In the last 30 years, in the interior plant design, installation and maintenance business, there have been no less than three cycles whereby clients shifted from living to artificial foliage and then back again. Somewhere around the second cycle there began to be a greater a mixture of the two. Since then, custom artificial plants have been used in areas too harsh for living plants to be maintained in a healthy fashion.
Although clients continue to be provided with custom artificial plants, there is an upsurge in live plant installations. This is in part due to the fact that the United States is in the middle of the greatest environmental awareness movement ever seen.
With the advent of the LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) rating system and now with LEED for homes and hospitals coming on in a strong way, the awareness of the need and desire for indoor air quality improvement and control is greater than ever. Due to this greater awareness, the public no longer trusts the health and quality of food, clothing, hair-care products, cleaning products, carpeting and paint. Many are harmful, plenty of data exists that has proven the toxicity of these items, and these chemicals can no longer be kept near us in any form without eventually becoming irritated and sick behind their use. When it comes to living and working environments, the best, healthiest options possible are wanted.
According to the ASID study, “The impact of interior design and the bottom line,