SATURDAY,FEBRUARY22,2020 | THEGLOBEANDMAIL O PURSUITS | P15
Anemptywallinspiresthesamekindofangstasablank
page. You feel pressure to fill it, but nothing seems quite
as brilliant as thepièce de résistancein your head.
The struggle, as they say, is real – and I can relate.
When I moved into my house, I stared at an empty wall
above my sofa for three years before settling on a trip-
tych of hand-painted fabric encased in shallow acrylic
boxes. If that kind of unconventional idea appeals, you
could experiment with something similar. Textiles
make terrific wall art: Imagine a big piece of kuba cloth
in a pale wood frame, a vintage silk scarf or three with
crisp white mats and black frames, or a small rug hung
tapestry-style.
A gallery wall is a can’t-go-wrong idea, though there
are different ways to go about it. Lovers of order should
consider an even-numbered grid arrangement with
consistent spacing between frames for maximum eye-
pleasing symmetry. Just be sure to measure obsessively,
as the success of this kind of gallery relies on perfection.
If you’re after a looser, more casual arrangement, a
salon-style grouping is the one for you. Start with one
focal-point piece at the centre, whether it’s a painting,
photograph or mirror, and build out from there, taking
liberties with the spaces between the frames.
Another cool approach is to align, say, five to sevenframes at the top in a straight line and hang other pieces
beneath.
With both of these installation techniques, a unified
palette, either in the art itself or the frames and mats,
helps to tie it all together.
If you really want to up your gallery-wall-styling game,
introduce a few three-dimensional pieces, such as a shal-
lowwovenAfricanbasket,salvagedsignorplastercorbel.
These items give the gallery a collected, well-travelled
feel.
One last option is to avoid art altogether and install a
mural. I know, I know – murals still give many of us flash-
backs to the neon-hued 1980s, when every rec room on
the block had a Hawaiian sunset feature wall. But trust
me, today’s murals don’t deserve the bad rap and are far
more sophisticated, from moody rolling clouds to pasto-
ralcountryviewsthatlookhand-painted.Canadiancom-
pany NewWall has an inspiring collection that’s worth
checking out online; it just might make you a believer.
–BETHHITCHCOCKSpecialtoTheGlobeandMailNeedsomeadviceaboutinteriordesignanddecor?Send
[email protected].PERSONALDESIGNERHelp!Howshould
Ifillthegiantwall
abovemysofa?
A
few years ago, when Diane McDonald asked
architect Heather Dubbeldam to design a
homeforherandhertwochildren,shewant-
ed something with a strong connection to
the outdoors. Typically, that would mean big win-
dows overlooking the backyard, maybe a large fern
by the sofa. Dubbeldam, however, delivered some-
thingsoinfusedwithgreenery–toppedwithbee-fil-
led green roofs and decked throughout in natural
woods and stones – that it needed a new phrase,
something beyond merely ecofriendly, to describe
it: biophilic design.
“In simple terms,” Dubbeldam says, “it’s a way of
usingdesigntechniques,whetherit’stheoveralllay-
out or finishing materials or detailing, to emphasize
that connection to the natural world.”
Less simply, Duddeldam points to a 14-step guide
to biophilic design published in 2014 by New York
sustainability consultants Terrapin Bright Green
that breaks down the approach.
Fordesigners,amajorappealofbiophilicdesignis
that it solves one of the seemingly intractable facts
of modern life. Being ensconced in nature makes us
calmer,happier,healthierandmoreproductive.Yet,
80percentofCanadiansliveincities,andbecauseof
long working hours, followed by long lists of chores
at home, we spend on average 90 per cent of our
time indoors, according to Parks Canada.
And,biophilicdesignlookspretty–abundantflo-
ra is a tenet, as is an abundance of shapes and tex-
tures. All of which is helping the concept catch on,
notjustforresidencessuchasMcDonald’s,butinof-
fice and retail spaces, too. And the best part is that
theprinciplescanbeappliedeveninthemiddleofa
concrete jungle.
Some of the items in the 14-step guide are highly
practical: Air and lighting should be dynamic and
diffuse, changing the way they would in a forest,
while wall surfaces should avoid repetitive, predict-
able patterning. Others aspects are purely poetic;
one point suggests biophilic designs should convey
risk, replicating the sense of peril often found in the
natural world.
McDonald’s house hits all 14 points. Natural light
and sounds, including rustling grasses and buzzing
bees,filterthroughaseriesofskylightspunchingthe
greenroofs.Woodenslatsbreakupmonotonousex-
panses of drywall.
The risk is created by double-height overlooks
fromthesecondlevel,thoughtheperilisadmittedlyminimized by safety guard rails.
By contrast, an ultraurban example of biophilic
designinacommercialspaceisasmallrestaurantin
the middle of downtown Toronto called ImPerfect
Fresh Eats. The space, designed by Toronto studio
Syllable, is marked by a lush trellis of preserved
plants dangling over everything. The effect is whim-
sical, like a secret garden surrounded by grey con-
dos.
“Peoplejustfeelbetterwhentheyaresurrounded
by nature,” says Danny Tseng, the architect who
oversaw ImPerfect’s design. “That might not be a
new concept, but it’s a necessary concept today.”
It’s also a concept that can help boost the bottom
line for small businesses. One study found that cus-
tomerswantedtospendmoretimeandmoneyinre-
tail environments with trees versus those without
them.
Not that it necessarily takes an actual tree to
achieve biophilic benefits. “Even having a wall cov-
ering with natural motifs helps,” Tseng says.
Maybe Lorraine Tuson’s Field of Flowers wallpa-
per will suffice. The Toronto designer unveiled the
patternatthe2020InteriorDesignShowinToronto,
part of Tuson’s goal “to use natural patterns to bring
joyandinspirationtothespaceswherewelive,work
and play,” she says. Another Interior Design Show
find: wallpapers from Austrian company Organoid,
which pushes the biophilic quotient of its products
by not only featuring floral motifs, but making the
papers themselves out of real flowers and other
plants.
According to Ron Schwenger, a Vancouver-based
proponent of biophilic design through his sustain-
able design company Architek, one reason the de-
sign method isn’t more ubiquitous is that “there is a
false notion that sustainable or biophilic buildings
are more expensive to maintain.”
“The opposite is actually true,” Schwenger says.
Although elements such as green roofs might cost
more up front, they save in long-term heating costs
because they are more insulating, he says.
BothTsengandDubbeldamcounterthatbiophil-
ic design doesn’t even require a bigger budget at the
outset. “It isn’t necessarily more expensive,” Tseng
says. “On higher-end projects, a green, living wall
could cost $250 per square foot, but so could a fea-
ture-wallwithextravagantmaterials.Onlower-bud-
get projects, a client can simply spend on plants.”
“It’s all really just based on design and planning,”Dubbeldam says. “It’s not necessarily more costly to
orient views a certain way, or opting for natural ma-
terials.”
Darryl Balaski, principal interior designer of To-
ronto’s figure3, points out that the benefits out-
weigh the costs. “Biophilic design has been growing
in popularity in offices over the past few years be-
cause of all the studies pointing out how it reduces
stress and absenteeism while increasing productiv-
ity,”hesays.“Thesameappliestoresidentialdesign.
WhichiswhyIdon’tseethisasatrend,[but]morea
growing recognition of something people find nec-
essary in their lives.”
Balaski is currently using biophilic principles in
the design of a new condo tower in downtown To-
rontocalledtheSaint,butsuggestshomeownerscan
applytheconceptsintheirownexistingspaces,too,
by incorporating furniture fashioned from wood, or
upholstered in patterns and textures that echo the
outside world.
“To me it’s all about a curated randomness,” he
says. “Imagine all of the flora and fauna and varia-
tion that exists in nature. It’s fun to mirror that, re-
flect that in some way.”SpecialtoTheGlobeandMailBiophilicdesigncanbeachievedinmanydifferent
wayssuchasLorraineTuson’sFieldofFlowers
wallpaper,top.TorontorestaurantImPerfectFresh
Eats,middle,hasalushtrellisofpreservedplants
danglinginitsspace.ArchitectHeatherDubbeldam
designedahouse,above,tohaveaconnectiontothe
naturalworld.Nurturingnature
Biophilicdesignemphasizesaconnectionbetween
indoorspacesandthenaturalworld.MatthewHague
reportsonitsmeritsforresidentialhomes