Month: May 2017

Why do we need office plants?

Plants in an office environment have been proved to help in many ways. Here are a few examples:

• Improve the air quality by cleaning toxins from the air and increasing humidity
• Improve staff satisfaction, morale, health and wellbeing
• Improve productivity, efficiency and creativity
• Reduce stress and absenteeism

Find out more about the benefits of plants on our website here.

Why are plants so important in open plan offices?

There appears to be an increasing dissatisfaction with open plan offices. This is partly to do with the fact that the time workers are spending on collaborative tasks is decreasing while time on quiet, concentrated work is increasing.  Some of the main issues that are being raised as reported by Oxford Economics here are:

• Doesn’t allow for different types of work
• Acoustic issues making it difficult to concentrate
• Poor air quality and variations in temperature
• Lack of personal space and privacy
• One-size-fits-all just doesn’t suit everyone!

Planting can help transform your open plan collaborative spaces into beautiful areas where quiet focus work can also be done effectively.

Which are the best office plants for open plan areas?

Visibility is key. In a large open plan area the greenery should be able to be seen across the space so it either needs to be tall or elevated by placing the plants on cabinets or pedestals. Having the greenery at eye-height also helps the acoustics in the space.  Green walls are another very effective way of creating a superb open-plan office environment. See this video about Nordik Moss walls.

Tall planters are generally more bulky as thy are usually older, more mature plants to have grown to the required height. This can sometimes be overcome by using tall narrow containers to give a smaller footprint – Dracaena (varieties) / Ficus (varieties) / Pachira Aquatica / Kentia Palm

Pedestal planters take up a similar amount of floor space but have a completely different look. Pedestals are available in lots of styles, designs and heights – Mixed foliage and/or exotic colour plants / Ripsalis / Asplenium Nidus / Hedera / Zamioculcas Zamiifolia

Cabinet-top displays are ideal for ensuring that cabinet tops do not become dumping grounds for files etc and help keep a nice crisp clean look throughout the space – Sansevieria / Cordyline Glauca / Aglaonema / Liriope Grasses

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Biophilic design is more than just bringing the outside in.

In an article on Biophilic design, Oliver Health is quoted saying;

“Biophilic design is more than just bringing the outside in, it’s about making and strengthening a connection with many aspects of nature. It’s about natural light, views on nature, plants, natural materials, textures and patterns.”

However, “bringing the outside in” is a great place to start! Using this principle to improve your interior environment, whether it is your commercial office space, hotel, restaurant or home, the benefits can be very far-reaching.

You may not be able to change your building structually to bring more daylight in and you may not have any nice views but there are some things that you can do. Here are a few design secrets that we’d like to share with you:

#1 – Consider the local habitat

Don’t use some far-away idillic location as your inspiration (unless you’re a travel agent!). Study the local habitat and use this as a guide for what you create and this will result in a space where you, your staff and your visitors feel much more comfortable. In this project the client wanted specific features of the local Scottish habitat replicated inside and this was not easy to do with living plants!

#2 – Use natural materials

There are many types of materials and finishes readily available. Use them for covering walls, floors and even ceilings. Natural colours, greens and browns will always work well. Consider texture too. Organic, nature inspired shapes can help.

Using natural branches, tree trunks, logs, pine cones and anything like this can be very effective and can be used to compliment any decor style from the most modern to the most traditional. 

#3 – Trees, plants and greenery

Including greenery in your interior space is one of the easiest and best ways to create an outside inside theme. 

Green walls are a current interior design trend and are very effective in bringing the outside in because they are so visible. Green walls don’t require any floor space and can really help the acoustics in an interior space. Check out this latest video on our Nordik Moss walls.

Plants have many benefits when it comes to bringing the outside in. Not only do plants create a nice, naturally soft visual effect but they also help to provide an ambience that you can experience. Live plants help clean toxins from the air and produce oxygen and humidity helping to ensure your interior environment is healthy, comfortable and relaxing.

The maintenance of live interior plants needs careful planning because the effectiveness of your new interior design theme is reliant on those plants being lush, healthy and full of life. A full maintenance service can be easily arranged leaving you free to enjoy your new space.

Live plants are best but artificial plants are very realistic and can create a good visual effect. They are ideal for areas where it is not practical to have live plants.