Interior Landscaping: A Green Interior Decorating Idea
by Wendy Croixwendy.croix@interiordesignschoolreview.com
Interior Design School Review Columnist
Landscaping is for outside, not inside, right? Wrong! Interior landscapers are interior designers who specialize in bringing the virtues of the out-of-doors in. Granted, plant specialists co-opted the label two decades ago, but with the growing popularity of the commercial green interior decorating idea, designers and decorators with green thumbs are adding indoor landscaping to their repertoires.
Think Green
Plants are the heartbeat of interior landscaping, so much so that some want to limit the definition of the practice to plant use as interior landscaping's central interior decorating idea. Why add plants to your commercial interior design repertoire? The use of plants to soften harsh corporate environments has been growing at the pace of 15-25% a year, depending on the area of the country in which you work. Though planters have been de rigueur in malls and restaurants for ages, other commercial venues have caught the green fever. Now that silk plants are totally passé, medical offices and office parks demand the real thing from commercial interior designers.Add Unique "Outdoor" Furnishing Touches
Interior decorating with "outdoor" furniture is an idea that adds a casual, yet substantial, look to an indoor landscape. Striking pieces, like the designs at Dutch "Freeline" collection seen at importer Jane Hamley Wells, make a design impact using durable wovens, teak, and aged pine. Broomstick, a sturdy 10' bench whose back appears to float supported by a row of twigs, makes a bold statement against a long wall. The high angular backs of a pair of woven plu'MO cocoon chairs make a lobby look like a luxury resort.Creating Healthy Commercial Interior Design
Eco-friendly interiors are a growth industry in every sense of the words. As more buildings incorporate both active and passive solar design and maximize natural day lighting, they create the ideal spaces for interior landscaping. Plants clean indoor air of pollutants and have a calming effect. Create commercial interior designs that have a resort feel, reduce stress and headaches, and lower blood pressure, and who wouldn't want to work in your design environments?Sources
"Employers Find That Lots of Plants Can Keep Workers Healthy and Happy," by Rosemary Barnes. San Antonio Express-News (TX) (Ma 01, 2004).
Interior Landscape Resources
Jane Hamley Wells
"The jolly green giant," by Laura Fisher Kaiser. Interior Design 75.9 (Jul 2004).
"Landscape Options," by Rita Catinella Orrell. Architectural Record 193.8 (Aug 2005).
About the Author
Wendy Croix, Ph.D. is a freelance writer, cultural critic and university professor who has guided hundreds of students toward the careers of their dreams.
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