The spring season stirred a particular sense of nostalgia: secret gardens and hidden outdoor abodes featured throughout children’s books. Growing up, my favorite stories explored the whimsical worlds of small animals, with nature serving as their shelter. The Tales of Beatrix Potter, Brambly Hedge, and Winnie-the-Pooh are some beloved examples of that tradition. Through imaginative stories and time spent outdoors, children often develop a stronger connection to nature, but that sentiment should carry into adulthood.

As technology and construction methods continue to advance, it is easy to forget that humans are not separate from nature. We’re intrinsically connected to it, and our interiors should reflect that. The concept of biophilic design explores this idea: architecture and interior design should encourage our relationship with the outdoors through materiality and organic forms. Nature-informed furnishings and decorative objects offer a tangible opportunity to explore this concept.

Rooted Form, now on MILIEU’s ShopMy, invites the garden indoors and blurs the boundary between home and landscape.

Produced by Market Editor Avery Bowers