Maintaining beautiful, natural greenery in luxury environments comes with a surprisingly high cost. A single luxury hotel can spend hundreds of thousands of dollars per year on fresh floral arrangements that typically last only five to seven days before they wilt and need replacement.
Industry reports show that up to 40 percent or more of cut flowers are wasted in the supply chain due to long-distance air freight, temperature changes, and short shelf life. The repeated cycle of deliveries, refrigeration, packaging, and disposal contributes to carbon emissions, water use, and landfill waste. For many properties, this ongoing expense and environmental impact have become harder to ignore.
From Banking to Founding Nordblooms
That is the challenge Isabelle Back set out to solve. Back grew up in Sweden with a forest across the street from her home, which gave her an early and lasting appreciation for nature. She studied sustainability before moving to Australia, where she built a career in banking focused on ESG, client relationships, strategy, and capital allocation. These experiences taught her how to analyze problems, manage resources efficiently, and build sustainable business models.
While traveling for work, she repeatedly saw the same pattern in five-star hotels, flagship retail stores, and corporate offices. Properties were investing heavily in nature to create inviting, high-end atmospheres, yet they faced constant maintenance struggles and waste.
During the pandemic in New York, she used the quieter period to research preservation technologies and build supplier relationships. This work eventually led her to found Nordblooms.
- Courtesy of Nordblooms
Since launching, the studio has completed projects for clients including Ralph Lauren and the Lotte New York Palace. Nordblooms has created custom installations for high-profile retail displays, hotel lobbies, and corporate wellness spaces where consistent appearance and low maintenance are priorities.
Why Luxury Brands Care
Luxury clients have a strong brand image to uphold. Guests walking into a five-star hotel or flagship store expect everything to look impeccable and carefully curated. Dead or wilting plants, or obvious artificial alternatives with a shiny plastic appearance, can quickly undermine that perception of quality and attention to detail.
Maintaining this standard with fresh flowers often means choosing between expensive weekly replacements or accepting inconsistent results. Preserved installations offer a more stable alternative: real plants that stay visually perfect with far less effort and cost than continuous upkeep or repeated deliveries. This balance is particularly valuable for properties that want to project luxury without the operational headaches.
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- Courtesy of Nordblooms
Beyond cost and consistency, there is growing interest in biophilic design. Research has linked exposure to natural elements with lower stress, improved mood, and in some cases, fewer sick days. For hotels and offices, this supports better guest experiences and employee well-being without the burden of frequent maintenance contracts, irrigation systems, or grow lights.
A Practical Bio-Preservation Approach
Nordblooms uses a bio-preservation process on real plants, replacing the sap with a food-grade glycerin-based oil. The resulting installations need no water or sunlight and only minimal upkeep. According to the company, flowers can last up to one year, plants around three years, trees about five years, and green walls up to ten years.
In New York City, where many luxury buildings feature deep floor plates, narrow corridors, and limited natural light due to dense urban architecture, this flexibility is especially valuable. Traditional living plants often struggle or die in these low-light conditions, forcing designers to either avoid greenery altogether or rely on costly artificial lighting and frequent replacements. Nordblooms’ preserved installations remove that limitation, allowing real botanical elements to be placed almost anywhere while maintaining their appearance year-round.
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- Courtesy of Nordblooms
Looking Forward
Nordblooms remains bootstrapped and self-funded. The company is currently focused on strengthening its presence in New York while preparing an e-commerce catalog for standard products and expanding its residential designer network. It plans to enter additional U.S. cities such as Los Angeles, Miami, and Houston in 2026–2027 through designer networks. Longer-term, Back intends to expand into select international luxury markets including London, Dubai, and Singapore.
The global interior design market is currently valued at approximately $145 billion and is projected to reach $262 billion by 2035. The luxury biophilic design segment is expected to grow to $3.1 billion by 2028 at a 10.2 percent compound annual rate. Back’s background in sustainability and finance has shaped a practical solution aimed at reducing waste and operational costs while supporting high aesthetic standards in luxury environments.
Spencer Hulse is the Editorial Director at Grit Daily. He is responsible for overseeing other editors and writers, day-to-day operations, and covering breaking news.
