Hotel lobby project

I just Loved all your ideas for my hotel lobby assignment using the "inspiration" material I was given.
I've opted for a space that reflects the norther California landscape of rolling golden hills dotted with oak trees. A "back to nature" ambiance with stone flooring, wrap-around organic-shaped benches (possibly covered in my mosaic tile?), wooden beams, and big beautiful indoor trees.
For those of you interested in space planning (I can't believe how much there is to consider!) here is our floor plan.

So, time to get to work on my elevations. Gotta figure out what to do with the ceiling (16' to the concrete slab above), how to drop it down to cover all the goodies that go up into ceilings, while still retaining enough room for these fabulous fake trees I want inside.Aren't they cool? Made out of steel, they really look authentic.

image source
My teacher is scared I'm heading towards Rainforest Cafe cheesiness. ;-) I'd consider replacing the trees with something more sculptural and "tree-like" if I could find something cool enough.

What would you do with the interior to reflect the look I'm going for?