More and more people are greening their homes, and that’s definitely a good thing – whether it’s renewable energy or green walls, it can not only save you a lot of money and reduce your carbon footprint, but also increase your home’s appeal and make it more cozy. The latest trend that’s picking up steam is moss walls – a green oasis inside your house, that can also help insulate your walls.

Image via Office Landscapes.

Moss walls are actually not that new when you think about them. Over a thousand years ago, the Zen monks in Japan would plant moss on their walls and in their temple gardens to create a sensation of tranquility and expansiveness. For many of them, moss was an important element that facilitated a communion with nature, a break from the daily reality, and a meditation facilitator. Today, it can have the same effect: helping you get rid of the stress of everyday life, and simply relax.

Joe Zazzera and Pat Mahan, two of the main supporters of this trend, find that moss is an ideal solution for people that want to have a big green space inside their house, but they don’t want to go to the trouble of watering or maintaining it. They began incorporating moss more and more to their indoor design, also adding sustainable elements, such as driftwood. You don’t need to water it – it can simply suck the humidity from the air.

They do create a sense of connection with nature, probably more than other plants. After all, we associate moss with forests, virgin soils and generally, wild areas.

“I am obsessed with connecting people and nature,” says Zazzera, “Witnessing this is extremely fulfilling. The best job ever.”

Some people go for the full wall coverage, while others prefer a shrine, but the result is similar – a beautiful, calming green that requires almost no maintenance. Like the two say, there’s a primeval beauty to it:

“We think of these as biomimicry art pieces, mimicking the outdoors we would rather be playing in, and connecting us to our human nature and innate love of living things,” says Joe. “Each one is a like a little miniature shrine at the edge of the wilderness between our offices and our primeval nature.”

But there may even be another advantage to this: in busy cities. where pollution tends to reach high levels, you often see moss somehow managing to survive in the unlikeliest of places. They don’t need much out there, and they don’t need much in our homes. Moss can (to an extent) purify the air, just like any other green plant can do.

If the conditions go bad, moss doesn’t wither away, but rather simply remains dormant until conditions are restored and they can thrive again.

I like the idea of incorporating moss in house designs, and I like the idea of moss walls. What do you think?

All other images via Inhabitat.