The glorious days of summer are coming to an end in the northern hemisphere and the cold wind of autumn is creeping in as the days are slowly getting shorter.
Photo by form PxHere
The time spent outside will inexorably decrease and for many of us that can be an effect on our mood. After two long winters spent locked in our homes in a series of lockdowns, the idea of heading back inside can feel a bit gloomy. It doesn’t need to be though; we can take steps to make sure that our home can be turned into a natural haven of serenity.
Using the time before it gets too cold and it gets difficult to keep the windows open to air the room, this is a great moment to get started on a small redecoration project and install beautiful nature patterns on your walls. A botanical wallpaper can do wonders for the mood, transporting you in a wood or summer field full of flowers. Combined with some actual plants and some warm, indirect light, it’s your best bet to fight the winter blues short of flying away to a tropical location.
A designer, botanical wallpaper allows to completely change the vibe of a space at a fraction of the cost of a full furniture renovation. In this economic climate this can only be a good thing. After years of neglect, wallpapers have seen a resurgence in this last decade as a furnishing tool that is back in vogue for its practicality, its ability to completely change the atmosphere of an environment at a very low cost.
TRENDY BOTANICAL STYLES
Just take a look at some trendy boutiques or browse some interior design magazines and you will soon notice how trendy and fashionable is the botanical style. This is mainly due to its versatility and the final effect it is able to create. The term ‘botanical’ obviously refers to the word ‘botany’, the scientific term for the study of plants. The world of botany also offers an interesting choice in terms of wallpaper design, with flowers, grasses, branches, vines and leaves creating patterns that are frequently found in high-quality wallpapers based on this theme.
Botanical design refers to the use of plants and plant elements in interiors. As we mentioned wonderful botanical wallpapers, plant fabrics, green walls and accessories and exposed raw wood are just some of the elements that are part of this popular trend. But where do they come from and how did they become so popular?
Although we are talking about a very current trend, its history is lost in the mists of time, as the quest to recreate the natural world in interiors has been visited many times in architecture and interiors over the centuries.
THE ORIGINS OF A TREND
Our fascination with plants and flowers is not recent, and we can find testament of it back in ancient Egypt, their decorative style revealing that they too placed great value on everything to do with nature. Courtyards full of greenery or indoor gardens formed the core of wealthy families. Thousands of years later, the papyrus plant, the lotus flower and palm leaves are still popular designs in interior decoration.
Back in Europe gothic architecture placed great emphasis on the use of flowers and plants in decoration. Just think of the rose window, the central point of the Gothic church, which is one of the most memorable floral features in architecture. The decorative explosion brought by the Renaissance, with its creativity and new way of looking at society, provided magnificent frescoes that began by depicting plants and nature in a detail hitherto unknown.
The opulence of the Baroque and Rococo periods, on the other hand, led to finely decorated and detailed dwellings with floral themes and figures in the foreground in furniture and decorative design.
This brief historical excursus serves to demonstrate the perhaps obvious fact, that nature and plants are of great importance to our wellbeing and a visual cue able to trigger associations with our other senses, be a specific scent like a rose or an aromatic herb such as rosemary or mint. The botanical trend appeals to all our senses and blends them together in a wonderful way.