How To Use Plants To Add Style To Your Home

By Deborah Ricketts

Who doesn’t love the great outdoors? A gentle stroll in a fragrant rose garden or a trek through the bush. Plants have a way of re-energising us, providing a sense of peace and calm, coupled with aesthetic beauty.

Why not bring some of that natural beauty, calm and style into your home? Here are a few ways you can use plants to add style to your space.

Use special features within your house to display your plants

Do you have a fireplace shelf or mantel? Or possibly a big bench seat, or maybe numerous deep window ledges or a bookshelf? The key to styling your space is to utilise the unique characteristics your home offers, and pair with an appropriate plant.

When pairing your plant to its desired space, consider:

Lighting – can they handle low light or full light?

Moisture – are they suitable for a bathroom or laundry?

Size – make sure the plant doesn’t dominate nor get lost in the space.

Arranging plants in odd numbers

A key concept in design is the rule of threes. If you group plants in an odd number, in triangular formation, it provides a more casual appearance. People are visually attracted to odd numbers, as they’re less symmetrical and help the eye move around the space. 

If the space is small, consider placing three plants in one pot. Two of the same smaller plants with a taller, leafy one, for the same impact.

Bold indoor statement plants

There’s a reason why this approach is popular with interior designers…it works! Use a large plant, to create a style statement. 

Try adding a fiddle leaf fig or Elephant Ear in your entranceway, or beside your lounge or favourite chair. It will instantly spice up the space, inviting owners and guests to sit down and exhale. Greenery complements every colour palette and provides beautiful texture.

Long, hanging plants

Long hanging plants are a clever way to style smaller rooms. Hanging plants not only soften a space, they create an illusion it’s larger, by providing eye-catching vertical allure. 

Hang a String of Pearls inside a macramé plant hanger, by a bedroom window to catch the sunlight. Its trailing bubbly pea-like vines are a showstopper, coupled with the macramé, it creates an instant boho vibe.

Bathrooms are often cold and sterile; plants can give instant warmth and relaxing vibes. Why not hang Devil’s Ivy for a luscious textural flow of leafy tendrils. Sink into the tub with a sense of serenity.

So now the fun part… styling! The trick will be which room and plant to choose first? If you follow these tips, using the special features within your home, placing sets of plants in a triangle of three, incorporating both large feature plants in the living and entrance ways, with hanging plants in your smaller spaces, you can zhoosh up your home in no time.

Deborah Ricketts from Versatile VA supports Australian small service-based businesses, with outsourced marketing support (writing and social media management) www.versatileva.com.au

Want more? Click here for Creating a Healing Garden and here for Three Ingredients For a Healthier Home.

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