6 Creative Ways to Bring the Great Outdoors Right into Your Living Room

Struggling to find ways to connect with nature in your bustling and busy life in the city?

Check out these fun and simple ways to bring the Great Outdoors right to your own home!

1.) Plants, baby!

Bringing plants into your home is a great way to surround yourself with nature’s beauty. It is proven that looking at and interacting with plants has a soothing, grounding effect. The bonus? Naturally cleaner air that is rich in oxygen.

There are many variations that thrive on low-light, low-maintenance, and not much water. Got a brown thumb? Pick up a copy of Houseplants for Beginners here, or download the Planta app, which helps you stick to your watering schedule and takes your local weather and lighting into consideration when recommending plant care. Good starter plants are the ZZ plant, Sanseveria or “Snake” plant, and of course the beautiful and leafy Pothos plant - yes, the one your mother had in a hanging basket that grew nearly to the floor!

2.) Nature-Inspired Scents

Smell is one of the most powerful tools in memory and emotion. Dial into the wilderness by choosing candles, diffusers, or wax melts with scents like Pine, Eucalyptus, Birch, Blood Orange, or even Coffee (hey, coffee beans are technically from nature, right?!). These scents can help you hold nature in your heart throughout the day, or even weave a thread right back to specific pleasant memories you have had in the wild. My personal favorite, Hazel Candle Company makes the best nature-inspired scents (Yes, even coffee - check out their ‘Morning Brew’ candle!). On a budget or wanting delicious natural scents to fill you home right this instant? Boil up a pot of water and throw in some orange slices, clove, and cinnamon! You can find a great list of budget-friendly stove top scents here.

3.) Natural Textures

Forego slick, modern decor and instead opt for warm stained woods, sisal and linen fabrics, saddle colored leathers, and natural textured clay pots. This is so easy to do on large or small scale, ranging from a giant walnut credenza to a stack of woven coasters, so it doesn’t have to be a huge investment! The trick to really making this stick is to find natural textures even for the most mundane items. Need a charging station for all your tech? Go on Etsy and find a handmade wooden piece. How about a mouse pad for your home office? You can find hundreds of options printed with natural textures ranging from agate to wood to moss! As you collect these things lovingly, your home will transform into a more natural and comforting place to be.

4.) Cozy Mood Videos

Guess who just recently discovered cozy ambiance videos on YouTube? Me! It’s totally me. This takes ASMR to the next level with immersive animated environments to set a mood in your home or apartment instantly, usually featuring some elements of nature; rain, snow, a crackling fire, and more. There are many other channels, but my personal favorite Cozy Rain offers scenes ranging from nighttime rain in a greenhouse bedecked with comfy pillows, a cozy cabin with a blizzard outside and a crackling fireplace next to a plush armchair and a snoozing cat, and even rainy day autumn coffee shops with jazz playing and steam rising from hot drinks. When displayed on your flat screen, these are such an amazing and simple way to completely transform the mood in your living space. An added perk is experiencing greater focus and productivity when these are on in the background in lieu of music with lyrics that can disturb your train of thought. I find these extremely helpful for connecting with the seasons here in Los Angeles where the forecast is sun, sun, and more sun, which - believe it or not - can get old! Try adding this to your arsenal - you won’t regret it.

A still from one of my favorite Cozy Rain scenes.

5.) Theme Your Rooms

Pick different natural themes and find subtle ways to play into them. Our bedroom is woodland themed, so we used elements like dragonfly jewelry posts, a white ceramic owl wax warmer, and sheer branch-embossed curtains. When all the pieces come together, our bedroom has a very calm, natural feel as soon as you set foot in there. It is such a great way to feel connected to nature - even in a big city like LA!

6.) Decorate for the Seasons

There is almost nothing I enjoy more than decorating for the seasons. September 1st, up comes the fall bin with russet leaf-garlands, velvet pumpkins, and black crow candlesticks. December 1st, yes there are Christmas decorations, but there are also snowflakes, mittens, and branches to usher in the soft, reflective time of Winter. An Indiana native, I find myself missing the seasons terribly sometimes. It is easy to feel removed or disconnected from nature when you don’t experience thunderstorms, snow, or a bounty of fall foliage on the regular. I find bringing the season inside to be the very best way to connect with nature’s rhythms, which in turn makes me feel more grounded and calm. Grab a clear bin from Big Lots, label those suckers Fall, Winter, Spring, Summer, and get cracking! If you want to forego big box stores, try looking on Etsy for beautiful handmade items, though be prepared the prices match the quality. Poshmark and eBay are also favorites of mine for like-new decorative items without the waste!