Bringing the outdoors in
Winter forces us to be indoors for a lot of the time, and it can be a time where we crave nature: the lovely look of lush greenery, the calming effects of water, and generally being surrounded by the basic elements of life. While everything is still and frozen outside, you can have living, growing interior elements that will help elevate your home’s decor as well as improve your overall wellbeing.
“The trend of bringing the outside in is huge,” said Leslie C. Thompson, principal designer at Planterra Ltd. “Everyone always has the desire to have contact with nature. We’re going crazy trying to supply all the demand for indoor plants.”
Plants are hugely beneficial. Not only are there endless varieties so you can always create a landscape that is esthetically pleasing, but they also help to improve the air quality of your home. “People have this innate urge to keep in touch with nature, and plants are the perfect way,” Thompson said. “They absorb toxins emitted by things like carpets, paint and furniture, and they release oxygen. They can also provide sound absorption, so when placed in a noisy area they can cushion the excess sound.”
Individually potted plants are a traditional way of displaying indoor foliage. Plant pots come in a vast array of colours and patterns and can become a stylish asset to any room. A more recent trend is incorporating living walls, which are built vertically, thereby conserving space while adding a living element inside. “We use a system that we’ve tested over time that holds plants in four-inch pots, so we can make all kinds of designs with those,” Thompson said.
The main requirement of having plants throughout the house is ensuring you have the right amount of light for each particular variety. “Your best bet is choosing plants that respond well to low light,” said David Nanasi, owner of Aquasculpture. “We will choose a place where there’s plenty of natural light, like near windows or skylights, and sometimes we have to add lighting to encourage the plants to grow and flourish.”
In the kitchen, succulents are really popular, Thompson said.
Things like bamboo, orchids, spider plants, and certain ferns work well in the high humidity of the bathroom.
Moss is also a great green alternative as it requires little maintenance and is beautiful to look at and feel.
“Preserved moss is a very trendy product because it’s a natural product,” Thompson explained. “It’s been preserved with glycerine and food colouring ... and it can be made into wall-mounted framed artwork. It doesn’t need special lighting or irrigation.”
Another way to bring the outdoors into your home is by adding an element of water somewhere. While things like fountains and waterfalls have been fixtures in luxury hotel and condo lobbies, more and more homeowners are integrating these features into their homes.
“Water has a way of mesmerizing people, and it represents wealth and money, which is why a lot of condos and private restaurants have these. They like having a nice display with a water feature combined with living plants to give a livelihood to their establishment,” Nanasi said.
“People find plants and the sound of trickling water really soothing, which is why they are very popular.”
The residential trend started with waterwalls, Nanasi said, and exploded from there. “Waterwalls were the beginning, and now a lot of people are moving toward paludariums — a combination of waterwall and aquarium or pond.” Like moving, living art, small-scale paludarium displays are becoming more and more common in highend homes and condos.
Water features do require some general maintenance, but Nanasi insists that only a bit of regular upkeep is needed.
“Keep your filters clean and change the water because you don’t want them to be stagnant,” he said. “Plants will need to be trimmed because they grow and change. You must stay on top of it but not every day — more like weekly or bi-monthly. It really depends on the project.”
Just as we put time into our lawn and garden in the spring and summer, indoor plants and water features need some TLC, too. But the payoff is enjoying the beauty of nature all year long.