre not going to seek the help of a professional designer, look inside yourself to discover whatโs missing in the feel of your home. Then look out the window.
This article appears in October 2007.
