INTERVIEW
FROM ANXIETY TO AESTHETICS:
KATLYN DAOUS MILLENNIALS & T WORDS BY MARTINE AAMODT HESS
In true millennial spirit, Katlyn has made a business out of merging interior design with
the benefits of houseplants. Now she opens up about why this generation’s relationship with their green friends goes far beyond the fad.
Y
ou wake up to the sound of your alarm. You glance over at the proud snake plant on your bedside table and hit snooze one more time before getting out of bed. You draw back your curtains and greet the prickly succulents resting on your windowsill. Making your way to the kitchen, you pass the peace lily, the trusted monstera, and the fiddle leaf fig. Good morning Cher, Baby Spice and Planty… How did all these plants make their way into your life? One by one, they have become an integral part of not only your daily routine but also your family. As houseplants have made their biggest comeback since the 1970s, you may ask yourself what lies behind the obsession. Is there more to the story than their Instagrammable nature and is the trend here to stay? Here to answer your questions is Katlyn Daoust - the Minneapolis-native making a living out of the evergreen love affair between millennials and plants. “I think people start with a few plants because they look pretty and maybe even because they’re trendy, but by the 10th, 20th, 30th, even 100th plant, it’s clear that plant parents are invested in houseplants for reasons far beyond their ability to look cool,” says Katlyn. The 32-year-old founded Plants by Her in the hope of providing a tool to the wave of people looking
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NODE ISSUE NO. 1
to improve their lives by implementing a touch of green. Her interior design studio offers workshops, remote consultations, as well as both commercial and residential design services. At the heart of the brand is the science of plant care, and the goal is to bring the benefits of indoor gardening with a design-forward mentality to everyone from your local plant mum to the team at L’Oréal. Katlyn is a firm believer that millennials’ attraction to plants runs deeper than the aesthetic photos shared on Instagram. “I think social media is absolutely a catalyst for the growth in the plant movement, though I don’t think social media could be strong enough to force a trend unless there were some actual lasting benefits,” she says. “There’s a theory that humans are naturally inclined to commune with nature. It’s called Biophilia. It posits that people have a primitive need to be around nature and that it restores them.” This is something she has experienced firsthand when helping young people bring plants into their city flats. Millennials tend to favour big cities over suburban life. They have been priced out of the housing market, and as a result, many find themselves living in space-restricted rentals with little access to the natural world. Houseplants allow them to stay in touch with nature.
