How to bring nature into your home

We are aware that the current situation, due to the coronavirus outbreak, is bringing a lot of stress and anxiety, and has a huge impact especially on people living in the city, people that do not have the privilege of having a garden or a balcony and on people that do not have easy access to parks or green areas. Being stuck inside with little or no contact with nature can have a huge toll on our spirit and overall well-being.

As nature is one of the best resources we have to reduce stress, boost our morale and improve our overall well-being, we’ve gathered some tips on how you can bring nature to you if you’re currently not able to access it outdoor.

Look at nature

As we all know that looking at nature is calming, the goal here is to incorporate as many natural elements as you can into your home, so wherever you look you’re constantly reminded of it.
The first thing that you can do is to exploit windows and natural light as much as possible. Open the curtains, let all that natural light in and whenever possible try to pick a spot near a window.
If you don’t have a beautiful view to gaze at, you can hang some photographs of nature onto your walls, put the pictures you took on your last adventures on display or consider painting your walls of a natural color such as a calming green or blue. Also having an inspiring book of lovely nature photographs within easy reach that you can simply flick through is a great way to boost your morale whenever you need it.
Lastly, since nowadays we’re probably more than ever constantly looking at our devices, change your desktop and phone background to an inspiring natural scene so it will put you into a good mood whenever you look at it.

Get some plants

There is no better way of bringing nature inside than to surround yourself with real plants. Plants literally bring a piece of nature inside, they are aesthetically pleasing and they give a nice green touch to your interior. Even simply taking care of them has its benefits. Caring for a living thing gives us purpose and is rewarding, and this can be very helpful to fight loneliness and depression.
Moreover, plants release oxygen and absorb carbon dioxide, which will freshen up the air and eliminate harmful toxins.
Instead of plants or flowers, you can also start a herb garden. Herbs will not only help you add a nice little touch in your dishes, their scent will also have a pleasant and calming effect on your morale. You can read more about how the scent of herbs can have a very positive effect on our wellbeing here.

Surround yourself with natural scents

Having real plants and herbs on your balcony or inside your home is a great way to bring some natural scents into your days. If plants are not available to you, you can use some organic candles or essential oils. Scents such as pine, peppermint, lavender, jasmine and citrus will be a great help to uplift morale and spirit, and they will help you feel refreshed and ease the stress of staying inside.

Listen to the sound of nature

One part of being outside is hearing what mother nature has to offer, such as the howling wind, the rustling leaves, the chirping birds or a babbling brook. It’s not a secret that natural sounds are soothing and calming. Stream some natural sounds into your home and it will immediately reconnect you with nature and make you feel immersed into a natural environment. You can simply open the windows and listen to the sound of the chirping birds or use Noisli to recreate all your favorite natural spots, be it the tropical forest, the calming waves of the ocean or the cozy summernights in front of a bonfire.

We’ve put together some special sound combinations for you:
Listen to Tropical forest
Listen to Hot Summer Night
Listen to Camping trip

Watch animals in livestream

Why not follow some animals going about their business from the coziness of your kitchen or living room? You can tune in and follow, among many others, wolves, penguins, elephants, bears, pandas and even jellyfishes. Here we’ve put together a nice list of live webcams from zoos (the Smithsonian’s National Zoo, the Houston Zoo Webcams, San Diego Zoo, Zoos Victoria, the Memphis Zoo), aquariums (Vancouver Aquarium, National Aquarium, Monterey Bay Aquarium, Georgia Aquarium), the Wolf Conservation Center and some more here.

Help and connect with animals

If watching animals on livestream is not enough for you, you can build a small bird feeder, fill it with some bird food and place it on your balcony or on the windowsill. You will be helpful to them and at the same and you will get to enjoy the joyful visit and singing of birds all day long.

Gaze at the night sky

There is a special and magical way to bring nature to you also at night: gazing at the stars and the moon. Switch off all the lights and look at the nightsky from your window, joining in on an almost forgotten pleasure. Gazing at the stars is a natural delight which can give us a sense of awe and wonder, and remind us that we’re part of a bigger world and universe.

We hope that these tips can be helpful and inspiring to you and we would love to know what your favorite ways are to bring nature into your home. Tweet us @Noisli using the hashtag #NatureAtHome