The Power of Plants in Interior Design: Enhancing Aesthetics, Functionality, and Value
Landscape:
Advantages of Plants in Interior Design
Plants offer more than just decoration in indoor environments. As explained in The Manual of Interior Plantscaping by Kathy Fediw, they foster connection, promote relaxation, and create an atmosphere conducive to collaboration.
Indoor plants play a crucial role in interior design. They introduce a living element that is portable, dynamic, and ever-evolving, all at a fraction of the cost of new architectural features. They provide both function and form while maintaining aesthetic appeal. Plants can transform the ambiance and feel of a space, adding color to complement any décor. They enhance the design without interfering with other essential design elements.
Plants as Focal Points
An indoor plant can serve as a focal point, guiding people through the space towards a specific destination. This can be achieved in several ways:
- Large specimen plants, typically 12 to 14 feet tall or more, can be used alone to draw attention due to their size. Palms, ficus trees, and certain dracaenas are commonly used for this purpose. Large indoor plants may be difficult to find and often require months of advance planning with commercial growers. Specimens are usually placed alone or with shorter groundcover plants beneath their canopies.
- Plants with unusual forms act as living sculptures and are frequently used as focal points. For example, marginata (Dracaena cincta) can be cultivated with interesting twists and bends in its trunks, and eugenias or ficus trees can be pruned into topiary shapes. To ensure the focal plant stands out, keep any other plants in the area simple and low to the ground.
Plants Modify Acoustics and Muffle Sound
Plants help reduce noise levels without altering the overall design of the space. The next time you’re in a noisy restaurant, observe the surroundings. You’ll notice a prevalence of hard surfaces—walls, floors, windows, furniture—with minimal cloth or padding to absorb sound. Any noises reverberate and bounce back and forth, reaching into the corners. People speak louder to be heard, further amplifying the noise levels.
Plants Create Visual Depth and Define Spaces
Large, cavernous spaces, such as building lobbies and shopping malls, can feel intimidating and unwelcoming. People may feel exposed in vast, empty spaces, especially in unfamiliar surroundings. Introducing plants can break up this space, creating visual depth and dividing it into smaller, more inviting areas. Plants can act as room dividers, creating smaller, more intimate spaces within a building lobby where people can gather and review notes before attending a business meeting.
Plants can also serve as portable walls, creating collaborative spaces in open-concept offices without walls. Most plants in individual pots can be moved as the needs of tenants and visitors change, a flexibility that most walls lack.
Plants Visually Lower Ceilings
High ceilings can also be overwhelming and make visitors feel small and vulnerable. Introducing tall plants with a canopy of foliage into such a setting creates a”false ceilin” by visually lowering the space overhead. Tall, well-spaced ficus trees can transform a large lobby or shopping mall into an inviting indoor garden space. For example, placing a 15-foot-tall ficus tree in a space with 50-foot ceilings can visually reduce the ceiling height to a more manageable 12 to 15 feet. The denser the canopy of foliage, the greater the perceived reduction in overhead space.
Plants Add Color and Interest
Plants can add splashes and dashes of color to an otherwise monotonous setting. While we often think of plants as being green, there are many shades of green. Leaves can range from deep green to olive green, blue-green, silver-green, or neon-lime green, to name a few possibilities.
Just as spices add interest to a meal, plants add color and interest in subtle or more vivid ways. Leaves can be variegated white, silver, yellow, red, purple, or orange, or even have markings in multiple colors, as seen in croton foliage. Vibrant-colored plants stand out, while darker shades of green or deep maroon recede, adding depth and acting as a background in plant groupings.
Plants Improve Economics and Perceived Value
Research has shown that the presence of plants in a shopping area leads people to perceive the value of the merchandise being sold as higher compared to the same merchandise in an area without plants. In one study, consumers were willing to spend a conservative 12 percent more for products in an environment with trees (Wolf 2002). People also tend to linger longer and purchase more merchandise in shopping areas where plants are present. Many shopping malls and boutique shops capitalize on this effect to increase sales.
Plants add a sense of luxury and prestige to a space. People subconsciously associate tropical plants with success and feel more confident working and dealing with companies that incorporate plants into their built environment.