Contemporary interiors tend to be all acrylic and gloss these days, but I still love the rustic feel of natural materials and wood decor. There’s something warm and calming about bringing the earthy outdoors in, and it looks great as part of your interiors.

Whether it’s solid wood or succulent plants, natural decor can go with any scheme or style. Here are just some ideas to spruce up your home…

Woven accessories

There seems to be a revival of handcrafted and organic decor, usually described as ‘boho’. Woven rattan and bamboo baskets have become a popular storage and laundry accessory, and sold practically everywhere.

I personally use my baskets as planters or shoe storage. The good thing about woven materials are that they are more durable and won’t easily break. They are also light-weight so you can move them around the home without injuring yourself!

They can be handcrafted into beautiful decor, including ceiling pendants, lanterns and wall hangings, adding a nice ‘holiday’ vibe to the home (minus the sunshine!).

Wood furniture

Real wood furniture can be quite expensive, but it can last you for a lifetime. Not only is it a strong material, but the craftmanship can look stunning.  Just be sure to regularly maintain the wood grain with an oil to protect it, and give it a nice gloss.

These days, wood furniture is quite versatile and no longer ‘boring’. You can find different types of  designs to suit any style.

One of my favourites is wood  paired with marble or a glass top. It adds a modern touch.

Ecological wall coverings

If you’re not too keen on paint, you can get environmentally-friendly, textile wall coverings. Belgian brand Omexco, specialises in crafted weaves of natural materials, raffia, linen yarns and ecological non-woven coverings.

Their collections such as Aruba and Portfolio, takes inspiration from the natural materials around the world to create stunning and vibrant designs.

Omexco will be launching their sustainable designs at Decorex 2019.

Exposed brick and stone

Once considered a style better suited to loft-style apartments, the raw look of exposed brick or stone is becoming more common in modern homes.

It literally does bring the outdoors in! But if you don’t want a whole room to feel like a cave, a single wall or focal point in the room works well.

If you don’t fancy stripping back your walls, then you can always cheat with wallpaper. There are some beautiful faux brick or stone wall designs available, that look just as good as the real thing!

Plants and foliage

Indoor plants or succulents are a great way to add a bit of nature to your home. Not only do they provide oxygen, but make great accessories either in  planters or  on the window sill.

If you’re anything like me, don’t worry if you’re not a ‘greenfingers’ or don’t have time to care for plants. There are many succulents that thrive in dry conditions so won’t need much watering!

Also, if you’re prone to allergies , there are realistic-looking, faux botanicals and flowers. They can be quite costly (even more than the real thing), but they still look effective and  guaranteed to never die!

So how would you bring the outdoors in?  And what natural decor would you include in your home?

Images: Pexels and Pixabay