How to craft a biophilic holiday home

Demand for wellness tourism has exploded in recent years. The World Travel & Tourism Councils predicts it will become a $1.6 trillion industry by 2030 as travellers place more focus on holiday escapes that support their wellbeing. This boom in wellness tourism -where travellers seek self-care, stress relief, and a deeper connection to nature - is particularly important for tourism in the Lake District because it aligns perfectly with the region’s natural assets and visitor appeal.

With an increased focus from visitors seeking mental and physical well-being, The Lake District is uniquely positioned to meet this demand through its combination of natural beauty and outdoor adventures. The growth in holistic therapies such as yoga and meditation retreats, forest bathing, and rejuvenating spa experiences across Cumbria now offers travellers even more options to recharge in nature.

The good news for those wanting to target wellness tourists, is they travel year-round, particularly in autumn and winter, when quieter surroundings enhance the appeal of solitude and relaxation. Wellness travellers seek eco-friendly, slow travel experiences that minimise their environmental impact and respect the natural landscape, aligning with conservation efforts in the Lake District National Park.

The Importance of Biophilic Design

The increasing demand for self-care, stress relief, and nature-focused experiences are directly shaping the design and amenities of hotels, B&Bs, and holiday homes across the globe.

Wellness travellers actively seek spaces that promote all aspects of well-being, giving properties designed with biophilic principles a strong marketing advantage. Design in alignment with nature can not only help maximise occupancy rates across the year by attracting this audience but also create memorable guest experiences that fosters loyalty and those all-important five-star reviews.

Implementing Biophilic Design

Including biophilic design can enrich spaces in all holiday property sectors. This design ethos has been adopted by many large hotel groups who understand just how much it can enhance the guest experience. But you don’t need to be a large hotel chain to embrace more nature into your guest spaces. Here are eight ways to kick start a biophilic upgrade of any property:

Maximise Natural Light

Natural light is a key element of biophilic design because it enhances well-being, connects indoor spaces to the natural world, and improves overall quality of life. Exposure to natural light increases serotonin, reduces cortisol levels, helping to improve mood, reduce stress, and promote overall mental well-being. Natural light regulates our body’s internal clock, promoting healthier sleep patterns and improves productivity during the day.

During the building or renovation process, take advantage of the opportunity to install the largest windows possible, whether through expansive window openings, glazed walls, folding doors, or skylights. Skylights, in particular, can be transformative, bringing natural light into small or unconventional spaces.

A skylight in a Shepherd Hut at Another Place The Lake, designed by Matt Hulme from Dynargh Design, transforms the guest experience in this bijou space. From the comfort of the cosy bed, guests are directly connected to nature and natural systems beyond the walls of the hut. Perfectly positioned, this skylight allows for star gazing, watching fluffy clouds roll or listening to the soothing sounds of rain.

Any opportunities to add window seats is also a biophilic bonus. Window seats offer spaces of refuge where guests can enjoy a connection to the outside while bathed in natural light, whatever the weather. And when this isn’t an option, the simplest trick to maximise natural light is to reposition furniture facing into a window to create a seating nook with a view. I can’t tell you how many guest bedrooms I have stayed in where the seats face in for a view of the bed!

When undertaking decorative upgrades of guest rooms, another trick is installing a wider curtain pole which gives the option to pull back the curtain fabric fully and reveal the whole window aperture. Whilst they add warmth and texture, heavy and full curtains can block a lot of natural daylight, especially in smaller rooms. Roman Blinds can offer a great solution for smaller spaces and installing them above the window frame helps keep as much of the window visible as possible, allowing for the maximum amount of light to enter.

Spaces For Quiet Moments

When designing communal spaces in larger properties like B&B’s or hotel lobbies, including areas of seclusion for guests to seek moments of quiet reflects thoughtful design by offering spaces of prospect and refuge. This can be especially important for guests with specific neurodiversity needs.

Such areas can be achieved in a number of ways including the inclusion of high sided booths or seating nooks. In large open spaces, opting for high wing back chairs can offer a sense of seclusion and privacy in an otherwise open plan area. If space allows, creating a “tech-free” zone or WIFI free rooms offers guests more choice, and means they have an option to enjoy precious moments to detox from the digital world.

Outside areas can provide spaces to observe and connect with natural weather patterns. Covered terraces or porches make an ideal spot to watch or listen to the rain while seating areas, secluded with planting, provide private nooks for reading, listening to birdsong or enjoying a slow morning coffee. Add in a fire pit and you have a cosy outdoor area to relax in with a drink while gazing into the soothing, rhythmic flicker of flames which help regulate the nervous system.

If space allows, the inclusion of an outdoor covered yoga deck is an attractive amenity to this audience that can double as an outdoor dining/event space, or meditation spot.

Plant Power

Plants and flowers increase feelings of calm, happiness and help to elevate mood. The inclusion of plants and fresh flowers brings a direct connection to nature. While faux plants do offer a visual representation of nature (and are better than no plants at all), they are often made of toxic plastic. Real plants bring so many added benefits including air purification and humidity control, while creating a fresh, living energy to the space

A 2019 survey of Gen Y hotel guests found 61% of hotel goers felt that the plants at the hotel boosted their mood, while 50% said they were more likely to book a room that featured pictures of plants. But it isn’t just benefits measured in wellbeing and aesthetics that plants bring, they could earn property owners more money. A quarter of those surveyed said they would pay £50-100 more for a guest room filled with plants.

The simple act of observing plants has a soothing effect on our brain, whether real or an artistic impression. A combination of living plants and plant art is an easy win design choice to incorporate nature into any space, and in spaces with no natural light, nature inspired art can still connect guests to nature.

Nature in Art

Art is a useful tool to help connect our indoor spaces to nature because it enhances our appreciation and awareness of the natural world on an emotional and sensory level. Nature-inspired art evokes feelings of awe, tranquillity, and helps foster a deeper emotional bond with the natural world. Furthermore, engaging with nature-inspired art has been shown to reduce stress, improve mental well-being, and encourage mindfulness, making it a powerful tool for reconnecting with the natural world while inside.

To create truly impactful experiences in a space, go large with art features. The scale of a piece can really help to create an immersive experience for guests. Choosing art as murals is one such way that spaces can help us feel immersed in nature while indoors. An awe-inspiring nature experience can give us a sense of being in the presence of something greater. Such experiences promote gratitude and encourage mindfulness.

A beautiful example of this can be found at Willow Cottage at Another Place The Lake (above). This cottage was designed by Lynsey Ford, winner of BBC's Interior Design Masters 2021. Her vision was to create a strong sense of place, connecting guests to the colours, textures, and energy of the Lakeland landscapes. A bespoke mural by Julia Ogden serves as a striking focal point, enhancing the connection to the surrounding environment.

Be Bolder with Colour

Deep, bold colours mirror the hues found in nature, strengthening our subconscious connection to the natural world. Just as our experiences out in nature brings calm to busy minds and soothes tired bodies , colour is an effective tool to deepen our connection to nature indoors.

The temptation to please everyone with pale neutral colours in holiday accommodation all too often means a sea of bland interiors to choose from. Dark, bold colours not only help to distinguish a property, but they help enrich the guest experience. Dark colours envelop a space, bringing a sense of safety by being wrapped or cocooned by colour. Dark colours feel intimate, warm, and inviting, making them the perfect choice for relaxation spaces and entrances.

Eller How House (above) in Lindale is a perfect example of how to be braver with colour choices for a holiday home. Welcoming guests with a rich earthy terracotta entrance hall, not only feels inviting, but this welcoming colour is like a warm hug – exactly what you want the first impression to be. The sitting room, with its rich green walls, grounds you in the space and connects you to the nature and beautiful grounds beyond the windows. This deep mossy green creates a cosy atmosphere to relax in after a long day on the Fells. Guests experiences out in nature are directly reflected back to them here, bringing the outside in with colour.

Natural Materials

Using natural materials offers a wonderfully tactile way to enhance a connection to nature that appeals to our sense of sight and touch. Choosing natural fibres that invite you to feel them, like organic cottons, linen, cotton velvets and hemp for soft furnishing in guest spaces also helps limit their exposure to nasty toxins found in synthetic fabrics. Wool is the perfect choice for soft furnishings, throws, curtains and upholstery in commercial holiday spaces as it is naturally fire retardant. Using wool in Cumbrian interiors also offers a connection to the sheep we share this landscape with.

Wood has a powerful impact on our wellbeing.

The inclusion of wood in spaces has been shown to reduce stress, improve mood, enhance cognitive function and improve air quality. Our brains find the lines in wood soothing, so choosing pieces with rich pattern and grain, or a live edge, is helping to support the wellbeing of guests subconsciously.

Choosing locally sourced, handmade wooden pieces offers connection to nature through materials while creating a sense of place. At Rose Cottage in Caldbeck, this holiday home has been furnished inside and out with items made from salvaged local wood. Forge & Forest has made a number of items for this home using salvaged Cumbrian oak including this garden bench which was added to the guest garden in an idyllic spot overlooking the river. A local maker, using local natural materials, minimally processed is the biophilic dream combination.

Soul, Character and Sustainability

The design industry is responsible for a huge amount of waste as it perpetually drives the latest trends in furniture and accessories. Over 22 million items of furniture end up in landfill each year in the UK. The principles of biophilic design support sustainability in all aspects of design as a means to help protect valuable natural resources. Sourcing vintage, antique and pre-loved pieces, whenever possible, offers a solution to help mitigate some of this waste. It is both a budget friendly and sustainable route to furnishing a property.

The joy of characterful pieces with a history is they instantly add soul and a unique personality. An eclectic design scheme helps to make a more memorable visit for guests too. Choosing vintage, antique and pre-loved pieces for holiday accommodation also negates the necessity to constantly update décor as trends fade.

Mite View Cottage in Ravenglass has been furnished with vintage furniture and decorative accessories. Carefully chosen pieces have added such charm and interest, that it makes this property a quirky and memorable stay for any visitor.

Pattern

Nature-inspired patterns can significantly enhance our well-being by creating a sense of harmony, reducing stress, and improving cognitive function. Patterns found in nature, have been shown to lower heart rate and reduce stress. Studies suggest that exposure to these natural forms can create a calming effect similar to being in nature. Nature-inspired designs, particularly fractal patterns (seen in tree branches, leaves), are visually engaging without overwhelming the brain. This helps improve concentration, creativity, and mental clarity.

Not all guest rooms can have a view, but pattern can bring nature into any room. When we bring nature inspired patterns into our indoor spaces, we remain connected to nature even while inside.

Home Farm cottage in Caldbeck embraces nature pattern throughout to connect the visitor to the local landscape. Bold pattern wallpapers were chosen for this cottage inspired by the surrounding woodlands of Parsons Park and The Howk. Illustrated tree, leaf and woodland designs depict the local landscapes of this Northern Fells village keeping guest grounded in and connected to this location.

These are a just a few examples of how biophilic design can enhance the visitor experience in any property. The rise in wellness tourism presents a significant opportunity for accommodation providers of all sizes in Cumbria and beyond.

By embracing biophilic design into guest spaces, owners can not only tap into this growing market and attract more guests seeking peace, rejuvenation, and a deep connection with nature, but also give guests such a relaxing experience they will want to come back many times over.