Adventuring in the great outdoors is definitely a must-do. You can learn about new cultures and traditions that inspire you to see life from another perspective. Aside from encountering different people and ways of living, you also get to enjoy a world full of singing birds, fresh air, and natural light.
You might love spending time in the mountains. Or you could prefer beaches and water sports. Regardless of how you want to enjoy your outdoor adventure, you can get the same life-enriching benefits for your mental and physical strength. Sadly, your nature adventures can be few and far between with how hectic modern life is.
Bring Nature to Your Home
In his book, Last Child in the Woods, Richard Louv emphasized that people tend to have a nature-deficit disorder when they lose their connection to nature. This seems inevitable for most people who are stuck in the city. Not everybody can spend months backpacking across countries or afford to live in a beach house.
If you can’t go on outdoor adventures as much as you would like to, why not bring nature to your home instead? By building a home that integrates your lifestyle, you can create an environment you actually want to be in. It will improve your overall mood and make you more relaxed. Doesn’t this sound a lot better than living in a house you want to escape from all the time?
Home Improvement Ideas
Here are some enhancements and designs you can try to help align your home with your nature-loving personality.
Extend Your Living Room
Smaller rooms can make you feel cooped up. A great way to create larger spaces is removing a wall in your living room and replacing it with a glazed, bi-fold, sliding, or French door. This will let more natural light in, making your home more vibrant. You also enjoy a maximum connection to your outdoor spaces by opening up a portion of your house to your garden.
On the other side, you can install a roofed patio to extend your living room, which might require hiring home extension builders. More couches, chairs, and tables in this area will give you a spot to enjoy the outside in comfort. You also get a wider space where you can entertain your guests.
Install a Pergola
You can accentuate your garden and extend your home with a pergola. This structure adds a little more drama than an open garden. It can be built using vinyl and aluminum, but you might prefer materials with a more natural look like wood.
With the added shade, you get another brilliant spot to relax with your loved ones. Consider adding a seating area for comfort and a walkway for accessibility. For a greener vibe, you can also include planter boxes or crawling plants. Add a hammock or a swing, and you can pretend you’re vacationing in Bali!
Build a Swimming Pool
With a pool, you can enjoy a dip in the water without going to the beach. Rectangular pools with white tiles appear unnatural, so you might consider a hybrid pool instead. These make use of pool cleaners, main drains, and other technology in conventional pools. What sets them apart is how much more natural they look in design, with beach entries, perimeter boulders, water plants, and the shape itself.
Get More Plants
There is no need to limit greenery to your garden. Try investing in indoor plants. Some choice plants that require little water or sunlight can be an impressive addition inside your home, whether it’s by your bed or in the bathroom. You can also create your own little herb garden beside your kitchen window!
For the outdoors, greens are often way too high or too low. Level plants with your eyesight so you can see them right away. The best options would be tall planters or raised plant beds.
Living in a busy city, working on deadlines, and reading negative news everywhere can stress you. Sometimes you need a little break. A home that evokes outdoor living can be the perfect escape so that you don’t have to travel far to relax. When you incorporate nature into your home, you can decrease your cortisol levels and improve your mood. Doing so can also boost your body’s ability to heal by reducing depression, improving surgery recovery, and more.
Amidst all the challenges in life, your home should be a place of positivity. You can turn it into a safe and comfortable space with the ideas we have shared. Surely, the nature lover in you will appreciate it.
