How to create an internal garden
Whether it is for your living space or home office, capturing the essence of the outdoors and bringing it into your home can create a relaxed and natural style “Incorporating greenery into your home purifies the indoor air and generally promotes a sense of calm and wellbeing,” says Elaine Regan, Interior Architect at House Edit. “You can add the feeling of outdoors to most rooms, but you are at an advantage if you have a visual connection to the outside. For example, via windows, sliding or bi-fold doors opening out onto an outdoor space. If that is not an option, these are some simple ways to bring the outside in:
“1. Don’t be afraid to group many plants together on a window sill or fill an old piece of furniture with an open top.
2. Group different varieties of succulents of different shapes, textures and sizes on side tables or even the centre of coffee tables.
3. If you have a visual connection to the outside, continue similar tiles from the outside in. It is a great way to connect the indoor to outdoors whilst creating a sense of continuity.
4. Play with scale by using larger, medium and smaller potted plants in oversized vases or plant baskets.”
Be creative with your greenery, advises Lisa Marconi of Dust.
“For example, we styled a marble-and-brass drinks trolley with different plants for a client. Another unique way to use greenery is as a room divider for two spaces. Get a simple piece of open shelving and fill it with plants – it’s a gorgeous feature.”
Elaine says, “You could also fully embrace greenery by creating a plant wall or ceiling. Fix an indoor trellis or two small, slim timber ladders to your existing wall or ceiling, then add hanging pots and foliage galore. Eucalyptus is a great way to add structured foliage to your home and is popular amongst designers for styling, as it is long-lasting.”
As well as bringing nature into any room of your home, transforming backyard sheds into stand-alone garden rooms is becoming a trend.
“Garden rooms can be an ‘escape’ from busy family life or can be a haven of tranquillity for people simply looking to relax,” says Elaine. “There are Irish companies who can build and personalise bespoke garden rooms from scratch. Gardenrooms.ie is one of the more notable companies we know. You can convert a timber shed, but you need to make considerations for insulation, weather-proofing and electricity if you intend to work in the space.
“Keep wall colours neutral and then layer the space with plenty of greenery of varying sizes and different textures. As we always say, the more the better!”