House Full of Plants: Tips For Creating Your An Indoor Oasis
What do you call a house full of plants?
A tree-mendous tenement!
Bad botanical jokes aside, we are vigorous supporters of creating a veritably verdant house with a lot of plants.
Not only are house plants in style (thank you Pinterest!), but there are numerous other health and wellness benefits to biophilic design—of which actual plants are a huge component.
In fact, adding plants to your home is one of the best ways to reduce psychological and physiological stress and improve indoor air quality through creation of oxygen and phytoremediation of indoor contaminants.
For those wondering, “How do you style a house with plants?”, we’re here with some easy indoor plant hacks to help you understand the roots of decorating each room with plants and create your own sustainable jungle!
The Full List For Styling Houses With Plants
- Choose Plants That Suit Your Space & Lifestyle
- Style Tips For Placing Plants In The House
- Sleeping In A Room Full Of Plants
- Lounging In A Plant-Filled Living Room
- Invigorate Your Personal Care Routine With A Botanical Bathroom
- Invigorate Your Work Day With An Organic Office
- Garden Fresh Meals With Plants In The Kitchen
- Optimize Space In A Small House Filled With Plants
- What To Do If You Have Too Many Plants In Your House
1. Choose Plants That Suit Your Space & Lifestyle
Before you start actually buying greenering for your house full of indoor plants, it’s important to do some research to determine what sort of plants you should be shopping for.
It won’t do you any good to have a house full of plants if they don’t survive more than a couple of months.
Consider what sort of light your abode offers. Sunrooms, south facing windows, and skylights provide optimal lighting for sun-loving plants.
If you aren’t fortunate enough to have ample natural lighting, rest assured knowing not all plants like a lot of light. Select low light plants like a tabletop Snake Plant (Sansevieria trifasciata laurentii), compact Trailing Jade for shelves, or any one of the many varieties of hanging ivy.
Artificial grow lights can also help you supplement your lighting needs, particularly in short winter days.
Temperature and humidity are also important factors to consider. Knowing how to group plants together and place them in optimal conditions can make or break your mini garden paradise.
Also consider how much time you have to devote to caring for your plants. If you frequently find yourself away from your home for days at a time (or just find you frequently forget to water your botanical buddies—no judgment!) choose low maintenance plants like succulents and cacti, which thrive best with weeks between waterings.
A cascading Lipstick Plant is a fun and low-maintenance choice, while an Aloe vera is a must-have for any house with a lot of plants.
2. Style Tips For Placing Plants In The House
Once you’ve chosen your plants, consider these indoor plant hacks and styling tips that will be helpful no matter which indoor plant room you’re tackling.
Grouping Indoor Plants Together
To style a house with plants inside, it is recommended to group them in odd numbers, with three being the magic number.
Trailing and hanging plants that cascade downwards provide visual interest and take up less shelf space, making them ideal for smaller homes and apartments. Plant stands can help create a mixture of sizes and avoid uniform heights.
For specific indoor plant grouping ideas, Pinterest is a great source of visual inspiration.
Just be sure to also pay attention to lighting needs and only group plants with similar needs together.
Living Large With Large Houseplants
If you have the floor space, large house plants are the perfect addition to any room with plants.
Not only do they add effortless decoration to any space, but they can also physically break up and add privacy screens between different areas of a home, which is especially useful for smaller spaces.
These statement pieces include Ficus Tree, Windmill Palm, Fiddle Leaf Fig, and Cast Iron Plant.
During the holiday season, these large plants can even be adorned with sustainable Christmas decorations to create an everlasting sustainable Christmas tree.
Pay Attention To The Pots
When choosing eco-friendly planters and pots for indoor plants, it is important to consider the overall style of your home and existing furniture.
Simple terracotta and ceramic pots can create a minimalist look, while brightly colored baskets made from natural materials can add a pop of color.
If you have empty containers that you were already using for decor—like vases, upcycled jars, even a teapot—prioritize using these first.
Recycled plant pots not only add a unique touch but also helps reduce waste.
3. Sleeping In A Room Full Of Plants
If you have a living space with limitations on where to place houseplants—whether they be related to available space, temperature, or sunlight—there’s one room to prioritize above all others: the bedroom.
A bedroom filled with plants can create a peaceful and calming environment to promote restful sleep.
Moreover, plants act as natural air purifiers, increasing oxygen to create an environment that’s optimal for healthy sleep.
While all plants boast some air purification properties, some are more potent than others, including Areca palms, peace lilies, spider plants, and the Chinese money plant (Pilea peperomioides).
4. Lounging In A Plant-Filled Living Room
What do you call a room with lots of plants?
One that we want to live in, so it only makes sense that the next indoor plant room you should prioritize is the living room.
A living room full of plants can create a soothing and relaxing atmosphere.
Instead of using bookshelves to store only books, consider interspersing potted plants among your collection of sustainability books.
A sustainable coffee table, mantel, side tables, cabinets, shelves, and window ledges are also perfectplaces to find a home for plants.
Grouping plants in odd numbers, using trailing and hanging plants, and choosing pots that fit the overall style can all help create an aesthetically pleasing display of plants.
5. Invigorate Your Personal Care Routine With A Botanical Bathroom
A bathroom filled with plants can create a peaceful and refreshing atmosphere.
However, when selecting plants for a bathroom, it is important to consider the amount of natural light available. Rainforest plants are a great option for bathrooms with low light as they are adapted to shady, moist environments.
Some good options include the Zamioculcas Zamiifolia, Boston fern (Nephrolepis exaltata), Snake Plant (Sansevieria), and Kentia palm (Howea forsteriana).
These plants not only thrive in low light but also add a touch of greenery to the bathroom.
The Zamioculcas Zamiifolia, in particular, tolerates low light levels and likes humidity. For an instant dramatic effect, the Kentia palm is a tall, bushy option that can make a statement in any bathroom.
6. Invigorate Your Work Day With An Organic Office
We get it; working from home can be stressful.
Fortunately, styling your house with plants inside your home office can create a more calm and productive work environment.
In fact, some studies have found offices with plants increase productivity as much as 15%!
But we wouldn’t want to add any more work to your office space, so opt for low maintenance plants that are tolerant of neglect.
The variegated Snake Plant, the Pony Tail Palm (Beaucarnea), and most succulents, such as the Money Tree (Pachira aquatica), are popular low maintenance office plants.
These plants can thrive in low light and are perfect for those who may not have the greenest thumb.
7. Garden Fresh Meals With Plants In The Kitchen
A house full of house plants doesn’t need to be limited to specific “house” plants.
You can bring your sustainable gardening efforts indoors, too!
In homes with limited outdoor space, the kitchen can serve as an excellent spot for cultivating edible plants.
Utilizing natural light by placing potted plants on window ledges and hanging them in the window can maximize the available space.
For kitchens with a south-facing window that receives ample sunshine, compact varieties of cherry tomatoes, chili peppers, and certain garden herbs can thrive.
Mint and basil are among the hardiest herbs for indoor cultivation. A basil plant can even thrive for years when placed in a south-facing window, especially when supplemented with a simple grow light during darker winter days.
8. Optimize Space In A Small House Filled With Plants
Indoor gardening is not limited to large spaces only.
Even the smallest spaces can be creatively stocked with plants to create a beautiful and relaxing environment.
Air plants, Peperomia caperata, and Echeveria setosa are a popular choice for small spaces and can be placed on any mantelpiece or shelf in an array of pots.
Plants with an upright growth habit like Snake Plants (Sansevieria) and Zamioculcas zamiifolia are perfect for small interiors.
If you can’t hang anything from the ceiling, there are alternative ways to hang them, such as from the cornice of your windows, wall planters, or a sturdy curtain rod (though limit this to small, lightweight planters like air plants).
For those who are allowed to mount things on their walls, living walls are also a wonderful way to achieve a plant-filled house without taking up valuable floor or shelf space.
They’re like paintings—but with the added benefit of being natural air purifiers that can improve indoor air quality.
These vertical gardens can be as small as a framed photo or as large as an entire wall, and they are perfect for low-maintenance textured plants like moss and ferns.
9. What Happens If You Have Too Many Plants In Your House?
“Too many plants” isn’t really a term we personally understand. As they say, we didn’t choose the plant life; the plant life chose us—or something like that.
But we do know that when growing house plants, it is easy to accumulate a large collection of foliage that can quickly overwhelm small living spaces, like those with an apartment full of plants.
First, try to prevent this by choosing compact plants that will fit in the first place.
Prioritizing trailing plants not only creates a lush and interesting vibe, but can alleviate space woes, particularly if you’re short on well-lit window ledges. Consider attaching a simple trellis for climbers like Golden Pothos (Epipremnum aureum), or use wall planters for cascading plants.
The Spider Plant (Chlorophytum), Mistletoe Cactus (Rhipsalis heteroclada), English Ivy (Hedera helix), or Silver Vine (Epipremnum pictum Argyraeus) are excellent choices for trailers.
Next, consider revamping your displays. For trailing and non-trailing plants alike, shelving is key for storing your expanding collection.
Glass cabinets make perfect miniature greenhouses to house your plants in and have the added advantage of keeping pets and toddlers out. Tables and stands can also be used to create dedicated displays for your plants.
If you still find yourself with too many plants, consider sharing the leafy love and helping someone else start their indoor jungle journey.
Remember, the key is to keep your plants contained and organized to prevent your home from becoming known as “the house of plants.”
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Closing Thoughts On How To Place Plants In Your Home
So, how many plants should you have in your house?
As many as you want (or in our case, as many as your small house can fit). We say go big AND go home!
Incorporating plants in the home’s sustainable interior design can bring a variety of benefits, including improving air quality, reducing stress, and adding aesthetic appeal.
By following the tips outlined in this article, you can ensure that your houseplants thrive in your living space—which in turn will help you do the same!
But don’t limit it to just your home. Help us spread the word that anyone can create a beautiful and healthy house full of plants by sharing this article.
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