Many people come to Plantscaping & Blooms because they want to refresh and re-invigorate their commercial space. While they may have some sense that plants offer intangible benefits, the material boost for their business isn’t always top of mind.
Today, we want to talk about some of the changes that you may see from actual research and experience. We’ll discuss some real research that quantifies how biophilic design can affect businesses, and share plenty of visual examples to emphasize how plants can transform your space. Let’s dive in.
What Is Interior Plantscaping?
Interior plantscaping is the art and science of bringing plants indoors, combining the best of design, horticulture and style. Today’s modern interior landscaping industry comes out of a push in the 20th Century to orient more of our built experiences around nature, which humans have an inherent connection with. This idea is called biophilia and it’s rooted both in a millennia of human experience and in today’s science and research. Bringing it into the realms of architecture and plantscaping, we call it biophilic design.
These days, as more and more of the country’s population moves to urban centers, and we are seeing increasing calls for returns to the office and in-person work, biophilic design is a crux for making the indoors better. Through the use of potted plants, architectural elements, plant atriums and touches with other natural materials, interior plantscaping is helping commercial properties transform into spaces people actively want to be in.
For more on interior plantscaping, check out: A Guide to Interior Plantscaping
What Industries can Benefit from Commercial Interior Planscaping and Biophilic Interior Design?
The short answer is that most industries can see the benefits of biophilic interior design. Healthcare, offices, lobbies, hotels, malls, restaurants, and more find that interior plantscaping helps improve not only the look and feel of their space but their relationship with employees, customers, clients and even work itself.
Healthcare
Healthcare and hospitals are functional spaces designed around medical needs, which means many are not known for thoughtful, human-centric design.
While plants don’t belong in every part of a healthcare practice, where they are placed effectively they can be an intervention that works for patients and staff. For example, research shows that plants can increase feelings of relaxation and wellbeing of patients in healthcare waiting rooms. Overall, biophilic design in hospitals has been proven to “reduce stress and enhance health and wellness for patients and caregivers,” which is a tangible difference that can improve outcomes.
Offices
Office workers spend the majority of their day indoors, often sitting down and looking at a screen. It’s no surprise, then, that adding plants to an office can give workers a much needed morale boost. The World Green Building Council’s 300-page report on health, wellbeing and productivity in offices has a range of benefits that businesses see after adding biophilic office designs into their space. From higher productivity, better worker satisfaction, and a healthier work environment, we now have research proving these effects.
Meanwhile, a 2023 article in Frontiers of Psychology looking at the effects of office plants on workers found “significant effects” on workers’ experience of optimal humidity, sense of privacy, and health in the office. More reported workplace satisfaction and rated the attractiveness of their workspace higher –– great news for retention and recruiting.
Hotels
In the hospitality business, how you make guests feel is everything. Especially in urban centers like Cleveland, visitors have plenty of options of where to stay, and hotels now need to out-compete Airbnb and other housesharing apps. Biophilic design is a clear way for hotels to get ahead. Hotels that implement biophilic design in their lobbies find that hotel guests are happier, have a better overall impression, and are more willing to pay. Additionally, plants can help significantly by improving the point of arrival experience for guests.
That’s because lobby design affects how people feel about a hotel. In a study across age groups, biophilic design in lobbies had a positive effect in every bracket for guest satisfaction and emotions. Living walls are an installation that research shows can be particularly effective. In hotels, living walls and “dense” indoor landscaping had the most benefit of all biophilic elements included in one study from researchers at Texas A&M.
Malls
61% of Gen Z now prefers to discover products in-store, according to recent PwC research, and a majority of Americans still go into stores to do their shopping, Capital One reports. As people return to in-person experiences, malls may be poised for a natural upswing, and biophilic design is one way to court repeat visitors. Mall guests not only notice biophilic features specifically, they like and appreciate these design elements. And these features raise revisit intentions and recommendations from mall visitors.
Restaurants
Research shows that indoor plants improve guests’ shopping decisions and impressions of restaurants. And overall, biophilic design in restaurants contributes to a “welcoming and harmonious dining atmosphere” and can extend visitor duration in cafés.
And More
We see great results across our clients, even if they aren’t in one of the sectors listed above. From car dealerships to museums, we witness how differently people feel and act in a space before and after biophilic design. Research on indoor plants is a relatively new area of study. If there isn’t a specific finding on how, exactly, plants benefit your type of business, it probably just hasn’t been studied yet, given how much positive research there is on greenery, biophilia, and flowers improving our surroundings in general.
Why Choose Plantscaping & Blooms as Your Interior Plantscaping Service?
Plantscaping & Blooms is a company that has been dedicated to making the extraordinary with plants since 1979. We are a family-owned company that has worked with businesses in Cleveland and across the country on interior plant designs. Our clients choose us for many reasons, including:
- Capacity: We can take on any project, big or small. We have designed for everything from small businesses right here in Ohio to nationwide hotel chains.
- Creativity: We are ready to make ambitious and interesting designs happen with plants, and can help you see what is possible in your space.
- Excellence: We are an industry leader with standards that set the tone for our peers and competitors. We keep every promise and no detail is too small for us to nail.
- Experience: Our experts in design and horticulture lead every step of the way and solve every problem.
- Ongoing support and partnership: We maintain designs for the long-term and support our clients as your business grows and changes. We keep every promise we make.
We can also work directly with architects and designers, making it possible for us to support projects from before you’ve broken ground. If you are the manager of a commercial space and want to start transforming your business, connect with us today.