I recently visited the amazing Hocking Hills State Park in southeastern Ohio with a great group of girlfriends and found its caves, cliffs and caverns to be absolutely inspiring.
The mossy rocks, the ever changing shades of brown earth, and the crystal water falls were so gorgeous. It truly made me want to create a room that reflected its beautiful properties.
Unfortunately – or fortunately for my husband – I have no rooms left to design,save the kitchen and bathroom for which plans already are drawn.
So I had to be content finding rooms created by others that seem inspired by nature.
Almost right away, I found these gorgeous spaces designed by Laura Umansky, who owns the Laura U Collection design studio in Houston.
These rooms seem almost to have been created after a visit to someplace like Hocking Hills.
In the dining room at right (photo by Jill Hunter), all the shades of brown – in the floor, the walls, the table – combined with those pretty green vases really remind me of the forest.
The bedroom below (photo by Jill Hunter) is from the same Laura U high-rise project. I love the warm walls and that gorgeous green painting. Even the silver vases remind me of the water from our hiking trip.
I like the way that bedroom painting uses so many shades of green, just like you find in the forest.
I took the pictures below at Hocking Hills and you can see in the moss photo at right (click it for a larger view) just how many different greens and browns you’ll find on that rock. And yet, together, they seem just perfect.
The same can be said of all the brown shades shown in the rocks and cliffs in the photo above left.
It’s a great lesson for design. I often worry too much about matching colors and precise shades. Instead, nature tells us to let it all blend into something beautiful.
This Coastal Living bedroom – photo by J Savage Gibson on MyHomeIdeas.com – recalls nature not just in color but texture. With its bamboo blinds and driftwood lamp, the room screams mother nature. And how about that view?
I love this beautiful, nature-inspired nursery. The sky blue ceiling and walls with the pretty green and brown accents would be perfect for a little boy or girl.
This cottage great room combines nature-inspired colors with a wood floor, ceiling, beams and furniture to create a perfect cottage style. It’s featured on MyHomeIdeas.com. Photo by Jean Allsopp.
After putting this post together, I really want to create a nature-inspired room!
For now, though, I’ll be content to show you one more photo from Hocking Hills, this one of my three girlfriends at the entrance to the trail to Ash Cave.
It’s a short walk to a really beautiful spot, complete with a waterfall. It’s shown in the photo at the very top left of this post.
If you’re ever in Ohio, you should check out this amazing park. It’s well worth the trip.
