Artificial Texture from Nature

29 Sep Artificial Texture from Nature

So in my last post, ‘Extravagant Interiors’, I discussed how you can use textures to create a feeling of luxury. Following on from that I would like to talk about how you can add artificial texture from nature to enhance your environment.

This whole idea started, for me, when I heard a programme on the radio about artificial grass. To be completely honest, I didn’t even know this was something that was becoming so popular, but apparently the sales of artificial grass are up 50% from 2010. After further research into this controversial topic, I found that a name that kept appearing was John Terry. I am not really a football fan, but what this man does to his houses always seems to surprise me. This article suggests that he has used artificial texture by installing artificial grass around the fishing lake in the grounds of his £4.3m mansion. Before I go any further, I would just like to point out; surely if you paid that much for a house, you can afford someone to cut your lawn for you? In fact, with that much money why not employ a ‘Grass Whisperer’? (I’m not sure if that is a real thing, but I have no doubt that someone somewhere is making silly amounts of money doing it).

    

When it comes to offices, it is great to have real plants. There are such tremendous health benefits which are both mental and physical, from working around plants, see ‘Nature in The Workplace’. But I can also see that remembering to water the office plants is not something that falls to the top of everyone’s day-to-day to do list. This does not mean you should miss out on the benefits of nature around work. Studies show that nature art work or plants that give artificial texture do still have a similar effect on our well being as real plants do. Apart from being more practical, especially when it comes to care and maintenance, they also are much cheaper than the real deal, as well as coming exactly how you want them rather than having to wait three years for the plant to mature.

Through the use of artificial plants you can display beautiful, blooming flowers all year round, without the possibility of attracting bugs.

So when it comes to the artificial debate, I think there is definitely a case for them in commercial interiors, but at home? As a whole, I’m still not convinced.

By Sophie Hambling