I found this very helpful video from Sheffield Made Plants titled How to Style Your Houseplants Like a Pro and made some notes. A while ago I had a very big collection of plants, but after I moved, and moved again, and switched countries, and now going back and forth between two countries, my plant collection is exactly 2. A Pothos and a ficus Benjamina. (I think). I used to have a few more, but they grew to big to be easily transported over to a good friend of mine who can take care of my plants while I am away for weeks. But one day hopefully I will have a more stable life and can grab a few plants to have them around. And while I wait for life to happen, I can prepare and learn a bit about how to arrange the plants to look awesome.
The truth is, I do not like flowering plants, and also don´t like plants that are different color than green. It´s strange, because I do like my friend´s garden with many beautiful color flowers, I do think it is beautiful, but I DO NOT want them in mu own home. Just greens, various shades, shapes… So I am somewhat limited with variety when it comes to pick up plants, but here are some general “rules” suggeested by the video:
1. Frame Your Space
One of the easiest ways to elevate your plant display is to use them to frame a focal point in the room. This could be a window, a mirror, or even a piece of furniture. It gives your space structure and makes the plants feel like they’re part of the design, not just an afterthought.
I really love this idea. Back in the days, I placed my plants where I had space, and where they had good light 🙂 But now I am more leaning to the idea to place them where they look good, elevate the space, and add some “livelyhood” to this area. This is why I also started researching growing lights, because some of these spaces that really NEED a plant, do not have the right lighting conditions to actually have a healty plant. And I already shared my view on plastic plants, so no point of suggesting them 😀 Be sure to watch the video!
2. Add Trailing Plants to Soften Edges
Trailing plants are perfect for softening those awkward or empty spots in a room. They add texture and movement, which helps blend your plants into the space instead of just having them sit on a flat surface.
Yes and yes! I already did that with my photos. It flows down from the kitchen shelve and I absolutely adore how it makes the space feel alive. And I can´t show it, because this plant is still at my friends place. But next week I am going to bring her home!
3. Use Art as a Backdrop
Plants in front of a plain wall can sometimes look a bit flat, especially if they’re small. Adding a piece of art or a picture frame behind them can add depth and make the plants pop.
This is an interesting concept. I am still not sure what type of art I am going to have in my home, because… again decorating and decorating according to the most expected “rules” is not entirely my thing. But I will keep in mind to incorporate the plant and the artwork somehow.
4. Use Grow Lights That Blend In
If you have a dark corner or a spot far from a window, a grow light can keep your plants happy. But you don’t have to use a clip-on light that looks out of place. Instead, consider using a normal-looking floor lamp with a grow light bulb.
From a distance, it looks like a regular lamp, but it’s actually giving your plants the light they need.
This doesn´t even require any adition. Now days it´s so much easier, growing lights or growing light bulbs can be aquired, they are mostly led based, so don´t consume to much electricity, or can be powered by even small solar panels, and this would help the plant to receive “daylight” when the sun is up…. offering it variety!
5. Give Climbing Plants a Trellis
Some plants just want to climb. You can fight it, or you can work with it. Letting a pothos trail is fine, but if you want to create a real statement piece, give it something to climb.
I seen some climbing pothos indeed… But I am not sure about this idea. I just don´t like the whole concept and I won´t have that many plants. So this is a “not really” for me.
6. Use Statement Plants to Anchor a Room
You don’t always need a bunch of little plants to fill a space. Sometimes, one big, well-placed statement plant can pull a whole room together. Oh yes. This is going to be a Monstra or a Ficus Elastica. I love both plants, they do well in our climate. Can´t wait to have one!
7. Match Your Pots to the Plant’s “Vibe”
Choosing the right pot can make a huge difference.
I am not that poetic, to think about the plant, but I do feel that choosing the right pot can make huge difference. I will choose my pots to fit my color scheme, and materials (natural materials, ceramic, blue yellow, white … will see. I will not have plants in random colored plastic pots that´s for sure 🙂
8. Don’t Forget to Clean the Leaves!
You can keep your room spotless, but if the plants themselves are dusty, the whole space will feel a bit dull. Yep, cannot agree more. Nothing more to add here. Keeping it as a reminder.
9. Elevate Your Plants
When all your plants are on the same level, your space can feel flat. Hanging a few plants can add height and movement, drawing the eye upward and making the room feel taller. Just like the general concept in interior design, to elevate items, move them higher, lower… this is true for the plants too.
I would like to add my own points…
10. Don´t forget to correctly flower and care for your plants 😀
I do think this is very important. And also note to self, don´t bring home to many plants. Because while in some cases having an urban jungle can look amazing (I had it), lately I kind’a feel this “less is more” is what I am after. I do not want to have to many plants, I want to have the right amount, the right sizes and the right colors. This is why I am not rushing with buying the plants… It will take time until our “greanary” will be actuly green.
11. If you travel a lot, be sure to invest in a proper home irrigation system…
Sadly now and possibly the upcoming years will require me to travel way more than I would like. And all these travels are longer that I wish them to be. This makes having well kept houseplants an extremely difficult task, but I already figured out that a small home watering system will be my saviour. Because it’s not the same to ask a friend to come over once a month and fill up the water storage, or come every 3 days to water my plants….
If you have more good tips and hacks for your plants… be kind and share them 😀
Note: Photo by Huy Phan
I found a very helpful video from Sheffield Made Plants titled, “How to Style Your Houseplants Like a Pro“ and made some notes. A while ago, I had a very large collection of plants, but after moving twice, switching countries, and now going back and forth between two countries, my plant collection has been reduced to exactly two: a pothos and a Ficus Benjamina (I think). I used to have a few more, but they grew too big to be easily transported, so I gave them to a good friend of mine who can take care of them while I’m away for weeks at a time.
I’m hoping to have a more stable life one day so I can have a more extensive collection of plants. While I wait, I’m preparing and learning how to arrange plants to make them look their best. The truth is, I don’t like flowering plants or plants that are any color other than green. It’s strange because I love my friend’s garden with all its beautiful flowers, but I don’t want them in my own home. I only want various shades of green and different shapes. While this limits my plant choices, the video offered some great general styling “rules” that work for any plant.
So here is what I learned:
1. Frame Your Space
One of the easiest ways to elevate your plant display is to use plants to frame a focal point in the room, such as a window, a mirror, or a piece of furniture. This gives your space structure and makes the plants feel like they’re part of the design, not just an afterthought.
I love this idea. Back in the day, I placed my plants wherever I had space and good light. Now I’m leaning toward placing them where they look good, elevate the space, and add life. This is also why I started researching grow lights, because some of the spaces that really need a plant don’t have the right lighting conditions for a healthy one.
2. Add Trailing Plants to Soften Edges
Trailing plants are perfect for softening awkward or empty spots in a room. They add texture and movement, which helps blend your plants into the space instead of just having them sit on a flat surface.
Yes, and yes! I already did this with my pothos. It flows down from a kitchen shelf, and I absolutely adore how it makes the space feel alive. This plant is still at my friend’s house, but I’m bringing it home next week!
3. Use Art as a Backdrop
Plants in front of a plain wall can sometimes look a bit flat, especially if they’re small. Adding a piece of art or a picture frame behind them can add depth and make the plants pop.
This is an interesting concept. I’m still not sure what type of art I’m going to have in my home because decorating according to the expected “rules” isn’t entirely my thing. But I’ll keep this in mind and try to incorporate my plants and artwork together.
4. Use Grow Lights That Blend In
If you have a dark corner or a spot far from a window, a grow light can keep your plants happy. You don’t have to use a clip-on light that looks out of place; instead, consider using a normal-looking floor lamp with a grow light bulb. From a distance, it looks like a regular lamp, but it’s actually giving your plants the light they need.
Nowadays, this is so much easier. Grow lights or grow light bulbs are mostly LED-based, so they don’t consume much electricity and can even be powered by small solar panels. This would help a plant receive “daylight” when the sun is up, offering it variety.
5. Give Climbing Plants a Trellis
Some plants just want to climb. You can fight it, or you can work with it. Letting a pothos trail is fine, but if you want to create a real statement piece, give it something to climb.
I have seen some climbing pothos, but I’m not sure about this idea. I don’t really like the whole concept, and since I won’t have that many plants, this is a “not really” for me.
6. Use Statement Plants to Anchor a Room
You don’t always need a bunch of little plants to fill a space. Sometimes, one big, well-placed statement plant can pull a whole room together.
For me, this will be a Monstera or a Ficus Elastica. I love both plants, and they do well in our climate. I can’t wait to get one!
7. Match Your Pots to the Plant’s “Vibe”
Choosing the right pot can make a huge difference.
While I’m not poetic enough to think about the plant’s “vibe,” I do believe the right pot makes a big difference. I will choose my pots to fit my color scheme and materials (natural materials, ceramic, blue, yellow, white… I’ll see). I will definitely not have plants in random-colored plastic pots.
8. Don’t Forget to Clean the Leaves!
You can keep your room spotless, but if the plants themselves are dusty, the whole space will feel dull.
I couldn’t agree more. Nothing more to add here, just keeping it as a reminder.
9. Elevate Your Plants
When all your plants are on the same level, your space can feel flat. Hanging a few plants can add height and movement, drawing the eye upward and making the room feel taller.
Just like the general concept in interior design, it’s important to elevate items, move them higher and lower. The same is true for plants.
My Own Tips
I’d like to add a couple of my own points to this list.
10. Don’t forget to correctly water and care for your plants!
I think this is very important. Note to self: don’t bring home too many plants. While an urban jungle can look amazing (I had one), I’m leaning toward a “less is more” approach. I don’t want to have too many plants; I want to have the right amount, the right sizes, and the right colors. This is why I’m not rushing to buy plants. It will take time until my “greenery” is actually green.
11. If you travel a lot, be sure to invest in a proper home irrigation system.
Sadly, my life for the next few years will require me to travel much more than I’d like. All of these travels are longer than I wish them to be. This makes having well-kept houseplants an extremely difficult task. I’ve already figured out that a small home watering system will be my savior. It’s not the same to ask a friend to come over once a month to fill up the water storage as it is to ask them to come over every three days to water my plants.
If you have more good tips and hacks for your plants, be kind and share them!
Note: Photo by Huy Phan
