Mobile homes get to experience the change of seasons. Sometimes this can mean structural impacts like wind whipping at the siding or snow bearing down on the roof. But seasonal change can also provide a perfect time for you to bring about some delightful changes in your mobile home. While the impact that the great outdoors has on your mobile home won’t always be intentional, there’s no reason some of the changes can’t be very purposeful on your part. That’s why today we’re going to have a great time chatting about ways to bring the outside inside.
Why bring nature indoors?
Bringing nature into your house is just a great thing to do. It can give your decor a lift. And it may even positively impact your home’s healthiness by cleaning the air.
Having plants in your house could also be a great strategy for combatting the winter blues or cabin fever—especially if you live somewhere where most plant life dies out during a long, cold winter.
Where should you focus?
Bringing nature in is a whole-house venture, as you’re about to discover. There isn’t a spot in the house that’s off-limits for some nature-inspired cheer. Bathrooms, bedrooms, kitchens, playrooms, and even basements are candidates for a glorious nature makeover. However, if you don’t have the time or resources to hit every spot in the house, then start by selecting a few key areas.
To help you decide, think about these options:
- You could shoot for the most highly trafficked spot in the house to allow everyone maximum enjoyment.
- Or you could select the spot where people tend to spend the most time relaxing.
- Alternatively, you could attend to any area that’s most in need of an uplifting re-do.
- You could also choose the places that are already your favorite spots based on their design and decor.
A note before you begin
Just remember to keep all your decor age-appropriate and safe for whoever is going to be using the space. For instance, if you have a toddler who’s insistent on tasting everything in sight, philodendron is not going to be your friend because it’s a poisonous houseplant.
Additionally, vases of flowers in water are not a good idea if you have a new puppy that can’t stop frolicking around the living room. Just take time to think through your nature incorporation strategies to prevent unnecessary chaos.
The kitchen
What part of your home could possibly be a more appropriate candidate for bringing nature in than your kitchen? After all, we get to enjoy the bounties of nature in this very place. So it’s a perfect spot to decorate with things that remind us of fresh air and clean taste.
Going one step further, how about turning your kitchen wall into a lineup of your favorite herbs or ingredients? These tomato or onion prints could be just the thing. Then again, you do not have to limit yourself to only those plants that are edible. In fact, succulent prints could be a very cute addition to your kitchen decor.
Kitchens are also great candidates for live plants—namely, the kind of plants that can be plucked and popped into your kitchen creations. Your window can becomea decorated space and garden all-in-one with a row of small herbs in matching pots. But if you don’t have a window, wall-hung pots will also do the trick.
The bedroom
If you’re going to spend a lot of time sleeping in this space, then you surely want to create a relaxing environment. A house plant like a ficus growing in the corner could be a good start. And if you have enough light in the room, try cultivating some African violets.
More subtle notes of nature are absolutely an option too. This could look like a bedspread with a plant-inspired design. (Plus, there’s always the option of snagging a more adventurous plant bedspread). Or it could even be a wall with plant wallpaper or perhaps a one-of-a-kind stamp wall.
The dining room
Your dining room table’s centerpiece can function as a canvas for your natural designs. But if you have a sideboard, that’s also prime real estate.
Just what do you do when actual plant life isn’t an option (maybe because of allergies or unavailability)? Why, you use plant-themed textiles of course. A table runner is a perfect example. And there’s no one size fits all approach here either. If you’re a fan of huge and colorful flowers, then by all means, find a tablecloth that fits that description.
On the other hand, if subtle is the name of the game for you, try something in simple green and white. Likely, you can find a pattern in any color—make it work for your decor.
Another way to go is to co-opt your table linens to reflect nature. And don’t think that means that you have to stick with napkins spangled with flowers or plants. Actually, you can get some adorable animal napkins. Woodland creatures, anyone?
The child’s bedroom
Here’s a spot that needs TLC— but not just the kind you’re thinking of. Absolutely, create your child’s bedroom with tender loving care as per the usual meaning of the acronym. But don’t forget a healthy dose of Tough Long-living Creativity too. After all, here’s a place where rough and tumble is the order of the day, and things are messy more often than they are neat.
That said, it’s totally okay if you want to bring nature in but you don’t want to create an untouchable environment. It’s meant to be played in! So, let’s create decor that’s actually going to last.
Kid central – go for height
One idea for letting the outdoors in without squashing your sense that the room should be laid back is to put things up high. You may be able to run a creeping plant around the upper reaches of the room. Or, you could grab a hanging basket with a plant that slightly overflows its confines. Just be sure that you place things safely out of reach when necessary.
Kid central – Use up the walls
While real plant life has a charm of its own, remember that you do not have to have a living plant to provide a nod to nature. Instead, you can use images of plants. For instance, in a child’s bedroom, simple framed drawings of individual plants or flowers could go a long way lined up on the wall. Even simple animal artwork or photos could take their place in the lineup instead—after all, they’re also part of nature.
Insect drawings are another great option. Imagine a child’s bedroom with a simple theme of white with pops of color. Just think what a cute impact it could have to line up a honeybee, a grasshopper, and a butterfly in white frames along a white wall.
Try this leaf-shaped chair for your child’s room. Or, grab some adorable animal bedspreads. Wallpaper could create a nature-themed environment too.
The living room
Naturally, we could suggest a ton of living plant options here. But you may already have thought of them. However, there is one totally different way to bring in some lovely plants. And it’s a new plant trend that we’d be remiss if we didn’t mention—the plant wall.
Sure, perhaps you’ve seen them in corporate offices or maybe even a medical or legal office. But why not your home? Learn more about them with HGTV’s How to Create a Living Wall.
The guest room
Maybe you don’t go into the guest room too often. (After all, why would you?) So, you’re a little wary of putting a live plant in there. It seems like a perfect way to murder an innocent houseplant by forgetting to water it.
This is when you take matters in hand and come up with unexpected solutions. When you have guests, you want to provide special items like toiletries in case they forgot them, right? And a basket is an ideal candidate to contain all those items while waiting for the guests to help themselves. Well, as long as you have to put those items in something anyway, why not put them in a special container?
Try these container options:
The mudroom
Okay, there’s enough dirt on the floors of your mudroom to actually plant grass in it. So, why on earth would you want to bring in dirt and plants of your own free will? Fair question. And the answer is for the enjoyment of beauty and the delight of the outdoors.
Still, you do not have to bring in real live plants unless you want to. Instead, you can buy dried plants. Like dried mini cattails and long dried grass stems.
Place them in an ornamental vase (something tall perhaps) and give them a spot where they can rest forgotten forever. Not that you won’t see and enjoy them—you will. You’ll just forget to water them. And that will be perfectly fine. They’re dried plants, they don’t need water.
The library/office
What you do in your home library or office space completely depends on the style you’ve already cultivated. Some prefer their library/office to be cozy and dim with an overall warm tone. On the flip side, this room can also be gorgeous if it lets in plenty of natural light and strives for a light and bright look. So, let’s break it down both ways and talk about ways to bring nature into either one of them.
For the cozy library
First, the cozy, dimmer look. With books lining the wall and dark furniture sitting on your tapestry rug, you know you’re already part of the way to acheiving your dream office. Adding some long drapes with gold tassel tie-backs might be the very next step. But once you’ve created this look, where do you go from here?
Well, let’s start with actual plants. A tall plant (like a small tree) might be just the thing for the corner by your window. But if you can’t swing a plant that size, try a hanging basket plant instead. For those of you who are concerned that you’ll be far to busy actually studying or working in your home office to water plants, don’t worry. Grab a faux plant instead.
Faux plants can look tacky, it’s true. But if you do it well, you might be surprised at the effects. Check out Apartment Therapy’s A Very Real Guide to Buying Very Fake Plants. Still, if you just cannot bring yourself to introduce a faux plant, try other nods to plant life. For instance, give a shot to a coat hanger that looks like a tree branch. Or try this nature scene painting.
For the light and bright library
While there’s certainly something to be said about the ambiance of dark libraries, a fresh light-filled space is also a lovely option. Bringing in color is a great way to go here. So, a plant so bright it virtually sings out of its pot may just need to be your first step. Or, if you want to stick with basic green plant, let the pot be the star of the show. You should be able to find a pot to meld with your style.
Note about home libraries, studies, and offices
The great thing about bringing nature into your home library, study, or office is that you have one possible canvas set up already—your books. The covers of books are full of pictures and photos that can form a part of your decor. That means it’s time to create something of a display with your nature-focused books. And if you don’t have enough books that display nature on the covers, it might be time to buy more!
You may very well decide to theme your book display to make it more cohesive. For instance, if you’re a bird-lover, then it makes sense to select books focused on birds. Perhaps you’ll group them, faces forward, on your bookshelves. Then, using the books as the focal point, you can add other items, like an old bird’s nest or even a birdhouse. Or simply complement the colors of the book bindings by selecting decor items in similar colors.
Fancy things up for fall
You can make decor changes to your mobile home at any time of year. But you may find it especially fun to create decorative arrangements that track with the seasons. For instance, in the springtime, try tulips, daffodils, and maybe a spring color palette. On the other hand, when it’s autumn, consider autumn-specific decor. Find some inspiration in our article: Give Your Mobile Home A Fall Makeover Inspired By These 6 Examples.
About EZ Homes Design Team
