Jute Rugs and Biophilic Design: Why Natural Fibers May Create Brain Bliss

6 Reasons Why Interior Designers Vouch For Jute Rugs | AOC Agrees

Almost every interior decorator is raving about jute rugs, and there must be a reason behind it. It’s as if something ancestral — almost primal — happens when we talk on jute rugs, and especially in bare feet.

Working on a recent AOC post Raffia: AOC Launches Earth-Friendly Fibers Sustainable Inquiry in Fashion and Design, we came across the same concept twice in a couple hours: “biophilic design”. Fast Company summed up the concept this way:

Biophilic design dates back to the early 1980s, when the biologist Edward O. Wilson outlined his philosophy of biophilia, hypothesizing that humans have an innate, biological affinity for the natural world. Biophilic design takes this idea one step further: Because humans today spend 90% of our time indoors, according to the 2001 National Human Activity Pattern Survey, it’s necessary to bring the outdoors in and create indoor environments that reference nature in both obvious and subtle ways.

As a reminder, modern humans may be awash in a sea of plastic, but 99% of human life has been lived in concert with nature. Biophilic design assumes that core aspects of nature have contributed to our health and wellbeing, and this connection can be scientifically measured.