When you welcome a new plant into your home, you do more than boost your mood, purify the air, and introduce new colors and fragrances into your space. If you consider styling and design principles, your houseplants can actually transform how your interiors look. That is why plants have found their way into the heart of the design world, and many DIYers have begun emulating biophilic trends from Architectural Digest and ELLE Décor. Now that you have a new plant, planter, or care accessory on the way—here are some design tips to keep in mind when styling, or re-styling, your greenery.
Tip #1: Put your plants’ needs first.
It is essential to consider your plant’s needs before making any other styling- and design-related decisions. As the saying goes, “form follows function.” Consider the amount of light, water, and humidity your plants will need to thrive, then what your space can provide, and narrow down plant placement accordingly.
Not sure what light your plant likes? Check out our digital Care Library. Plants that prefer bright direct light will be happiest in front of a window or under a grow light, while plants that prefer bright to medium indirect light will benefit from being a few feet away from either. Plants tolerant of low light are a little more flexible on where they can be, but make sure the room has a window or grow light, as all plants need light to survive.
If you have a space with little to no light—try faux plants. You can even style faux and live plants together, if you’d like to add more greenery to your home without having to consider live plants’ light and water requirements.
Pro tip: most houseplants prefer a stable environment. Keep them away from AC units and radiators, which can cause hot and cold drafts.
Tip #2: Curate a plant-centered palette.
Let the colors of your plants and planters help dictate the other colors in your space. For instance, if you chose a planter in blush pink, you could bring in pieces in deeper pink shades, emphasize lavender or peach, or mix in mint or sea green. The exact way you combine colors will depend on your preferred palette type: monochromatic, analogous, complementary, and so forth. Not sure what colors would work best? Reference a color wheel for inspiration! Whether your plants blend seamlessly with your palette or stand out as vibrant pops of color, the goal is to make them feel a part of your space.
Tip #3: Have fun with it.
Go “all in” with a large statement plant, or bring the outdoors in with many plants. Play with shapes, sizes, and textures to bring your space to life. We like to layer different plant shapes and sizes to create thoughtful vignettes that draw the eye around the room.
Pro tip: Embrace cachepots (i.e. nestling your plant’s grow pot in a more visually-appealing exterior planter, instead of potting it directly into the said planter.) As long as the plant has room to grow, and fresh potting mix every year or two, there’s nothing wrong with this method! Grow pots provide excellent drainage, and make moving around and styling plants easy.
Tip #4: Leave some room to grow.
Your foliage will not enjoy being squished in a small spot, and styling plants this way may make a space feel dark and cramped. Set a spacious tone by giving each plant its own perch, whether a corner, sill, shelf, or table. You should ideally stake out enough vertical and horizontal space to accommodate a year’s worth of potential growth.
Words By The Sill
Empowering all people to be plant people—a collection of articles from The Sill’s team of plant experts across a variety of plant care topics to inspire confidence in the next generation of plant parents. Welcome to Plant Parenthood™.
