Living Wall

Indoor Plant Design Trends for Orange County Offices and Homes

February 20, 2014 by Miko Morita 1 Comment

Interior Plants just like the fashion industry go through trends seasonally or every few years. There are two main design factors that you can work with when interior plants are your focus. The first is of course the type of plant and the second would be the container or planter you use. Both of these design elements are key to making a modern impression and not creating an outdated indoor plant design disaster! As an Interior Plant Service Company in Orange County, we have to keep up-to-date on the latest trends in our industry as well as the Interior Design Industry and the Fashion Industry. It’s not a problem since all three industries interest me! Here are some of the common trends in Orange County and Los Angeles County today.

SUCCULENTS INDOORS!! These little gems are HOT right now and Residential and Commercial Clients are demanding them on every nook of their home or office! I’m a huge fan of succulents, but you must be forewarned that not all varieties will live or thrive in an interior environment. Quite the contrary, most succulents don’t like to be indoors at all. Here’s two articles I wrote about some of my favorite interior varieties that are tried and true. Orange Country Plant Service Company Goes Gaga Over Succulents Indoors and More Succulents Indoors.

MONOTONOUS PLANT DESIGN. This may sound like a boring design trend, but it creates an incredibly dramatic modern statement when done correctly. Using the same variety of plant in the same size with the same container IN MASS creates an entire sea of foliage in your office or home. I recommend this type of design for clients that want to created a very modern and high-end appearance.

You can also get the same effect by repeating the same plant in just a single planter. For a modern look, I love using different varieties of Sansevieria. Sansevieria are low maintenance plants that can also handle low light.

LIVING WALL DESIGNS. Living Interior Plant Walls are huge in Orange County right now. If you are tight on space or just want to create a LIVING ART PIECE on your wall, then this is perfect for you! Living Plant Walls are a great way to add drama to an entry way and create a focal point that will wow your guests!

Creating this Living Wall Design was fun because it was for a hair salon and they wanted something unusual. I used planter trays, so that I could design a living art piece that wasn’t a square or rectangle. We added a pop of color to represent the funky style of the hair stylists in the salon.

MATCHING SHADES OF MONOTONE COLORS. One of the most recent trends I’ve noticed is the use of monotone color in modern design. More specifically, black, white and gray. Creating a modern space where everything matches and nothing is flashy. It definitely simplifies the design and modern design is about simplicity. I don’t have any personal examples (yet), but look forward to creating something soon that follows this philosophy.

In this picture, it shows an extreme of white with white. These would not be my choice of plants, but I love the concept. Here’s the website where I found this picture.

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: living art, Living Wall, Modern Design, Orange County, plant design, succulents indoors

Light-Weight Tillandsia Living Wall Art – soil-less

August 28, 2013 by Miko Morita 4 Comments

Living walls are all the hype right now, but unfortunately they are not practical for all areas of indoor living. My client asked me to create a succulent wall for her that was light-weight and easy to hang. I knew off that bat that the room was too dark for succulents, so that was out of the question. My mind went immediately to Tillandsias aka Air Plants!

Tillandsias are epiphytes, which are plants that grow without soil. They also drink water from the humidity in the air, so a weekly mist usually is sufficient for watering.

I used old picture frames to create a unique boarder for the living walls. I think it adds a lot of character to the 3 pieces. Although next time, I’d like to try something more modern.

Using two different types of moss also added a second texture to the living wall. But honestly, there are so many possibilities with this kind of live wall art. When you don’t have to worry about the soil and excess amount of water in the frame, it’s almost limitless!

From an interior plant maintenance prospective these are pretty easy and definitely low maintenance. I bought an Epiphyte Fertilizer that I’m going to mist regularly with. I think the key is, that if you live in a dry area, you’ll have to mist more regularly. And of course, if you live in a humid area, you don’t have to maintain them as often.

Stay tuned for more uses of Tillandsias as Living Walls. I see many more projects in my near future with these unique plants!

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: Air Plants, Green Plants, Houseplants, indoor succulents, Interior Design, Interior Plant Maintenance, Interior Plants, Living Wall, Maintenance, Modern, Modern Design, Plant Care, Plant Service, Style, Tillandsias

60’s Style Houseplants – Part 2 : Modern Macrame

August 21, 2013 by Miko Morita 2 Comments

Writing about 60’s Style Houseplants in my last article, I got a lot of positive feedback. This inspired me to dig a little deeper. The 60’s and early 70’s undoubtedly had a hippy sensibility. And quintessential hippy decor would have to be MACRAME! It’s been blowing up on Pinterest and due for a revival!

I mentioned this to my Mom last week when we were doing our weekly mall walk and she didn’t believe me. She said that there was no way she would ever use macrame in her house again. As we were almost at the end of our walk, we glanced into the window of a store, and there was macrame hanging everywhere! I was thrilled to see that I was not alone in the Modern Macrame come-back!

One of the coolest Modern Macrame designs I’ve seen, is this DIY Macrame hanging pot done with untraditional brightly colored string on Refinery29‘s post about DIY Gifts for under $15. I think it’s clever and so cute with the tea cup size white vessel, florescent pink string and succulent! This would definitely fit into a Modern Home Decor without feeling overly hippy.

Another inspiring Modern Macrame idea was found on this Skinny Laminx post. She uses succulents to create a beautiful grouping of macrame planters. I like the sizes and colors she sticks to. Black, white and green and more small macrame vessels. It almost reminds me of a hanging sculpture wall, similar to the living walls that have become so popular today. I bet a small vessel macrame wall would look pretty awesome against a white wall in your home!

Another non-traditional use of Macrame for your home is this small tillandsia terrarium cupped in a bold turquoise macrame hanger found on Ouch Flower‘s blog. I love the color used and with the tillandsia it really reminds me of the coast. Bold color also makes this feel modern rather than the traditional natural colors commonly used in the 60’s and 70’s.

And lastly, if you’re not the crafty type or you just don’t have the time there are plenty of Macrame sources on the web. Doing a quick google or amazon search you will be overwhelmed by choices. But if you are looking for something more obscure, check out this Etsy page: HRUSKAA. They have a lot of VERY MODERN MACRAME planters that you can order and have shipped directly to your doorstep. You can have an instant Modern Macrame planter that will add sculpture and style to your home in an instant. I think my Mom might even agree!