By ‘Green Design’ we mean not only eco-sustainable design that has little impact on nature and energy resources, but also design that, precisely because it is respectful of nature, seeks a greater interconnection with it in daily life, designing environments that relate more to the exterior by making it, in a way, ‘enter the house’.

Feeling connected to our surroundings is certainly gratifying, makes us live better and is an added value for our home.
In the private villa this is certainly easier, since this type of property usually has a garden or even a small courtyard surrounding the property. In the condominium in the city we may have a beautiful garden to improve, or we may overlook a tree-lined avenue or a public park, all certainly advantageous situations.
But don’t worry; with a bit of imagination and some good advice, even where there is no public parks and gardens around, we can still bring some elements of breathing nature in our homes.

So let us see how we can enhance the link with nature in our homes and connect the inside with the outside.

1. Lets improve the view outside the windows by eliminating the visual filter between inside and outside.
   The greatest interconnection between the inside and the outside of our homes starts with enhancing views and panoramas in places where nature is especially present. We can achieve this by using curtains made of light, semi-transparent fabrics, allowing the “filter” between inside and outside to be reduced; we can also consider not using curtains or keeping them open at the sides of the windows during the day; as an alternative to “vertical” curtains we may choose convenient horizontal, roller or Venetian blinds, which will only be lowered in the evening to guarantee the necessary privacy but during the day will let light and the green in.
   Another possibility if we have a terrace or balcony, even a small one, is to set it up in such a way as to build our own little natural oasis: let’s get advice from the nurseryman, plants that are robust and easy to care for, perfect even for those with limited time. Opening our eyes in the city on a beautiful flowering balcony, will give us a better start to a new day.

2). Choose natural materials and finishes for the home, not only for furniture but also for walls.
To bring sunshine into the home let us choose natural finishes and light untreated woods, which especially in small rooms will enhance the brightness making them appear larger and inviting. Viero Decoratives comes to our aid in bringing nature into the home: several of the effects proposed have the charm of the rough surfaces of stone and marble or reproduce the brilliance of metals and oxides (such as in the Terre Etrusche collection, the VOLSINI effect or PUPLUNA), or the coarse personality of tree bark (such as the CRAQUELE’ effect).

3) Recalling the materials from outside, to the inside of the house.
If the eye sees similar materials inside and outside the windows or French windows, it will perceive a greater uniformity which will have the effect of extending the interior of the room towards the outside, and vice versa of letting what is outside “enter inside”, in short of encouraging that interchange we are looking for. An example of this is when on the terrace the wooden floorboard recalls the wood of the interior floors, or when there is continuity of cladding (e.g. stone or brick) on the interior wall and on the exterior wall which has continuity. This is certainly easier to do in a detached property that does not have the external constraints of a block of flats; but in the latter case instead of materials we can use colours, just use decorative details such as outdoor chairs and table that recall the colours we also have inside, and that’s it!

4) How to bring the colours of nature into a home.
This expedient, together with the previous ones, is very effective in creating a link between the interior and the exterior: the human eye in fact links together elements of the same colour or family of colours, as for example a blue-grey wall recalls an autumnal sky, or a turquoise wall the sensation of crystal-clear water on a tropical island, or again the forest green recalls the foliage of the nearby park, or again the reddish and rusty tones in the farmhouse recall the colours of autumnal “foliage”. Warm colours such as “terra di Siena” or wheat yellow will finally please those who like the drier tones of, for example, the summer countryside or a sunny beach. As you can see, nature is by no means limited but can inspire us with all possible colours!

Some examples in Viero Decoratives:

An interesting choice of greens and blues is provided to us by Viero decoratives with the colour palette of the GHIBLI finish
An excellent choice of neutrals with bright metallic highlights is provided by VIERO Decoratives in the ERAMETAL finish

5) Make use of decoration appropriately  
Let’s place indoor plants near the windows and it will seem as if nature outside is reaching into the house;
Now that home automation is within everyone’s reach, let’s use piped music to reproduce natural sounds such as the sounds of the forest or the roar of a stream; as well as covering the noise of the city, these sounds are particularly suited to encourage relaxation or concentration, or ideal to listen to, during a good hot bath or an invigorating shower.
Finally, let’s not forget the evocative power of paintings and photographs; depictions of nature will complete the decoration of our walls by echoing its colours and help us recreate the atmosphere in any type of home. Size matters, the larger a painting or photo is, the more it will look like a real window to the outdoors.

Now is the time to put Viero Decoratives’ advice into practice; bring a taste of nature into your home!