Keeping it natural brings benefits

Walking is the nation’s most popular leisure activity and more of us are buying hiking boots and waterproofs so we can immerse ourselves in the great outdoors.

There’s something about having your feet in a field and your eyes fixed on a great landscape that makes you feel relaxed and at one with the world. It’s the ultimate inexpensive getaway and a great pick me up.

Designers have picked up on this love of nature and it features heavily in many collections.

Abby Parker, of Carolyn Parker Interiors, has this theory: “Perhaps we love furnishings inspired by the great outdoors because we live such busy lives and we crave the fresh air and freedom that can be missing among the chaos of day-to-day living. In the long winter months, we want to be surrounded by things that remind us of the warmer seasons.

“I am a huge fan of putting nature-theme wallpapers in cloakrooms for a lighter feel and I particularly love bumblebee papers. Farrow and Ball have a great one. It’s a creature that symbolises honesty and pure thinking.

“We have many clients who love these fabrics and papers – the bees, butterflies and even fish but for some reason, not birds. Maybe this is because in some cultures the bird is a symbol of the transition from life to death. Either way, the comment we get is birds are creepy.”

Even though they may bring back memories of Alfred Hitchcock’s classic film, birds are everywhere from cushions to wallpaper and plates. Inspirational American store Anthropologie, which now has branches in London and sells online in the UK, has a veritable aviary in its homeware department, where you’ll see birds on everything from plates and rugs to doorstops.

Butterflies too are prominent and their numbers have definitely proliferated over the past couple of years. Laura Ashley has a pretty Flutterby range this season, including bed linen.

Radiance Lighting in Hebden Bridge has a wonderful selection of shades featuring everything from butterflies and flowers to birds and hares and all are on lampshades by individual designer makers.

For those who like more graphic styles, check out Clarissa Hulse www.clarissa hulse.com. She has a sale on cushions, now £29 down from £49 and lampshades £39 down from £69.

For frameable prints see St Jude’s in Norfolk www.stjudesprints.co.uk. The site includes work by Angie Lewin, whose work is inspired by plant forms set against the sea and sky.

York-based illustrator and artist Mark Hearld, who takes much of his inspiration from flora and fauna, also features. Mark’s lithographs are also for sale through the Godfrey and Watt gallery in Harrogate.

FILL YOUR HOME WITH PLANTS

If you can’t run to complete redecoration to bring the outdoors inside, then Abby Parker advises filling your home with fresh flowers and plants.

She says: “I love nothing more than seeing fresh flowers around my home. They fill the rooms with the sweet scent of the outdoors.”

Houseplants can also have a beneficial effect on your environment. They also remove carbon dioxide from the air indoors and release oxygen. Research reveals that they make us feel happier and calmer.

Peace Lilies and spider plants are especially effective for cleaning polluted air.