Actual plants in any form (alive or preserved) in the interior.
(e.g., potted plants or dried leaves in a shadow box)

PLANTS

Research

Lowers stress in waiting room (Beukeboom, Langeveld, & Tanja-Dijkstra, 2012).
“The reviewed studies suggest that indoor plants can provide psychological benefits such as stress-reduction and increased pain tolerance… benefits are contingent on features of the context in which the indoor plants are encountered and on characteristics of the people encountering them” (p.431) (Bringslimark, Hartig, & Patil, 2009).
Lower systolic blood pressure, and lower ratings of pain, anxiety, and fatigue. Higher satisfaction about their hospital room (Park & Mattson, 2009).
Children and young people prefer thematic design w/ plants or flowers in hospitals (Coad & Coad, 2008).
Shorter postoperative hospital stays, faster healing (Ulrich, 1984).
Short-term wellbeing and more positive perceptions of the working environment after plants added (Gray & Birrell, 2014)
Adding plants to a rehab center benefited wellbeing (Raanaas, Patil, & Hartig, 2010)
Indoor plants add an aesthetic quality that reduced perceived stress (Dijkstra et al.,2008)
Plants, visual posters and organization influence how people feel and how they see the owner of the space (Campbell, 1979)

References

Beukeboom, C. J., Langeveld, D., & Tanja-Dijkstra, K. (2012). Stress-reducing effects of real and artificial nature in a hospital waiting room. The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine, 18(4), 329–333. https://doi.org/10.1089/acm.2011.0488

Bringslimark, T., Hartig, T., & Patil, G. G. (2009). The psychological benefits of indoor plants: A critical review of the experimental literature. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 29(4), 422–433. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvp.2009.05.001

Campbell, D. E. (1979). Interior office design and visitor response. Journal of Applied Psychology, 64(6), 648–653.

Coad, J., & Coad, N. (2008). Children and young people’s preference of thematic design and colour for their hospital environment. Journal of Child Health Care, 12(1), 33–48. https://doi.org/10.1177/1367493507085617

Dijkstra, K., Pieterse, M. E., & Pruyn, A. (2008). Stress-reducing effects of indoor plants in the built healthcare environment: The mediating role of perceived attractiveness. Preventive Medicine, 47(3), 279–283. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ypmed.2008.01.013

Gray, T., & Birrell, C. (2014). Are biophilic-designed site office buildings linked to health benefits and high performing occupants? International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 11(12), 12204–12222. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph111212204

Park, S.-H., & Mattson, R. H. (2009). Ornamental indoor plants in hospital rooms enhanced health outcomes of patients recovering from surgery. The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine, 15(9), 975–980. https://doi.org/10.1089/acm.2009.0075

Raanaas, R. K., Patil, G. G., & Hartig, T. (2010). Effects of an indoor foliage plant intervention on patient well-being during a residential rehabilitation program. HortScience, 45(3), 387–392.

Ulrich, R. (1984). View through a window may influence recovery from surgery. Science, 224(4647), 420–1. https://doi.org/10.116/science.6143402