While many people might like to fantasise about stepping through their French windows into a glorious garden below the truth is that in Hong Kong not many apartments come with a balcony.
What is classed as a flat's outside space can be no more than the communal corridor to the lift. Making maximum use of window space, artfully draping materials, bringing in plants and even slapping on wallpaper can all bring the outdoors into the living room.
If space is no object, the most obvious way to introduce a sense of nature is to move in plants. Ficus or fig trees can grow from 4 to 18 feet. Palms offer a variety of sizes and leaf shapes, while citrus plants, such as lemons, oranges and limes, give a fresh fun alternative to plain green-leaved foliage.
Unseen but felt benefits of plants are that they help clean the air of indoor pollution, while aesthetically they are easy on the eye. Plant pots and their positioning can accent decorating themes or soften angles and hide unsightly cables or sockets.
Michelle Koller, founder and creative director of Tequila Kola, said using densely packed ferns in a living room display started in Europe a couple of years ago.
One section of a divided shelving unit can be packed with soil and fern and the others can contain the other items you might traditionally display in your living room such as books, ornaments and a television.
