I love a good houseplant. It connects your space with the outdoors, freshens the air inside, and is an easy way to add life and texture to an empty corner.
Living walls do houseplants one better. Call them the wild child of the potted kingdom. They're correspondingly a bit more expensive and difficult to maintain than your average ficus, but I think they're worth the extra effort.
Living wall closeup from Red Buttte garden
Design by Siol for 2013 SF Designer Showcase
via Wooly Pocket
Most living walls are a showcase of excess. They're like large, living paintings, a combination of Rousseau and Rothko. I love these ones above, which exude such a beautiful fecundity.
Evernote office, design by O+A Design
Others are more spare, but no less appealing, like this one from O + A Design. It's so eloquent in its simplicity.
Living herb garden, via Williams Sonoma
And some are both tidy and useful. How handy would it be to have a living herb garden inside your kitchen?
Living wall map of Central Park by LTL architects, via inhabit.com
Living walls have a special appeal for corporate spaces, too. What better way to soften a harsh office environment? I love this one designed by LTL architects. It's a scale map of New York's Central Park!
The best designed spaces--whether commercial or residential--are an embodiment of those who occupy them. So if you had a living wall, what would it say about you? That you're earth conscious. Hip. A little renegade. You appreciate wildness, but know how to keep it under control.
Sound appealing? Hey, maybe you just found a solution to fill that empty wall.