Practice and waiting room: calm, clean, welcoming

A waiting room is a room full of people who would rather be somewhere else. Anything that makes it calmer and friendlier helps, and at the same time requirements apply there that do not exist in a living room. This article shows why artificial plants are such an obvious fit in medical practices, law offices and waiting areas, and what matters most with them.

Why real plants are an issue in practices

There is an additional point here that has nothing to do with looks: potting soil is heavily loaded with spore-forming germs. That is exactly why potted plants are off limits in hospitals, and in a practice where people with weakened immune systems are sitting, the same reasoning applies.

Cut flowers have a different problem: after three to four days, the vase water turns. At reception that becomes an issue, first of all for the patients sitting in front of it. Changing it every three days then becomes a task nobody has time for in the daily routine of a practice.

Artificial plants have neither soil nor standing water. In a practice that is not a side issue; it is the main reason.

What artificial plants do in the waiting room

• They are hygienically safe: no soil, no water, nothing that can tip over or go mouldy.
• They release no pollen. In spring, a waiting room holds an above-average number of people with hay fever, and quite often that is exactly why they are there. A bunch of lilies at reception would be the worst possible choice.
• They look the same every day. The room patients see is always the well-kept one.
• They work without windows, too. Waiting rooms and corridors are often internal. A real plant will not make it there, even with care.

What comes with it, honestly

Artificial plants are not maintenance-free. Dust gathers on the leaves, and faster in a room with many people than at home. For patients with a house dust allergy that matters. That is why wiping belongs in the practice’s cleaning schedule: every one to two weeks with a damp microfibre cloth, done in two minutes. Smooth, larger leaves can be wiped in one go; delicate blooms with lots of gaps are the poorer choice here.

Twice a year, a more thorough clean with lukewarm water, then leave to air-dry.

What matters most in practice premises

• Stability. Wheelchairs, pushchairs, walking aids. A weighted pot that does not tip is a must, and it should not stand in a walkway.
• No small parts. In a practice with children, loose decorative items wander. A few firm stems in one vessel stay where they are.
• Calm colours. Green, white, muted tones. A waiting room should soothe, not stimulate. Vivid blooms belong in other rooms.
• Wipeable vessels. Smooth ceramic or stoneware rather than basketwork or fabric, for the same reason as with the leaves.
• Sunlight. Constant direct sun bleaches colours over time. The spot by the south-facing window is therefore the worst.

Where they do the most good

• Reception. The first glance on entering. A large statement plant next to the counter, not on it: the counter needs its surface.
• The waiting room. A larger plant in the corner that the eye finds while waiting. Not between the chairs.
• Corridors. Often long, windowless and echoing. A hanging element or a slim tree breaks that up.
• Treatment rooms. Keep it restrained here: a small plant within view of the examination couch, nothing that gets in the way or has to be wiped before the room is disinfected.

Where real plants still fit

• In the staff room, where nobody with a weakened immune system sits and someone who waters is around anyway.
• In a law office or consultancy without medical requirements, with bright rooms and clear responsibility.
• As a bunch of cut flowers in the doctor’s consulting room: a personal gesture, not basic equipment.

Matching range

For reception and the waiting room, stable artificial trees and larger potted plants with smooth leaves work well; for corridors, hanging plants. Wipeable vessels are under Vases & decor. If several rooms are to be furnished the same way, write to Bloomli via the wish box.