How to Decorate with Plants
Maybe you’ve got a serious green thumb or you’re beginning a love affair with plants, learning how to style your home with plants can be a whole other challenge! About 5 years ago, I somehow managed to kill a cactus (truth!). But, after seeing how even one little plant instantly transforms a space, I worked even harder to learn how to include them in our home. And to my surprise, they actually end up solving many design dilemmas. I’ve come up with some quick and easy tips, so even if you’re working with the faux variety, let me show you how to decorate with plants!
While decorating with plants is not rocket science, there are definitely some tricks to making it feel natural. It’s a little bit of an art – and something that Ai Design Tools styling tends to miss.
1. Create Height with Tall House Plants
This is one of my favorite tips styling house plants. Most rooms need height, meaning they need something to pull our eyes up. In fact, when I come across a room that does not feel quite right, one of the first things I check for is height. Do we have something tall and vertical in the space? Bringing height into a room does a lot of things. It makes a small room feel larger, it naturally lifts our eyes up from the floor so it’s more expansive and airy. Tall things all help a room feel balanced.
For added height, my favorite is the snake plant. They are easy to find, hard to kill and grow straight up. Here is my list of favorite indoor plants for added height:
- Snake Plant – easiest, tall and narrow
- Rubber Plant – tall with dark, rounded leaves
- Corn Plant (technical term Draecana)
- Fiddle Fig – a bit tricky but grows lush and tall
- Majesty Palm-super easy to care for and bring sunshiny vibes
2. Style Plants to Soften Harsh Areas
Another tip to style house plants is to use them for softening lines. When I’m facing a tricky space, maybe it’s a weird ledge or a strange transition between rooms, a plant can smooth out the edges a bit. I also use this tip when a room has a lot of angles and lines and feels to confined or boxy. or, maybe there is a lot of squared furniture – which often happens with tables and cabinets.
If you encounter a space like this a soft, flowing or trailing plant helps balance out those lines. These are my favorite lush plants:
- Pothos – hands down one of the easiest plants to care for
- Pepperomia – compact but lush, perfect for desks and shelves
- Heartleaf Philodendron – I love this plant so much, it’s trailing with lovely heart shaped leaves
- Jade – Round, hearty, slow growing but add so much depth to a space
3. Use Plants to Add Dimension to a Space
If a room feels flat, one note, or boxy chances are it needs a plant. One of the first rooms I worked on checked so many design boxes but failed overall. I couldn’t figure out why. Even though I had proportion and balance and texture, the room still felt flat and I could never put my finger on it. It wasn’t until I looked back and realized that the space really needed some dimension, some depth. Plants provide a sense of movement, life, and depth. This is something no throw pillow or blanket can ever provide!
4. Plant Styling for Organic Imperfect Vibes
Plants make a space instantly more authentic. They are real and imperfect and lovely. Why would we want yellowed leaves or wayward stems? Well, because they make a space feel real. Sometimes homes (especially newer builds) can feel just so put together and planned that it lacks a sense of authenticity or feeling. Give me a brand new space with immaculately chosen details and I will give you a trusty, aged jade plant in a weathered pot.
Folks in the faux plant crew, may not love this tip, but I strongly believe that the wild imperfections of plants balance out what are often otherwise ‘perfect’ places. So in learning how to style house plants, embrace the idea of making a room authentic and lived in.
As you learn how to style house plants, you might find it helpful to have a few accessories on hand. I’ve gathered up some of my favorite planters, stands, and books to make taking care and decorating with plants easier.
Shop Plant Accessories
- Modern Plant Stand – cool planter and extra height all in one, I have a few of these around the house – love the minimal vibes
- Copper Watering Can – so pretty, I’d probably keep this on on my shelf!
- Wood Stool – perfect as a plant stand – I use wood stools all over the house to add extra height to small plants
- Concrete Planter for shape and texture, I would use this indoors (on a small stand) or outside on the porch
- Plant Mister for all those little plant babies, never knew how handy these could be
- Wild at Home Book – a must have for any plant lover, great ideas on how to style house plants
- Plant Basket (Set) – an easy way to add height with small plants, I use these basket stands all around the home, they add so much warmth & texture
Final Thoughts on How to Decorate with Plants
I hope this posts gives you lots of ideas on how to decorate with plants. Once I started adding plants, my entire home decor game completely changed. Plants add height, texture, and softness to a space that you just can’t get anywhere else.
Don’t stress about getting it perfect, practice with one space, see what it needs and go from there. Learning about plants is a process and resources like this Plant Guide Encyclopedia from Apartment Therapy is one of my go to info sites. Looking for more plant inspiration? Check out my 5 Easy Indoor Plants for a Beginner.
