We don’t just long for a connection with nature during a walk in the woods or an afternoon spent in the garden. It feels good to connect with nature even when we look around our room in the morning, sit down to work, or come home in the evening. Of course, the solution is obvious: fill your home with plants. But not every space is well-lit, not everyone likes or is able to care for plants regularly, and sometimes there’s simply no room for another pot. Here are 7 creative tips if you, too, want a home that feels close to nature!
1. Choose a detail from nature
An interior with a natural theme can easily become too cluttered if you try to include everything at once: leaf-patterned wallpaper, floral pillows, wooden furniture, woven baskets, plants, and botanical prints.
Sometimes even a single small detail is enough. It could be the unique shape of a leaf, a flower whose colors you’re drawn to, or a bird you often see in the garden. When you highlight a detail like this, nature blends much more subtly into your home.
I, too, often start by observing a single plant. I’m interested in how its shape changes, what a bud looks like and what it looks like in full bloom, how a stem bends, or how the leaves are arranged next to one another.
These observations may later give rise to a painting, a decoration, or an entirely different object.
2. Create a small “window to nature” on the wall
You don’t have to remodel an entire wall to change the atmosphere of a room.
A well-placed canvas painting or print featuring plants can serve as a focal point all on its own. It works especially well in places where there are otherwise few natural elements: in a home office, next to the bed, in a narrow entryway, or even in the kitchen.
If you want to arrange several pictures side by side, it’s a good idea not to focus solely on their size. The overall effect will be much more harmonious if there is some common thread connecting them—such as a similar color palette, a botanical motif, or a season.
The prints and canvas art from “Plants Will Be Friends” are available in several sizes, so you can create either a single smaller piece or a composition arranged across a larger wall surface. The goal isn’t necessarily to make the wall look like a jungle. It’s enough if it opens a small window onto a different kind of world.
3. Flowers—not just in a vase and not just fresh
There is something particularly beautiful about cut flowers—perhaps precisely because we know they won’t stay with us for long. But there are other ways to preserve the shape of a flower.
To me, these hand-painted flower stems straddle the line between decoration and illustration. They retain the lightness of real flowers, yet they don’t need to be watered, and you don’t have to part with them after just a few days. They can be placed in a small vase on their own, alongside dried plants, or even as part of a shelf, picture frame, or wreath.
Since I paint each piece by hand, there are always slight differences between them. That’s exactly why I love them: you don’t get a perfectly repeating floral pattern, but a one-of-a-kind piece.
What’s more, a handmade floral decoration like this can even be used in rooms where a live plant wouldn’t thrive.
4. Let the animal kingdom in, too
When we talk about a home close to nature, we often automatically think only of plants. But nature isn’t limited to leaves and flowers.
Birds, for example, have long been important elements in my work. There is something light and lively about them. A tiny, hand-painted bird ornament may not necessarily become the focal point of a room, yet it can breathe life into a small detail.
It can be clipped onto a wreath, a bouquet of flowers, or a curtain; it can be placed in a small arrangement on a shelf; and during the holidays, it can even be hung on the Christmas tree.
I also love these kinds of objects because they aren’t strictly tied to any one season. In the spring, next to a flowering branch; in the fall, with fruits; and in the winter, as part of festive decorations—they can show a completely different side of themselves.
5. Use nature’s diverse colors
When it comes to nature-inspired interior design, “green” is often the first thing that comes to mind for many people. But if we look around outside, we’ll find a much richer palette.
The browns of tree bark. The beige hues of withered plants. The deep reds of berries. The pale pink of a flower. The rusty tones of autumn leaves. The grayish-blue of the sky on a rainy day.
It’s a good idea to choose from among these—you don’t necessarily have to use them all at once. For example, if the color of a plant-themed image is echoed on a pillow, a piece of pottery, or a small object, the space immediately feels more cohesive without every element having to feature the same pattern.
Even in nature, not everything is perfectly coordinated—yet it all works together. Perhaps this is one of the best sources of inspiration.
6. Combine handmade items with natural materials
A connection to nature can be expressed not only through motifs but also through materials. Wood, ceramics, linen, cotton, paper, and woven surfaces—these materials have their own textures, subtle irregularities, and characteristics that change over time. A hand-painted decoration works particularly well among them because it doesn’t clash with its surroundings due to excessive perfection.
That’s exactly what I love about handmade objects. The brushstrokes aren’t exactly the same everywhere; the process of creation is visible in the painted surface, and an original work preserves the moment of creation even more directly.
You don’t necessarily need a lot of these items in a room. Often, a single well-chosen piece adds more personality than an entire shelf full of decorations.
7. Choose a type of nature that resonates with you
This might be the most important thing. There’s no need to hang a monstera leaf on the wall just because it’s featured in every interior design inspiration post.
Maybe the poppy means something to you. Or the forest ferns. Or perhaps a bird that appears outside your window every morning. A tree that stood in your childhood garden. A flower that reminds you of someone else. The connection to nature is personal.
That’s why I also create custom artwork. If there’s a plant, motif, color scheme, or story you’d like to preserve in visual form, we can use that as a starting point to create a completely personalized piece together.
A picture like this is more than just a simple plant decoration. It’s part of your own story.
Take home a piece of what inspires you out there
Discover Plants will be friends’ botanical prints and canvas art, hand-painted flowers, bird ornaments, and original creations, and find the piece that fits naturally into your home. And if you have a plant of your own, a story, or an idea that you’d love to see reflected in a piece of art, feel free to reach out about custom graphic design.
Take a look at the artwork, and let a tiny piece of nature find a home in your own space.