Our Five Design Love Languages | No. 05 One With Nature

An ode to the earth—

—and all its inspired moments in interior design. When designing a space to feel like it’s one with nature, the key is employing a color palette that you would find in the outdoors, utilizing materials that are produced naturally, and layering in pieces with organic silhouettes and textures.

The vibe is warm and welcoming, it feels intentional and has the perfect mix of raw and refined. In the designs that Shea and the design team produce with Studio McGee, you’ll find a lot of nods to nature—a boucle chair or a round wooden object used for shelf styling. There will be primitive pieces paired with clean lines and an understated palette. We love the mixture of materials—think woods, stones, linens, jute, and rattan.

“There are countless studies proving that time in nature is healing for the soul. I love to incorporate this further into my designs by bringing the outdoors in whenever I can. Sometimes a design can be tricky—minimal natural light sources, a low ceiling, complicated layouts around a window, clients with lifestyles not conducive with keeping plants alive—but it’s always a priority of mine to bring as many natural elements into the space as possible. Sometimes this is simply through a ceramic vase or a wooden cabinet, but I’m a big advocate of the fact that having these organic materials in a room completes a design.”

- Shea McGee