Using Plants in Your Reception Area to Transform Your Workspace
Imagine walking through the doors of an office building, what is your first impression? Is the lighting dreary and the air still or musty? Are the furnishings and décor outdated? What can these simple things suggest about the businesses in the building?
Being greeted by a reception space that’s plain, outdated and uninspiring does not set the stage well for the rest of your visit. This first impression could suggest the business or businesses within the building are the same. Is it likely that you or potential clients would turn around and walk out?
We all have heard how important first impressions are. For example upon meeting someone for the first time, you only have 7 seconds to make an impression, there is even some scientific research suggesting it takes as little as a tenth of a second for people to determine your trustworthiness. Your reception area is the first thing clients see and is the face of your business, so how does yours represent your business?
Competition for clients is a constant part of doing business and with the economy and financial status of many small and medium businesses in America right now there is not a lot of extra pocket change to rebrand or remodel. Luckily, you don’t need deep pockets to design a fresh, welcoming reception area. A very simple way to freshen up a space is with the use of plants, and plants are great for cleaning the air in indoor spaces as well!
The Positive Side of Decorating with Plants in a Reception Area
According to research, buildings with plants are perceived as more cheerful, pleasant, and inviting than those without, and plants should be considered not simply as decoration but as therapeutic tools that are noninvasive, inexpensive can also help improve the mental and physical health of those working and waiting there. Research shows that because we have such a strong positive association with plants, their absence in our lives can actually cause physical and mental stress.¹
Plants Improve Air Quality:
- Plants aid in regulating humidity. According to a study conducted by the University of Norway, plants release roughly 97% of the water they take in, making troublesome colds, sore throats, and dry coughs less common.
- Plants help with purifying the air. Office spaces, including many furnishings, building materials, and business equipment contain pollutants like formaldehyde, benzene, and trichloroethylene and more. These chemicals leach out of carpets, office machinery and none are good for you long term. Plants help to pull many of these contaminants into their soil and over time can convert them into food, making the air cleaner and safer to breathe.
Plants are Great at Helping to Relieve Stress.
Plants not only make an area more appealing to the eye, but their scent also acts as natural aromatherapy. Lavender is calming as it has a soothing fragrance. Vanilla is sweet and it has a soft scent that has been identified as warming and evokes something pure. Citrus scents like lemon and orange raise spirits and increase happiness and positivity.
Choosing the Right Plants for Your Business
The reception area is the first impression a client has of your business, so your plant decor needs to align with your overall design or brand while quietly making you stand out and above your competitors. How do you choose what is best for your office from so many species of plants and styles of pots and planters?
When you consult with Nivtop Creations the first thing we will look at is the characteristics that you want to associate with your company.
Many plants symbolize emotions and ideas. Many plants have their own meaning if you are a young startup it might be best to surround yourself with vibrant flowering plants with blooms of reds, oranges, and yellows in sleek modern planters and pots. Classical plants such as orchids, palms, and ZZ Plants potted larger fluted or ornate pots of blues and grays might be more suitable if you’re a well-established business.
If you have a larger reception area and have the space for or have existing planter boxes these larger areas can be filled with a mix of shrubs or topiary and blooming plants and be grown for dividers to separate your reception area from additional areas in the office, especially in an open-plan environment.
While the aesthetics of plants are important, they must also be functional and look like they are part of the design and just not added in to take up or improve the look of a space. The main purpose of your reception area is to give clients and visitors a place to relax while they are waiting on you, for appointment in the building, or for transportation. Be careful to ensure your plants stay healthy and are well cared for. Nivtop Creations will keep your plants well-maintained to enhance the decor, and not look like a cultivated jungle.
If you’d like to make your office building or workspace look and feel better for your employees and visitors, living office plants deliver exceptional ambiance and beauty.
Nivtop Creations provides plant rental and maintenance solutions so you can enjoy living green plants. Indoor plants help to enhance the interiors in your workspace, refine indoor air quality and help reduce noise pollution.
¹Grinde, B.; Patil, G.G. “Biophilia: Does Visual Contact with Nature Impact on Health and Well-Being?” International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, vol. 6, no. 9, 2009, pg. 2332-2343.