I live in Palm Springs California, a beautiful town in the desert at the foot of the San Jacinto mountains. As an interior designer, living here provides daily inspiration. Everywhere I look I am in awe at the natural beauty that is around me. From the sunrises to the sunsets, the barren rocky mountains whose jagged peaks soar over the desert floor below, the intense shadows that form on the mountain slopes in late afternoon as the sun is setting, the tall slender palm trees that sway in the gentle desert breezes, the spiny cacti that scream “do not touch” but in spring and summer produce stunning blooms that are the antithesis of their thorny exterior. I could go on, but I think you get the idea…
The beauty of our natural environment is everywhere. Although I am lucky to live in an area that has extreme and dramatic natural beauty, anyone can experience the beauty around them if they take the time to look and appreciate their natural environment.
What does this have to do with design, you ask? Just about everything …
Start with color. Color is everywhere in our natural environment. Almost any color you can imagine. If I ever question a color; the hue, saturation, brightness, I ask – do I see it in nature? If the answer is yes, then it helps inform me. It may not be the only factor that determines whether this color is right for whatever I am considering it for as there are many other factors to consider, but it’s one thing to check off the list.
I also look at how different colors are used together in nature. If color combinations are seen together in nature, then you can feel confident that they will work together in a designed environment.
One obvious and literal example of
nature used as inspiration for a design element is with wallpaper. The ombré of a sunset translates as a beautiful statement used as wallpaper on a wall. I immediately get a feeling of serenity looking at this dining room wall. It creates a peaceful and relaxed feeling. I take a deep cleansing breath just looking at the photo. Imagine if I was in the space! I would love to be invited to a dinner party and enjoy good food and conversation with friends surrounded by these beautiful walls. This wallpaper is called Mirage by Phillip Jeffries and is available in many different colorways.
Succulents wallpaper by Fliepaper is a literal use of a variegated succulent plant however when these plants are arranged like they are in this wallpaper; overlapping each other and in a variety of sizes, the effect is abstract. It is a very artistic and creative use of a simple natural element, a succulent plant, transforming what could be an ordinary wall into a playful collage of color and texture.
Here is a very literal interpretation of nature…
A fallen log in the forest becomes inspiration for a literal translation into a sculptural bench.
A sculptural seat that recreates, thanks to the meticulous workmanship of fiberglass, the bold and powerful character of nature, giving it an unexpected lightness. A piece of furniture, but also an installation, which transforms the space, in or outdoor, into a thinned forest, where time has stopped, and every object is a wonder.
A sculptural bench that steals from nature the strength of its form while giving it the gift of lightness of its material. The trunk of a slender tree, light but solid, on which to sit or gaze into infinity. By ImperfettoLab.
When we use nature to inform aspects of our designs we do not have to be as literal as some of the above design illustrate. When we design kitchens for our clients at PS212 HOME in Palm Springs, California, we mix natural materials with other materials creating a variety of textures and colors. In a very subtle way, we may even do it unconsciously, our designs mimic our natural environment by mixing colors and textures and thinking about how we treat horizontal surfaces as opposed to vertical surfaces.
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