Danielle Hargreaves

Consider how it would feel to walk in a forest, breathing in the fresh air and hearing the leaves crunch underneath your shoes. Research indicates that being within nature can have restorative effects on our health, such as reducing stress levels and improving our cognitive abilities. This encouraged a reflection of my relationship with nature, drawing on experiences from childhood and photographs. The importance of our connection with nature is being challenged within the design industry, with a particular focus on integrating natural elements into our interior spaces.

Inspiration focuses on the forest, homing in on intricate details of tree bark to investigate the interactions between organic forms and jagged textures. Taking a step back to admire how shadows interact with tree structures and how that translates into dappled light, which shines through our windows and dances across the room. The blurred shadows that trail as the day passes create an almost magical effect on our environments. The design process is curious and experimental, layering washes of colour and allowing them to bleed into one another, creating striking tones and subtle gradations. Layering colour and texture provides captivating depth, the effects can be quiet and subdued but also vibrant and rhythmic which mimics the fluctuating relationship between the forest and light. 

The collection is intended for the home to encapsulate the feelings and overall mood associated with being within nature.