14 Natural Decor Ideas to Bring Nature Indoors
The best free decor is the kind in your yard, right? Over the years, I have pulled lots of resources into our home to make our rooms feel extra cozy without spending a dime, and shopping our own backyard is one of them.
(Who wants to buy plastic flowers if you have the real thing already accessible?)
It’s one of my favorite ways to highlight the different seasons, and even better, nature indoors is scientifically proven to be good for your health.
How to Decorate With Nature in Your Home for Free
Every space feels instantly tranquil and inviting with a plant in it! But even if you’re someone like me who kills every living green thing that crosses your path, there are still lots of ways to decorate with natural elements.
So I’ve rounded up a list of ways you can decorate with natural decor.
1. Press Leaves or Flowers for Art
It is SO much fun to walk around in your yard or at the park with your kids to go leaf hunting in the fall.
After you find pretty leaves of different shapes and colors, take them home to press into the pages of a hardback book for a week. Then, tape them on to parchment paper to display in picture frames. I loved making this pressed leaf gallery wall!
You can do the same thing in the spring and summer by pressing flowers to make art too.
2. Make a Foraged Centerpiece
To make this Thanksgiving centerpiece, I just snipped a few stems from some bushes in my yard.
Give stems a good soak in a sink filled with water and a splash of white vinegar to remove any bugs. Let them dry then spread them out around candlesticks for natural table decor.
3. Make Dried Orange Garland
It’s become a Christmas tradition for our family to make dried orange slice garland each year.
Here’s how to dry fruit to decorate garlands and wreaths at Christmas. Or if you want to skip the work but love the look, you can get already dried orange slices ready for stringing up.
4. Display Seashells in a Printer Tray
I made this seashell display years ago in our old house, but it’s still my favorite way that we displayed beach memories.
Glue your found seashells in a vintage printer tray or shadow box and display them on a tabletop for sentimental summer decor (or any time of year).
5. Place a Rock Collection in a Shadow Box
After returning from a family trip to Chimney Rock, NC a few years ago where we went gem mining, Olivia and I identified all of the rocks and glued them into a shadow box to display on her dresser in her room.
It was the perfect boho decor that cost next to nothing, and it carried special memories. I have no idea if we identified all of the rocks 100% correctly, but hey, it’s still cute!
6. Display Fruit
It’s a no-brainer but a pedestal bowl filled with fruit totally counts as kitchen countertop decor, right?
Related: 8 Reasons Why You Need a Pedestal Bowl in Your Home Decor Stash
7. Use Pine Cones as Bowl Filler
Pine cones are nature’s bowl filler. Gather up some pretty ones, but make sure to bake the pine cones at 200 degrees F for 30 minutes to kill any bugs before putting them on display.
8. Dry Flowers
It’s really easy to dry hydrangeas and lavender. Plus, they can last for years afterwards. I love using this vase of dried lavender to make our bathroom feel like a spa.
9. Use Leaves as Place Cards
My girls and I gathered a few magnolia leaves from underneath our magnolia tree in the front yard and wrote family members’ names on them in silver Sharpie as Thanksgiving place cards. So easy and cute!
10. Weave Feathers Into Wreaths
I didn’t feel like shelling out money to buy a fall wreath, so I stuck some feathers in a eucalyptus wreath instead.
11. Use Moss
Grab a big bowl or planter and fill it with moss for a simple, understated table centerpiece. It adds a little bit of life and texture.
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12. Cut Stems
Hydrangeas are my favorite flower to arrange because it’s so effortless to make them look like a professional centerpiece.
If you need help making your own floral arrangement, florist foam or a floral arranging pin frog makes it really easy to do.
13. Display Logs on Your Hearth
I like to keep our fireplace decor clean and simple, but a bundle of birch logs is a sweet way to add a little bit of texture.
14. Use a Statement Pumpkin
I’m not a fan of having a bunch of tiny plastic pumpkins all over my house for fall decor. But placing a real, large pumpkin in the middle of your dining table is one of the easiest fall centerpieces you could ever make.
Gather a few leaves around it, and you’re done.
Natural Elements to Use in Decor
Here are all kinds of things you can look for in nature to weave into your home decor.
- Driftwood
- Coral
- Acorns
- Sea glass
- Tree bark
- Twigs
- Branches
- Corks
- Pinecones
- Seashells
- Rocks and pebbles
- Leaves
- Flowers
- Moss
- Fruits and vegetables
- Feathers
More Natural Decorating Ideas
- Use large scallop or oyster shells as trinket dishes on shelves or tabletops.
- Utilize amethyst rocks or coral as paperweights on your home office desk.
- Fill a bowl or hurricane lantern on your coffee table with acorns or pinecones for simple fall decor.
- Cut a pretty branch covered with blooms or fall leaves to display in a vase on an entryway table.
- Drill holes into a log to fill with candles as a dining table centerpiece.
- Make a No Waste Fall Simmer Pot. (It’s not exactly decor, but it definitely will make your home feel extra cozy.)
For more creative nature decor ideas, check out one of my favorite accounts called Northwoods Folk on Instagram. She shares so many brilliant ways to weave natural elements into your home.
Got any other nature decor ideas you’d add to the list?!
