Trends in furniture design – Biophilic Furniture

Plants and greenery are everywhere in commercial spaces now, from live green walls, trees and hanging gardens to their artificial cousins. It is all part of the desire to foster a stronger connection between indoor spaces and nature and driven by the recognition of how important this is to employee wellbeing and a conducive working environment.

Biophilic furniture is defined as pieces designed specifically to connect people with nature through natural materials, organic shapes and greenery. The term “biophilia” describes the innate human affinity for nature and this is what biophilic furniture is aiming to replicate in interior spaces.

The trend has seen furniture shapes become more organic, colour palettes that revolve around more muted, earthy tones, and natural materials featuring strongly – wood, stone, natural fabrics.

Here at rhbr the biophilic trend is reflected in our new Banq range, which includes planters to sit alongside or behind the seating and can also be used as standalone features for room corners or alcoves where that touch of greenery is wanted. We often don’t make the decisions about fabrics but where we do, natural textiles will always be high on our list of recommendations. We are evolving our designs all the time, and creating new ones, and biophilic principles are very much at the forefront when we do so.