From the author of Home Therapy comes a beautifully photographed guide to biophilic design: decorating your space to increase your connection with nature and create a more sustainable home. Discover the transformative power of biophilic interior design, a practice that helps you increase your connection to nature indoors. The promise: spaces that foster harmony, happiness, and longevity while reflecting your personal style. Finding refuge within our own homes these days is more than a luxury, it’s essential to our happiness. Therapist turned interior designer Anita Yokota walks you through her process of infusing rooms with the beauty of nature, a method called biophilic design that goes beyond bringing the outdoors in. Whether you’re influenced by the beach, mountains, meadow, or desert, she guides you on using nature as a starting point for interior design that elevates your own well-being. Curating beautiful homes around the world that speak to a variety of styles, Grounded Living offers ideas for designing with biophilic elements. Learn how to channel natural occurring patterns into woodwork details or wallpaper, arrange living room furniture for better flow from the sofa to outside, and use figurative inspiration to transform a favorite landscape (such as a seascape) into a soothing space that’s not overly themed. Whether your goal is to foster family conversation around the dining table, create a corner conducive to meditation, or boost your mood with smart lighting design, Grounded Living offers practical and creative ideas, empowering you to make intentional changes that enhance your energy. With more than 200 full-color images of homes that feature aspirational and practical nature-centered design, Grounded Living helps you set up your home to be the ultimate escape from our increasingly digital world. “A home can be beautiful, but the real magic is when it makes you feel safe. Grounded Living is a gorgeous reminder that design is not just about what we see, it is about what we feel. This book is soulful, grounding, and filled with practical inspiration that helps you create a space that truly restores you.” —Mikel Welch, interior designer and author “ Grounded Living is a beautiful book about finding peace and happiness through strengthening a home's connection with nature. Anita carefully walks readers through the process of incorporating favorite elements of nature into our houses in order to live a brighter, more fulfilling, grounded life. As a nature and interiors-lover, this book is right up my alley!” —Lauren Liess Author of Home Therapy , Anita Yokota is a licensed family and marriage therapist turned interior designer who develops intentional designs that emphasize wellness from the inside out. Domino named Anita’s site the Best New Design Blog and her work has been featured in MyDomaine , Apartment Therapy , Real Simple , and many others. Anita lives with her family in Southern California. Introduction Biophilia at Home What if your home could do more than just shelter you? What if it could also heal you? As a licensed therapist for twenty years and an interior designer of nearly fifteen years, I have noticed a common thread running through all my clients’ lives: the constant hustle and bustle—the racing, juggling, and striving that often leaves little time to simply breathe and be in the one place where we’re most comfortable. At home. Finding refuge within our own homes these days isn’t just a luxury, it’s essential to our well-being. When life feels overwhelming, many of us turn to nature without even realizing it. We step outside for a breath of fresh air, take the dog for a walk, or simply gaze at the horizon to reset ourselves. Nature in its simplicity offers a kind of therapy that no app or gadget can replicate. That’s the power of biophilia, a design philosophy that promotes bringing the healing qualities of the natural world into our everyday spaces. I’ve always been drawn to natural elements in design—floral wallpaper, cascading greenery, woven textures—but I didn’t have the vocabulary to explain why they felt so right. Over time, I’ve realized it’s not just about aesthetics; it’s about creating spaces that feel alive, that breathe, and that connect us to the earth. Nature may not always be perfect, and that is its beauty. Stones are rough, leaves are asymmetrical, and even the most vibrant gardens have bare patches where plants don’t take root. But in those imperfections, there’s peace, resilience, and renewal. That’s the same beauty we can invite into our homes—a beauty that not only enhances the way our spaces look, but also transforms how we feel in them. Biophilic design is about choosing decor and rituals that give us a sense of place—grounding elements, if you will. My goal with this book is to help you create your safe space. Because when we feel safe, our mind automatically relaxes, our cortisol levels go down, and our dopamine and