58 LONGISLANDPRESS.COM • MAY 2019
INSIDE JOB
BRINGING SPACES TO LIFE WITH LIVING
By TAMMY SCILEPPI
Every month should be Earth Month.
As more people realize how sacred
the environment truly is, some are
choosing to bring nature into their
homes with aesthetically pleasing
living green walls or vertical gardens
that add wellness and beauty
while energizing interior and exterior
spaces.
The trend towards greening built environments
and transforming rooms
or outdoor areas with lush accent
walls made of plants or artistic living
murals is growing. Since plants
are natural air purifiers as well as
mood, creativity, and productivity
boosters, the benefits of having a
living wall at home or in a workspace
are obvious.
“Green walls have been designed in
many forms — with soil, hydroponics
(lacking soil), air plants, or some
combination — to create their green
designs,” says Stevie Famulari, a
green design specialist and assistant
professor in the department of urban
horticulture and design at Farmingdale
State College. “Living walls,
living murals, or living sculptures
can be created for any site.”
On Long Island, green walls are
usually installed in public spaces.
But homeowners can also transform
patios or backyards into relaxing
retreats with a unique vertical
greenscape that fuses elegant form
with amazing function.
The New York City-based green
design experts at Urbanstrong have
been creating healthy, sustainable
and captivating spaces everywhere,
and are available for home projects
locally. Their team built an eye-catching
living wall at 1 Third Avenue in
Mineola in the lobby of a luxury
apartment building.
Famulari offers living design ideas
that anyone can use in her new
book due out later this year, Green
Up! Sustainable Design Solutions
for Healthier Work and Living
Environments.
“In design, what I enjoy is telling a
changing story in the works, based on
the site: its materials, lighting, people,
scale, use, etc,” she says. “The story is
also based on time and change. Plants
show time and change in unexpected,
beautiful ways, creating moments of
sheer amazement and beauty that are
wondrous.”
For exterior design, Famulari
recommends using plants that are
appropriate for the light, drainage,
and location. The same applies for
interiors, with just a different set of
plants.
Invite nature in, make
a statement, and energize
home and work spaces with
a lush living wall, living
mural, or flowering
vertical garden.
Living green designs
are true art forms and
come in all shapes
and sizes.
Creative designers know
how to seamlessly integrate
green walls with the home’s
design elements by carefully
selecting plant species to create
a pattern of layers and depth,
while keeping the homeowner’s
unique needs and vision in
mind.
/LONGISLANDPRESS.COM
