Finding Inspiration: Mother Nature

Ever since the ancient Egyptians furnished their homes with simple furniture and animal skins, influential creative types have looked to nature for inspiration. Flowers, leaves, vines and other foliage provide extensive fodder for home products designers. HomeYet.com surveyed the home furnishings environs to uncover three new beauties that nod to Mother Nature.

Lighting designer Deborah Benz evokes a watercolor landscape with her series of drum shade hanging fixtures and table lamps for AF Lighting. The Water Color Coast design was inspired by the waves of the open ocean. No two of the hand-printed shades—great for Coastal-style interiors—are alike. Other hand-printed patterns include Mountain Air, Seaside and Trees.

Eangee Home Design’s artisans use cocoa leaves and bamboo to create a series of sconces called Banana Bowl. Committed to environmentally sustainable business practices, the company offers several lighting and accessories that employ an eco-friendly technique—delicate cocoa leaves are overlapped to create a light-safe shade. Banana Bowl sconces come in green, natural and multicolor (a mix of orange, lime and sky blue).

The rigid skeleton of a sand dollar is rendered into a graphic element on an area rug by iconic designer Thomas Paul. Other rugs in Paul’s collection, produced by Chandra Rugs, feature a single peacock plume, birds, chrysanthemums and dandelion seeds.