Your Space, Only Greener! Incorporating Plants in Your Life

Two important notes: Before you buy any plant , make sure the natural light available in your space matches the light requirements of the houseplants you’re considering. (Check the plant tags.) Also, if a furry friend tends to keep you company in your special space, make sure the plants you choose are either pet-safe or out of reach.

To create your own personal sanctuary, consider furniture, decor, and houseplants. What is your unique style? Are you looking for calm and comfort, adding fresh energy to a work space, or all the above? Let’s look at simple ways to achieve a style that fits you.

1. Room Style: The Cozy Nest

This is a space that exudes comfort and serenity—just the thing to counteract a stressful day. Colors, texture, lighting, decor, and (of course!) plants all communicate calm, relaxation, and simplicity. Here’s how to build such a space:

• Choose warm, neutral, or earthy colors for the walls, furniture, and accents.
• Toss a thick, fuzzy rug on the floor.
• Have at least one piece of furniture made for lounging.
• Add soft throws and cushy pillows.
• Use soft lighting—Think of table lamps with warm white light, candles, even fairy lights.
• Accent the room with natural textures and handmade items, like woven wall hangings.
• Surround your lounging spot with plants in every direction and on every level, to create a feeling of tranquil solitude. Place them in corners, on shelves, in hanging baskets, and on the floor.
• Choose low-maintenance, easy-care houseplants like:
  1. Snake plant 
  2. Peace lily
  3. Spider plant
  4. Chinese evergreen
  5. Aloe
  6. Philodendron
  7. Peperomia

2. Room Style: Jungle of Color

If bursts of unexpected color and rich greenery never fail to bring you joy, consider creating a space that surrounds you with bright hues and lush plants, making you feel like you’re in a friendly jungle spying on exotic birds. With all the life and energy in such a room, you can’t help but be happy! Here’s how to create it:

• Choose vibrant colors, patterns, and prints. Mix and match as you’d like—after all, this is your space!
• Place at least one piece of comfy, boldly colored furniture.
• Add brightly colored accents like pillows, curtains, throws, lamps, stools, and wall hangings.
• Surround yourself with warm, bright light from above via hanging lamps and tall standing lamps.
• Populate the space with big, full floor plants. You want to create the illusion of being encircled by greenery, both around and above.
• Have a free bench or shelf? Place a tall plant on top of it to create even more height.
• Add a pop of plant color by placing African violets, nerve plants, or polka dot plants on shelves throughout the space.
• Tall, lush plants to consider include:
  1. Monstera deliciosa, aka Swiss cheese plant
  2. Fiddle leaf fig
  3. Rubber plant
  4. Parlor palm
  5. Kentia palm
  6. Cat palm
  7. Dracaena
  8. Vine style plants like the pothos
• Hanging plants are also a great way to create an indoor jungle. Let the vines cascade down a wall, windowframe, or side of a bookcase.

3. Room Style: Eclectic Hangout

Are you someone who embraces the unique? Then skip the matchy-matchy and go for an open-to whatever-makes-you-smile decorating style, creating your own mix of eras, cultures, and textures. The one and only requirement for any element you bring into your space is that you feel joy when you look at it. A few suggestions:

• Choose the kind of furniture you love to sit on, whether that translates to an overstuffed sofa, a deep armchair, or even a hanging chair. 
• Repaint found furniture to give it an updated look.
• Add a variety of small tables. To do it on the cheap, consider upcycling old crates, antique trunks, even wooden stools.
• Scour local thrift shops for a range of intriguing lighting options, or spring for a colorful new lamp to lighten the room in more ways than one.
• Sprinkle the room with quirky decor items, reminders of past adventures, and other personal artifacts.
• Cover tables, shelves, and windowsills with houseplants nestled into different types and levels of pots and baskets. Pick plants that are visually interesting, with a variety of heights, shapes, and foliage colors. If one of your friends has one that catches your eye, ask for a cutting.
• Some plants to try:
  1. Anthurium
  2. Calathea
  3. Flowering cactus
  4. String of beans or string of pearls
  5. Ponytail palm
  6. Monstera deliciosa, aka Swiss cheese plant
  7. Bird of paradise

When you have a room that truly feels like you and is filled with vibrant houseplants, joy will surely follow!

Need tips for keeping your plants in good health? Check out our houseplant care guide.