People invest in a cabin for many reasons. However, one of the most significant is the location. Cabins are often placed perfectly in the middle of nature, immersed in forests, along beaches, on mountains, next to rivers and in other places with beautiful scenery.
The experience can be so stunning that you never want to go inside. Fortunately, you can incorporate nature into your cabin home to keep the experience going.
Creating a seamless connection between your cabin and the natural surroundings outdoors doesn’t have to be complex. Bring nature into your cabin with these practical tips.
Use Sustainable Materials
Bringing nature inside can start with the construction of your cabin. If you’re building a new cabin retreat, committing to making a green building is a great way to incorporate nature into your cabin while saving the planet and saving money. Some of the components of green architecture include:
- Incorporating alternative energy sources into your cabin’s design
- Using sustainable construction and building materials, such as bamboo flooring or eco-conscious paint
- Optimizing your design to suit your cabin’s location
If you are in the process of restoring your cabin, start by determining details of the projects you want to complete to incorporate more nature into your home’s design. After that, make a list of the materials you need for each project. Find sustainable options for each thing you need. Then, you can proceed with your projects one by one.
If building or renovating your cabin from the ground up is too large of a project to tackle, consider incorporating sustainable construction when doing smaller interior renovations to your home. For instance, if you want to build a new dining room table, you could choose to use recycled wood. Or, if you want to repaint your walls with nature-inspired colors, you could use paint free of volatile organic compounds (VOCs), odors and other toxins.
Incorporate Nature-Related Design Elements
Bringing the outdoors into your home goes well beyond the materials you use to bring your cabin vision to life. There are various nature-related design elements you can try inside your cabin that make it feel like the experience you have when immersed in nature outside.
Large Windows
One of the best things about having a cabin out in nature is how bright and beautiful it is when you go outside. Even when it’s cloudy, raining or snowing, the amount of light you get in a natural environment is unmatched.
You can bring this lighting indoors with large windows. Open your curtains or blinds, and your cabin is flooded with natural light.
Incorporating large windows in your cabin’s layout will require construction. So, hiring a professional who specializes in putting in windows is the best option to ensure your windows are installed correctly and safely.
Make a blueprint that shows where you want your large windows to go and how you want them installed so the crew you’re working with will have a clear direction.
Indoor Plants
This is an obvious choice for bringing nature into your cabin home. Incorporating more indoor plants into your home will set the natural tone you’re looking for indoors. It won’t feel like you’ve come in from outside when your space is full of plants and flowers.
Which and how many indoor plants you incorporate depends on your skill level when it comes to caring for plants. If you’re just starting your journey with indoor plants, it’s best to incorporate only a few and those that are easy to care for, like snake plants, spider plants and peace lilies.
If you’ve been taking care of indoor plants for a while now, try some that are more challenging to grow and maintain, such as an elephant’s ear, a fiddle-leaf fig tree or a moth orchid.
A Nature-Inspired Color Palette
The color palette you use throughout your cabin can also bring nature inside. Think about the colors that nature and the outdoors are comprised of. Greens, blues, yellows, oranges, and neutrals like tan and brown start the list.
You can look online for a nature-inspired color palette to use or develop a color palette unique to your taste. Then, use your selected colors to paint the walls or in the accessories you use throughout your cabin, like your pictures, throw pillows, blankets, lamps and furniture.
Don’t Forget About Your Backyard
You want to focus on the inside of your cabin primarily when incorporating more nature. However, your backyard is still a part of your cabin and should be a part of your efforts to bring more nature into your home.
Start with a designated seating area. Purchase comfortable patio furniture so that you and your guests can thoroughly enjoy the outdoors without straying from your cabin. An umbrella to shade you from the sun, a fountain, string lights and pristine landscaping will help set the mood too.
In addition, it’s important to have something that protects you from bugs when you’re enjoying your outdoor space. Learn which pests are active during each season in the area your cabin is located. Stock your space with insect repellent and have blankets and other gear available to fend off insects.
Also, if your cabin sits on a lot of land, creating a walking path might be a good idea. Walking daily can boost your health by reducing eye strain, improving your cardiovascular health and lowering your risk of obesity. Having a defined walking path that takes you through nature will help inspire you to get out there.
Don’t discount your outdoor space’s way of enhancing the sense of being immersed in nature.
