Throughout my years of working with families, I have discovered that when it comes to designing a child’s room, the most thrilling and gratifying space to create is their bedroom. A child’s room serves not only as a sanctuary for slumber but also as a multisensory haven for play, a base camp for imaginative adventures, and a cozy corner for quiet time with a book. When it comes to biophilic design—basing the space on principles that encourage a connection to nature—a child’s room is a perfect candidate, since the giggling in that room as the child jumps on the bed can, and should, be music to the designer’s ears.
What I have always loved about biophilic design is its compatibility with varied spaces and budgets. One can integrate nature into a room in many straightforward, low-cost ways. They need only to paint walls with colors evocative of the natural world—lush greens, earthy browns, sky blues—with the texture of a tree bark or a smooth river stone. They can place artwork that depicts the life of a habitat near a child’s bed, so that every night when the child drifts off to sleep, he imagines being entwined within the far reaches of a fantasy forest.
In my own home, I designed my daughter’s room with biophilic principles in mind. The walls are painted a soft, sage green. This color brings an immediate sense of calm and nature connection—something that the research strongly supports. I chose wood and other natural materials for the furniture, and we installed large windows to let in abundant natural light. One of the highlights of the room is a small indoor tree, a potted fiddle leaf fig that we’ve named together. My daughter loves watering the tree. It’s become a daily ritual for her. And it’s a simple act that fosters a connection with nature and a sense of responsibility.
Designing biophilic children’s rooms has taught me that natural environments stimulate all five senses in children. The feel of a wooden long toy, the scent of a cedar plank, and just the sight of sunlight filtering through the leaves of a houseplant—these are the kinds of sensory experiences that both relax kids and make them feel like they’re using their imaginations when they’re in their rooms. One family I worked with wanted to redesign their son’s room using natural materials. After we did a decluttering session, we replaced plastic storage bins with wicker baskets and introduced several natural elements. The room transformation was pretty profound. Suddenly, their son had a “calm” aesthetic in his room, which is something I have a pretty strong feeling is kind of necessary for a young boy room to be a good “slumber space.”
One of the best things you can do to make a child’s room fit the principles of biophilic design is to maximize natural light. I always emphasize this with families, as natural light is such a central element in creating an atmosphere that is both healthy and full of life. One family I worked with had a nursery that was very dark, with only a small window. We used light-colored, loose-weave, soft fabrics for the curtains, letting so much light into the room without making it feel too bright or exposed. We placed a crib right by the small window, so the baby could soak up as much natural light as possible. To enhance the appearance of light in the room, we also placed a mirror across from the window. In this way, the light from the small window could reach into some areas of the room that would otherwise have been pretty shadowy.
For older kids, I love building rooms that push them to broaden their horizons and discover their world. One way to do this is by bringing elements of nature right into the room. In this particular instance, we built what I call a nature corner, complete with a small shelf where the child could display any collections of nature trophies they brought home—rocks, shells, and leaves they had found and wanted to show off. We also put in a small terrarium, where they could watch a few plants grow and take care of a few small insects or snails that had to be something the size of a dime for it all to fit inside. They. kids. are. fascinated. with. nature. So, it was a no-brainer move.
A fundamental principle of biophilic design is incorporating natural materials. I’ve found that this is of particular importance in children’s rooms. Not only do natural materials feel better to the touch, but they also make for a healthier environment. Many synthetic materials off-gas chemicals that can negatively impact indoor air quality; this is especially concerning in a child’s bedroom. I often recommend using untreated wood furniture, organic cotton bedding, and wool rugs in kids’ rooms. These materials are not only beautiful and durable; they also have a much lower negative environmental impact than their synthetic counterparts.
In a certain project, I was alongside a family aiming to design a biophilic bedroom for their two little boys. The existing space was predominantly hard surfaces—laminate flooring, plastic toys, and metal bed frames. To remedy the situation, I brought in a natural wool rug and wooden bed frames, a few handmade wooden toys, and a small bookshelf stuffed with nature-themed books. We outfitted the beds with linen bedding. After these changes, the boys’ parents reported that they much preferred the room in its new state and that it imparted a sense of calm that their old bedroom lacked. And my sense is that the boys appreciate it too. It seems to be a pretty great space to sleep, play, and daydream in.
Biophilic design has as its very foundation the incorporation of plants into spaces; thus, I make it a point to include them in children’s rooms that I design. They can be a delightful and valuable component of a room. One project I took on with children involved making a small living garden. The children planted and took care of a few small herbs that they were able to keep in their room’s garden. The children had both a sense of pride in the room that they could not have had without the garden and a sense of responsibility that came with taking care of the plants—part-time parents, if you will. The diminutive living space vignette was filled with not only their plants but also the sense that the plants gave them—if they could convince a few plants that their room was a good place to grow, imagine what they could convince the room itself to be.
Cultivating Creativity and Play with Biophilic Design Elements
This is a very gratifying part of biophilic design—its ability to enrich children’s rooms with creativity and play. When you add natural elements to a child’s room, you’re also adding an element of mystery, curiosity, and unfathomable depth that invites exploration, not just of the room, but of the natural world beyond it. I can’t imagine a more luminal space for a child to inhabit. I can’t imagine a room better designed to make a child feel like they should push the walls, throw the pillows, climb the furniture, and otherwise inhabit every cubic inch in pursuit of the kind of unfettered exploration necessary in achieving that sweet, sweet state of play.
Natural textures and materials are biophilic elements that I like to use. They can connect people to the environment in intimate ways solely because of their touchable surfaces. Children and adults alike are bound to uniquely respond to the draping, shimmering, or soft surfaces of nature’s materials. My favorite part of two projects I’ve done was when we installed different surface materials—like wood and tile—that kids could run their hands over. The way that kids engage in tactile exploration of their environment is something that shouldn’t be undervalued in design, especially the design of educational space. More than that, we also should be considering the surface materials used in creating physical structures in a design that’s as intimate as our interactions with nature.
In another endeavor, I assisted in the design of a reading nook for a young boy passionate about animals. We crafted a little space with a wooden bench and soft linen cushions, and shelves around it filled with books that brought him closer to his beloved beasts. To enhance the nook’s biophilic feel, we hung a large mural of a forest scene on the wall behind the bench. A few potted plants nestled between the shelves, their fronds waving gently in the air stirred by the overhead fan, gave the nook life. The transformation thrilled the boy, and his delighted parents told me that he now spends hours within the nook, zippered tent and all, reading and daydreaming about the many forms of life he loves.
Fostering a connection to the outdoors is a big part of biophilic design, and I’ve seen how making indoor spaces feel connected to the outdoors can affect the way children play and grow. In one house, we designed a room for the children that was right next to a small, outdoor, play area. That room had wooden floors, linen curtains, and a wool rug, but the real magic was in the way that the sliding glass door opened, connecting the indoor space with the outdoor “room.” The children could go inside, play with their toys, and at any moment, they could slip out to the outdoor area without even an ounce of shyness, to do honestly whatever they wanted without grown-up judgment. The entire house felt like it had a way to the outside, and with the amount they indulged in the privilege of stepping out during the day, the kids seemed to be on a first-name basis with every inch of the loosely organized “room” just beyond the front of the sliding glass door.
For homes where outdoor access isn’t that simple, there are still plenty of ways to bring the outdoors in and set up an environment that promotes imaginative play. One of our apartment projects featured a “nature corner” in the child’s bedroom, wherein we set up a small tent made of natural canvas and wooden poles. Inside that tent, we placed not only cushions but also a few nature-inspired toys, like wooden animals and fabric leaves. The child loved playing in the tent, pretending that it was her secret hideaway in the forest. That project also required us to install a branch-like wall hook, which further reinforced the room’s aesthetic, where the child could hang her nature-themed dress-up clothes.
From what I perceive, children adore being enveloped in natural shades and patterns. While many children’s rooms are done up in bright, synthetic hues and over-the-top, cartoonish designs, a biophilic approach can sometimes feel like a breath of fresh air. That is to say, some rooms might benefit from coloring and styling akin to what one would find in nature. When I design a space, I often gravitate toward the use of soft, natural tones and organic motifs.
I try to achieve that in the room I’m developing for my daughter. Even though she’s only 18 months old, I want her room to be a nurturing environment that inspires her imagination and creativity. We’re using soft greens, blue-grays, and browns, along with some warm wood tones. There’s a little texture here and there as well, with the woven blanket and the snake plant. The iguana on our lap is not part of the decor.
Biophilic design components can also bring the kiddos a little sunshine (no pun intended). For those who want the perfect amount of light in their child’s bedroom, the best way to achieve this is by letting as much natural light in as possible. And large windows are definitely the way to go here. My firm had the pleasure of designing a bedroom for a child with big, beautiful windows, and we made the most out of those features. The room was filled with so much sun that you honestly couldn’t tell where the actual sunlight ended and where the artificially lit room began. Daylight, in the absence of too much blue light, is good for children. Getting up with the sun and going to bed when the sun sets helps regulate the child’s internal clock.
However, biophilic design is not solely concerned with the visual elements. Auditory factors also contribute to our experience of nature. For example, in one project, I assisted a family in creating a calming sensory space for their child with autism. They were assured that biophilic design could help in achieving that aim, and we set about the task of creating the space. Our auditory component was made up of very gentle, soft natural sounds: water trickling, birds chirping, and a number of other sounds that would help the child unwind. One feature of the space was a small indoor fountain that provided a gentle auditory and visual experience. Another was a sound machine that played a variety of different nature sounds.
Biophilic children’s rooms benefit from more than just sound. The sense of touch also plays an important role in these environments. I’ve long believed that young children benefit from tactile experiences, and I love designing with the sorts of materials that encourage kids to investigate texture and the world around them. For one project, we created a sensory wall where kids could feel their way over a series of different textures—wood, wool, cork, and smooth, rounded river stones—providing a connection to Nature. A sea of color also brushed against the child’s experience of Nature.
Biophilic design aims to make spaces not just beautiful but beneficial to people’s health and well-being. Unlike architecture that looks to nature for inspiration, biophilic design draws directly from the biological aspects of nature, which, as many studies over the years have shown, are critical for human health. Suburban houses are usually insulated and sealed up tight, with rooms often arranged back to front, so that what was once an outdoor space accessible to a vine or a tree has become a lightless corridor for a small mammal. These apparent contradictions are resolved by rooms that encourage a child to look out, up, and around—to see and to imagine.
In contemplating the design of a children’s room, I also consider sustainable design—both in terms of the space’s environmental impacts and its longevity. Certainly, a children’s room should be designed with as few harmful materials as possible, while still being functional for the child’s age, but I also believe it’s important for the room to be somewhat timeless. A child will inhabit it for only a short period of time relative to the lifespan of the room, and even if its occupant does outgrow it, a future resident should still be able to use it comfortably.
Creating a sustainable, biophilic kids’ room starts with an essential choice: high-quality, natural materials that will stand the test of time. I invest in solid wood furniture, organic textiles, and eco-friendly finishes for mine. These materials not only age beautifully; they’re also healthier for a child’s room. While ample research demonstrates the harmful effects of synthetic materials (like plastic or particleboard) on both adult and child health (the former because of direct contact with synthetic materials and the latter because of inhalation of harmful off-gasses during formation and, for the child, during a crucial period of not-yet-formed lungs and a not-yet-formed brain), those who favor a less direct line of reasoning might join me in favoring natural materials on the basis of indoor biophilia.
I recall working with a family who sought to change their child’s room into an eco-friendly space. Their son was still quite young, and the parents were extremely concerned about the quality of air in his bedroom. They had done research and were well-informed about VOCs and the hazardous materials that are often found in synthetic carpets, paints, and furniture. They expressed to me that they found the bedroom to be “atmospherically heavy” (for lack of a better phrase) and that they sensed discomfort in it. Wanting to help them have a more comfortable and friendly space, I proposed to the family changes that would allow their son’s room to have a more “naturally friendly” way about it.
Designing for sustainability is not just about pleasing the eye—it requires far deeper consideration. The principle of “designing for growth,” or adaptability, is key to how biophilic design is applied to children’s spaces. One must consider how a child’s needs will change, often in extraordinarily short amounts of time. We applied this to our nursery-to-toddler-bedroom-to-school-aged-child bedroom plan. Another key principle of biophilia is timelessness: If you are introducing your child to the love of “nature,” what you put in their room should have the ability to inspire and “feel” relevant and fresh for much longer than the next trend.
An additional approach to integrating sustainability into biophilic children’s rooms is to select eco-friendly, durable materials that minimize waste. I often recommend wool or jute rugs, which not only fulfill these criteria but are also wonderfully practical and attractive—ideal for the high-traffic “runway” across the middle of the room and the play zones between the furniture. Rooms like this one are great spaces for natural materials wonder. I bet you didn’t know that the marvelous cork flooring we installed in this space is a sustainable natural product. It’s made from the bark of a tree that doesn’t get cut down during harvesting and regrows its bark—totally renewable and long-lasting, even in a high-traffic kids’ space.
I also enjoy using recycled or repurposed items in children’s rooms. For one client, I used a salvaged wooden headboard to create a basement playroom that is marvelous, magnificent, and full of imagination. For another client, I converted an old wooden ladder into a shelf; we also used an antique wooden trunk as a toy box. These pieces not only gave the rooms character but also curbed the need for newly produced, ubiquitous items that would have no story and would pile up in landfills after the kids outgrew them.
I always stress the necessity of using natural light when it comes to children’s spaces. Natural light has many positive effects, the most important being that it supports a child’s circadian rhythm. Natural light also reduces the amount of artificial light needed, which can really be an energy drain. For one project, we designed a child’s room with large windows that faced a garden, so that natural light could wash over the room during the day. To make the most of that light, we went with light, airy window treatments that could be pulled aside easily. For night, we chose energy-efficient LED bulbs that had a warm glow—much like that of an incandescent bulb—to keep the space calm and cozy on the shoulder of the night when a child might be a bit restless.
Besides natural light, I also love bringing elements into the design that encourage kids to really interact with the outdoors. One of the projects I worked on was a sort of transitional space from the child’s bedroom to the family’s backyard. It wasn’t quite an indoor-outdoor space, but it was a huge step toward encouraging the child to play right on the threshold. … In addition to the fresh air, there was the space to really connect with nature on the little deck. … This sort of interaction with their environment is so important for kids, and I really love designing spaces that foster it.
Children’s long-term emotional well-being can benefit from biophilic design. It has the ability to connect children to nature and foster a sense of calm and creativity, which they can carry with them into adulthood. For one project, I had the chance to meet with a family that wanted to make their daughter a reading nook. She was a child who loved nature, so we designed a space that was filled with nature-themed books and had a window that opened to a beautiful garden. It was a very cozy nook with a large window seat that seemed perfect for daydreaming. “Your daughter is going to love this,” I told her parents. After some time, when the reading nook had been completed, her parents told me that the daughter retreated to the nook all the time to disappear into some books or daydream a little.
Biophilic design is more than just a pretty picture. It is a growth design—and a healing design, too. Biophilic kids’ rooms can help a child grow in body and mind and connect in a more profound way with biophilic principles and the world around them. Nurturing kids’ rooms take a natural, brain-friendly approach. They thoughtfully merge light, plants, water, natural materials, play areas, and even more good stuff that makes a child feel at home and frees them to think and be wildly creative.
Including biophilic design principles in a child’s bedroom is one of the most significant ways to ensure that the space will grow with them, from day one and throughout their childhood. It might seem like a big ask for a little room, but biophilic design can truly be ascribable oh-so-meaningfully to a child’s bedroom. The biophilic design principles enhance the beauty and functionality of the space and set the foundation for both nature connection and nature-inspired creativity.
