Living walls are a great way to adjust the aesthetics of your home or office. They are known for boosting productivity, energy, and alertness in people. Recently, many have been looking at the positive impact that green walls have on our lives, as we unfortunately continue to lose our green spaces. 

If everything in your home or office is either “hospital” white or “concrete” grey, for example, it’s time for an upgrade. Installing a living wall would give you the opportunity to transform the dull feel of your home or office into a more inspirational and pleasing environment.

Now, let’s have a look at the top 5 reasons you should have a living wall, one by one. 

Living walls purify the air 

Little pollutants damage our brain, heart, and lungs. They are everywhere. In fact, according to theWorld Health Organization (WHO), nine out of ten people inhale polluted air that kills about seven billion people annually. It’s a well-known fact that air pollution is the biggest health risk that our generation has to deal with nowadays. In fact, if living in a big city, when we open our windows, we are letting in a significant amount of pollutants, such as exhaust emissions. Believe it or not, even at home we aren't as safe as we think. Gas appliances, burning whilst cooking and different chemicals, all cause air contamination. Living walls are an easy solution to the problem, as plants are great natural air purifiers.  

Health benefits and well-being  

Surroundings are known to affect our mood and overall productivity. Edward Wilson, who first introduced the biophilia hypothesis, suggests that people seek connection with nature at all times. Living walls are not just a new interior design trend. It’s been proved that connecting with nature with the help ofbiophilic designs can boost physical health, mental well-being, productivity, morale, and creativity.Researchby Washington State University found that a plant-enhanced environment can lower stress levels. Statistics from the study show that productivity levels increase by 12% among employees if working in a greener workspace. 

With low stress levels comes lower blood pressure. Plants not only help people feel calm, creative and focused. They have surprising effects on our overall health because plants’ main mission is to increase the amount of oxygen in the air. As a result, living walls are also a great replacement for those expensive sleeping pills we sometimes rely on. A Norwegianstudy suggests that employees working in a greener work environment aren’t experiencing symptoms such as dry skin, coughs, and fatigue as often as other participants.

Value, style, and sustainability credentials

Let’s face it- living walls are beautiful. Beauty makes people happy. 

Living walls are an amazing marketing tool. Not a surprise that many high-end restaurants, hotels, clubs, designer stores and other exclusive places add living walls to their interior to differ from competitors. A green wall makes spaces stand out. They provide an opportunity, especially for businesses, to present themselves as sustainable and promote their green brand image. Many car dealerships, for example, have installed vertical gardens just before introducing their new electric or hybrid vehicles. Something that automatically wins a big target group- green consumers. A living wall can also increase a real estate value of a home or a business by 20%. 

Reduce noise and temperature

Living walls are not just a stylish addition to the built environment. Another well-known benefit is that they reduce noise levels inside. This is also being used across the world where motorways are crossing residential areas. Plants reduce noise by absorbing and reflecting acoustic energy.

Have you ever experienced the hot, dusty days in the big city, and then walking around a park? The temperature suddenly changes. A study carried out by the University of Sheffield shows that the temperature of a brick wall on a hot summer day reaches 40 degrees, where a living wall showed an impressive decrease by 20 degrees. This is based on the fact that plants keep the air temperature around the wall cooler through shade. This then has an impact on the temperature inside the building, which leads to a decrease in electricity usage and provides a more ambient environment to live or work in. 

Urban farming 

Research shows that since March 2020, eight bee species have joined theendangered list, seven of which live on the Hawaiian Islands. Losing the main pollinator for such a big island, known for having a unique and endangered scenery, is a big deal. Outside living walls are crucial for supporting biodiversity, especially in big cities, where living beings already struggle to find natural habitats.Building living walls with the purpose to help pollinators is, without a doubt, beneficial. It’s important to research and choose plants wisely, in order to attract a wide range of birds, bees, and other animals, important to our ecosystem. By doing so, you will provide a continuous source of pollen and nectar for our tiny friends, shelter for many, whilst having a beautiful outdoor vertical garden at the same time. Another way to do so is by creating traditional gardens or green roofs when space is limited. 

Now you know why having living walls around is such a great idea. They are not just another interior design trend. Green walls are a great addition to the big city, that also contributes to our health and well-being, and is slowly making a mark in the urban world. As well as protecting us, green walls support the mission of saving our planet from further damage. Add a bit of green into your home or office and join the fight against climate change and global warming.

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Blog contribution written by Daniel Gospodinov, a talented Junior PR Specialist from Fantastic Services.