Want to bring a touch of greenery to your bathroom or just about any other room in your home? In this article, with step-by-step instructions and video, we’ll show you how easy it is to make your own living wall vertical garden.
As interior design ideas go, this one is a little “off the wall”, or do we mean “on the wall”? With tropical bathrooms being massively on-trend this year, indoor plants are in massive demand.
In our tropical bathroom style guide, we briefly touched upon the idea of a "living wall" and you may well be wondering just what this is, or maybe you simply want to know how to make one?
Luckily for you, we've answered both of these questions below and even had a crack at making our very own living wall. Take a look at the video below to find out how we achieved it.
How to create a living wall step-by-step video
You will need
- 4 x 10mm thick lengths of wood (choose your own length)
- 4 x 15mm thick lengths of wood (choose your own length)
- Sheet of plywood (to cover the back)
- Wood screws
- Staple gun
- Hammer
- Nails
- Wood glue
- Power drill
- Heavy duty bin bags
- Potting soil
- Plants that will need a similar amount of water and sunlight (see our bathroom plant ideas)
Here’s how to create a living wall
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Pre-drill the holes that will connect your frame. This will make it much easier to get your wood screws in.
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With the frame complete, add the plywood to the back using wood glue. Then, strengthen with nails for a secure finish.
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Cut the bin liners to size.
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Flip the frame over and lay down the bin liners, making sure you leave enough to cover the entire frame.
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Take the staple gun and secure the bin liner in place up and down the sides of the frame.
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Take the first of the shelves and use this as a lip at the bottom to keep all your soil inside the frame.
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Fit the other shelves angled upwards and fix into place using nails.
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Add a layer of potting soil to the shelves and trim the bin liners back to expose the wood.
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Now, add the plants. We suggest mixing colours and textures to really get creative with your arrangement. We have listed the plants we used below.
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Settle for a week on a flat surface, before mounting on the wall of your choice.
Congratulations, you’ve now completed your living wall.
It’s worth noting that your living wall can be any size you like. Although, you will need to ensure your wall can take the load.
We used the following plants:
- Carex Evergold
- Garden Fern
- Lavandula Angustifolia
- Lavandula Stoechas
- Miscanthus Gracillimus
- Rosemary
Step-by-step images
Step 1
Screwing the frame together.
Step 2
Adding the plywood backing.
Step 3
Cutting the bin liners to size.
Step 4
Laying down the bin liners.
Step 5
Securing the bin liner to the sides of the frame.
Step 6
Fitting the shelves.
Step 7
Adding a layer of soil.
Step 8
Adding the plants.
Step 9
Allowing to settle on a flat surface for a week
What is a living wall?
With a blurring of boundaries between indoors and outdoors living, we're starting to see many design ideas that were typically used in the garden or patio, being replicated in our interiors.
An outdoors living wall (also known as a green wall) is nothing new. In fact, many of the quaint cottages you'll see in and around the countryside have walls with plants covering the brickwork. Even modern homes may have a smattering of greenery creeping up the side of the building. The only difference with the living wall which we're talking about is that it is indoors and consists of carefully planned and planted shrubs and flowers.
The benefits of a living wall
The benefits of having plenty of plant life within your home cannot be understated. Plants improve the air quality in your home by filtering out some of the harmful pollutants and help regulate the moisture content in the air. Studies show that people feel happier and are more productive in their homes when plant life is present.
A living wall is a creative way to introduce shrubs to any room in your home, especially where space is at a premium.
Create a Tropical bathroom
If you've been inspired to exercise those green fingers and create your very own living wall, why not check out our Tropical bathroom style guide? You'll discover which products, textures and colours work well with your wall.
More bathroom plant ideas
Discover more ways to add greenery to your bathroom with these articles:
