This year, find new ways to improve your home office and incorporate 2022s hottest new trend ‘biophilic design’ to enhance your wellbeing and boost your mood. Biophilic design is the name given to decor that mimics nature and is said to offer healing properties. When renovating or redecorating consider incorporating natural elements such as, access to daylight through additional windows space, staircase gardens, floral ceilings and living walls, to transform your working space.

1. Opt for colours and materials that are inspired by nature

Tapping into materials found outside such as wood, stone and wicker will make your space feel more rustic, cosy, and light filled. Choosing an ‘earthy’ colour scheme will make the connection from the outdoors to inside seamless. Why not opt for the Golden Hour wallpaper from the new VELUX x Poodle & Blonde ‘Magic Hours’ wallpaper collection. The wood-grain print features a signature light-reflective texture to optimise light throughout your home – and the feature colours are proven to aid productivity as you continue to work from home.

1. Maximise natural light in your home

When merging the outdoor elements with your interior, it's important to also think laterally, embracing the outdoor views and light from above can be equally as important as the space around you.  VELUX roof windows capture the trees and green spaces surrounding your home whilst making the most of daylight in your home. Not just a nice to have, research shows a view of nature has proven restorative benefits to wellbeing, resulting in improved mood and reduced stress.

While two fifths (41%) of homeowners agree that products should be made sustainably, the reality is that our interior tastes can be fickle. In the UK, over one in ten (13%) of homeowners buy new furniture at least once a year, and a further three in ten (30%) do so at least once every three years.

During the pandemic, Britons have spent billions of pounds on home improvements[1] with the trend cycle for interiors getting shorter. While consumers are increasingly aware of terms such as, fast fashion, there is a need for more transparency about the impact that home renovations, such as selecting a paint or replacing a bathroom can have on the environment, to help make consumers make choices that are right for them.

For those that do keep sustainability in mind when renovating and decorating, the majority (75%) try to reuse items in their homes, over half (58%) try to upcycle, and almost half (49%) purchased vintage or second-hand items. With trends such as upcycling becoming increasingly popular it’s crucial that consumers can purchase durable and well-made furnishings that can stand the test of time and not cost the earth.

Jim Coates, Marketing Director, NWE commented: "We all deserve to live in comfortable homes designed to our taste, but home transformations don’t have to cost the earth. The findings show there’s more to do to help homeowners make considered choices. Understanding a product’s durability and how materials are sourced responsibly can mean our design choices have a longer-term benefit to our planet. Last month’s COP26 conference has shown we all need to act, to tackle the climate and nature crisis together – this includes our home renovations and decoration.”

The research comes following the launch of VELUX’s long-term sustainability strategy. By 2030, 50% less CO2 will be needed to manufacture a roof window, and the packaging will be plastic free, and made of 100% recyclable and single material. New features will make VELUX’s roof windows smarter and it’s working with FSC and PEFC certified forest partners to ensure the protection of biodiversity and that new trees grow in the forests it sources wood from.

As most people spend more than 90% of their time indoors, this goes beyond aesthetics. Injecting more daylight into a room can massively transform a space and home renovations provide a great opportunity to bring more daylight into the home as well as improving the air quality – both of which are known to improve wellbeing. VELUX roof windows can also be installed at any point in time, it’s not reliant on a renovation. A VELUX roof window can last over three decades and can be upgraded as needed, to create wellbeing for people every day, all year round.

Interior trends may come and go – but daylight design is a lasting trend, and a sustainable choice people can feel good about.

-ENDS-

About The VELUX Group:
For the past 80 years, the VELUX Group has created better living environments for people around the world, making the most of daylight and fresh air through the roof. Our product programme includes roof windows and modular skylights, decorative blinds, sunscreening products and roller shutters as well as installation and smart home solutions. These products help to ensure a healthy indoor climate, for work, learning, play and pleasure. We work globally – with sales and manufacturing operations in more than 40 countries and around 11,500 employees worldwide. The VELUX Group is owned by VKR Holding A/S, a limited company wholly owned by VILLUM FONDEN and the Kann Rasmussen family. In 2020, VKR Holding had total revenue of DKK 22.6 billion and THE VELUX FOUNDATIONS donated EUR 142 million in charitable grants. 

For more information about VELUX Group, visit velux.com

[1] Suban Abdulla (2021). Brits spend £110bn on home improvements amid pandemic property boom. [online] Yahoo.com. Available at: https://uk.news.yahoo.com/property-coronavirus-housing-market-boom-home-improvements-stamp-duty-holiday-rishi-sunak-160026078.html [Accessed 8 Nov. 2021].