Bask in Well-Being: Air Plants in Baskets
Do you want your family and friends to feel a sense of ease and comfort at your house? Try displaying air plants in baskets. Recently I watched a Netflix documentary called Abstract: the Art of Design. The last episode featured interior designer Ilse Crawford. When Crawford works on a design project her goal is to create a sense of belonging by engaging all of the senses.
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Texture Adds Emotional Appeal to Your Home
Even knowing at one level how important texture is to design, watching Crawford’s attention to texture, and contrasting textures in particular, I was struck by the role that air plants and their holders can play in adding texture, and ultimately, well-being to a home.
Air plants are intrinsically sculptural with their unusual shape and silvery sheen. Using visually compelling air plant holders adds to the air plant’s charm. Immediately, air plants partnered with baskets came to mind. Baskets radiate textural elements: rough, smooth, scratchy and soft.
Texture: Air Plants + Baskets
The poky leaves of this T. Recurvifolia purple hybrid contrasts with the rich brown and cream pattern of this Native American basket.
This T. Streptophylla stands at attention in this Native American basket. The bold lines of the basket compliment the smooth leaves of the air plant.
When living in Chile, a local friend made and gifted me this basket. To create the basket, newspaper was rolled tightly into long strips then woven into a basket. Next, the basket was painted with a brown stain. The dissimilar symmetries of the basket and the leaves of the air plant please the eye.
This tiny basket perfectly contains this T. ionantha fuego. Though eclectic in style, the white basket and the frosty sheen of the trichomes on the plant’s leaves create a soothing visual experience.
This hodgepodge of tillandsia, highlighted with a few dried amaranth, housed in a pink milk glass basket is sure to get a second glance. Smooth glass and stiff, pokey leaves unitedly call for our attention.
Success by Ilse Crawford’s Standard
If people feel comfortable in our homes, but are unable to explain why, it may be due, in part, to the textually rich experience we’ve created with air plants. 🙂
