Brentwood, California

Residential Art Wall Front Entry Design

The owners of this Brentwood home sought an art piece for their front entry alcove—a perfect space for a custom 6' by 5' AirplantFrame installation. A natural boulder breaks the stone tile alcove's perfect geometric form and invites the passing guests to pause and contemplate.   The architecture team for the project designed this stunning recessed niche and now they just needed to find the perfect 'art' piece to bring it alive.  That was when Airplantman entered the project and our work was a perfect fit.  Needing something to combine a modern aesthetic with the organic vibrancy of living art our AirplantFrame vertical garden design was perfect and the client and design team were instantly in love. 

For this project we designed a living tapestry which includes over 1000 airplants from 10 different species in various shapes, sizes and colors. The soil-less installation is silhouetted in front of a corten steel backdrop highlighting tillandsia's airborne nature. Corten steel's finish brings a deep rust color that contrasts beautifully with the vibrant green and grey's of the Tillandsia or air plants.  Nestled within this thoughtfully designed backdrop the alcove holds the eye and elevated the piece from ornament to art. 

The Benefits of Planning Ahead

We love collaborating on projects with the full design team prior to installation.  This invariable produces a more coherent, integrated, and successful design solution.  Tillandsia's flexibility and our creativity also allow us to relish the opportunity to be a 'problem solver' when brought in on existing projects there is nothing like a design thoughtfully integrated into a fully realize design.  The architecture, landscape architecture, and interior design team on this project was second to none and their visions combined to create this stunning piece.

Self-Maintained Airplants

While this project had the benefits of the mild coastal climate of Southern California and existing outdoors where the plants could enjoy fresh air, there were also some challenges.  The extensive overhang within the niche limited natural light which we knew would present challenges over time.  To mitigate this condition a special LED growlight was used that not only supports the plant growth but has a warm color temperature that highlights the beauty of the plants.  This grow light is on a timer to provide an optimal boost to both the aesthetics and functionality of the installation.  The second challenge to long term viability was water.  The client requested an extremely low maintenance solution and we were able to incorporate an irrigation system that does just that.  Linked to the rest of the site's landscape irrigation controller there is a unique valve for the piece that provides timely periods of wetting with sufficient time between waterings for the plants to become completely dry.   In this way both a built-in irrigation and grow light system keep the plants in perfect health with virtually no maintenance required of the homeowners.