Nature Art Beyond the Frame: Creative Ways to Bring Nature into Healthcare

We recently returned from the Healthcare Design Conference + Expo in New Orleans, where we had some great conversations with designers and healthcare professionals about creating better healthcare environments.

One thing really stood out: how excited people were to see all the different ways nature can become part of a healthcare space. Not just the photographs themselves, but what we can do with them.

Because while nature photography is where we started, what we offer today goes far beyond traditional framed art.

A lot can happen between capturing an image and seeing it installed. Sometimes that means heading out to photograph the local landscape. Other times, it’s finding creative ways to make those images part of the building itself.

Nature images printed on multiple substrates create a calming atmosphere at Allina Health’s Lakeville Clinic in MN.

From small, thoughtfully placed images to expansive wallcoverings, acrylic panels, backlit displays, and installations that wrap around corners, there’s no one-size-fits-all approach to bringing nature indoors. And the most interesting solutions often happen when we start thinking beyond the frame.

That said, sometimes a frame is exactly what you need.

A soothing nature photograph in just the right place can make a meaningful difference in how a space feels for patients, families, and staff.

Waiting room at Boone County Health Center’s outpatient clinic in Albion, NE.

Framed nature photography remains one of the most versatile options for healthcare environments.

From a peaceful landscape in a patient room, playful animals for pediatrics, or a pleasing grouping of botanicals along a corridor, framed art can easily add warmth and a connection to the outdoors.

Gallery-wrapped canvases hang in the hallway of Allina Health’s Richard M. Schulze Surgical and Critical Care Center in MN.

Canvas wraps are another way to display images so they make a big impact without needing a big budget. And if you’re after a more modern look, acrylic and metal prints really make the colors and details of nature pop.

According to research, children prefer nature art, like the photographs in this Children’s Nebraska West clinic in Omaha, to other art forms. Acrylic by Renze.

At Children’s Nebraska Specialty Pediatric Clinic in Omaha, custom acrylic panels bring colorful nature imagery into the environment in a variety of sizes and locations, showing how the same medium can be adapted to different spaces and architectural features.

But sometimes, a space calls for something bigger.

Large-scale environmental graphic by Kurt Johnson Photography for Wellstar. Wallcovering by Koroseal.

With large-scale wallcoverings, nature images become part of the architecture itself.

A plain hospital corridor can become something completely different with a large-scale wallcovering.

Imagine walking down a hallway surrounded by beautiful landscapes or colorful flowers, instead of blank walls.

Large-scale floral photographs become one with the architecture at the award-winning Mother Baby Center at Abbott Northwestern and Children’s in MN.

At the Mother Baby Center at Abbott Northwestern and Children’s Minnesota in Minneapolis, more than 10,000 square feet of custom environmental artwork brings the walls to life with vibrant botanical imagery. In this award-winning facility, nature art is a guiding design element throughout the building.

Custom color slice wall graphic by Kurt Johnson Photography for Fairview Health Services in WI. Wallcovering by Koroseal.

And at Fairview River Falls Clinic in Wisconsin, a 48-foot wallcovering brings nature indoors for the entire care team. These installations demonstrate how the scale of an image can change the way people experience a space.

In other cases, the architecture itself inspires something unexpected.

Corner Wrap for Allina Health in MN.

Custom corner wraps, for example, connect canvases around architectural corners to create the illusion of one continuous image.

These can also support wayfinding, using color or nature themes to help people find their way as they move through different areas of the facility.

Wildflower wallcovering spans a curving corridor at Allina Health United Clinic in MN.

And panoramic installations can combine multiple photographs into a single expansive landscape, creating views that extend beyond the dimensions of a traditional photograph.

17 separate photographs of California’s Redwood trees become the anchor in this mixed used building in San Francisco. Wallcovering by Koroseal.

For a project in San Francisco, photographing a towering redwood tree led to a 566-inch vertical installation designed to literally bring the surrounding nature of the area into a multi-story building.

Other spaces present entirely different challenges.

A narrow little nook, a curved wall, or even that awkward space between two doors might not seem like the best place for artwork. But sometimes those unexpected spots turn out to be the most interesting!

And what about spaces without windows or overhead lighting?

Backlit installations can bring a little brightness and a whole lot of nature into places that might otherwise feel dark or closed off.

Back-lit Rex frame by Renze illuminates this otherwise dark hallway at CHI’s Immanuel Hospital in Omaha, NE.

At CHI Immanuel Hospital in Omaha, a 90-foot backlit nature installation turned a windowless basement corridor into something much more inviting for patients, visitors, and staff.

Film on Glass creates privacy for patients and visitors at UNMC’s Nebraska Medicine’s Village Pointe Clinic in Omaha, NE.

Nature imagery can even do more than brighten up a wall. Translucent film on glass doors and partitions adds privacy while still letting light through. It’s a great way to bring nature into spaces where traditional artwork might not work.

But choosing the right format is only one part of the process.

You’ve got to think about lighting, size, materials, and how everything works together.

And then there’s also things like cleaning, durability, and safety.

Backlit Impressionism images by Kurt Johnson Photography creating a space for refuge at Community’s Alliance’s Center for Mental Health in Omaha, NE.

Sometimes that means reimagining an image through color, texture, or a more artistic interpretation of nature. And sometimes, it simply means finding the right photograph for that one empty wall.

Whether you’re designing a large hospital or a small rural clinic, having options makes it easier to find solutions that work with both the design vision and the budget.

When all is said and done, it’s not about how big the artwork is or what it’s printed on. It’s about what that artwork can do for the people moving through the space.

And that’s where experience in healthcare makes a difference. Because carefully chosen artwork can become a meaningful part of the environment – it can become part of the care team.

Have a healthcare project in mind?

Whether you’re looking for a single framed photograph or an installation that transforms an entire space, we’d love to hear what you’re working on. Let’s explore what’s possible.