(Photo: Bruce Buck for The New York Times)
The 2007 Better Homes and Gardens Media report that 'Holistic Design' is becoming a trend in consumer choices. "The trend is toward a mix of natural materials—and materials that mimic nature. We see the trend in all design styles. The green movement is certainly fuelling this trend as well, even if subconsciously. Some spaces are built with renewable or local sources. Even these natural materials aren’t specifically “green,” the trend to green is increasing the consciousness of natural color palettes, natural looks, and natural materials."
The report continues on to highlight the trend to eliminate the boundary between home and the outdoors. "We push so much nature away in our workday buildings, but at home we can blur the boundaries. We can bring nature into the home, feel like we’re more connected to it. With our increased consciousness that true nature is vanishing, we can have little pieces of nature in our homes—these are ways of being with it, preserving it. "
Techniques for blurring the boundary between indoor and outdoors are many. Use outdoor entertaining space as an extension of the home. Use flooring as a surface to move from indoors to outdooors to help make this transition seamless. Tile or stained cement work well indoors and in covered outdoor areas as well.
A recent New York Times House and Home profile shows how Michael Trapp brought nature inside his home in the Berkshires. He places 8 bare birch trees at the perimeter of the living space, and blurs the transition to outdoors with a floor to ceiling windows. (Ranch House Spectacular - Jane Garmey, New York Times)
