Do you always feel the urge to have plants in your home but get stuck when styling them? Here’s your quick guide to adding them to your home decor so they look great and thrive! As a long-time plant mom, plants are my favorite way to bring nature into my space. At any given time, I have around 50 leafy friends in my plant collection – ask my husband, who gets the watering list whenever I leave town! Today, I’m sharing how I style these plant babies throughout my home. So, let’s tour a plant mom’s guide to styling your plants!
Indoor plants don’t just look good-they can make us feel good, too.
So, how do you get started with plant styling? Choosing a variety of sizes is always fun and creates a balanced look. Mix tall, upright plants with cascading or trailing varieties for dimension and contrast. Plants elevate a space by adding shape, color, and texture, softening the furniture lines and boosting visual interest. I love the touch of nature they bring, especially in hard-surfaced spaces like kitchens and bathrooms, where their softness provides a welcome contrast. Remember, choosing plants that will thrive in your environment and bring you joy is important.
While I adore terracotta pots, don’t be afraid to experiment with different materials. Almost anything can be made into a planter with a good drainage hole. I love the charm of natural materials like woven baskets, wood bowls, and old crates, and these materials can be a lovely way to add a more casual look to your home.
One of my favorite tips is to get creative and add style to your plant game with repurposed vintage pieces! For example, I transformed an antique wooden bowl and a weathered leather camera case into succulent planters. I protected the interiors with plastic liners and added drainage holes, perfect for these low-maintenance beauties. I added a plastic liner and a layer of rocks to a vintage camera case and placed a long vine of string of pearls inside. With a bit of ingenuity, almost anything can be modified into a unique and eye-catching planter.
Vintage items can turn your plants into a statement piece.
Are you still stuck with plants in their original plastic pots?
Varying plant heights in clusters adds impact. Interior designers like to use odd numbers in their designs. With odd numbers, your eyes are forced to move around more, which brings more interest to the display; this applies to styling your house plants, too.
Placing your taller plant in the back and filling in with smaller plants adds a more layered look to a group of plants. A Plant shelf or plant risers can help achieve the desired heights. Use plants of different sizes. Tuck smaller plants around one big plant for more variety.
Here is a simple example of easy plant styling—place plants in a row for visual interest and a few decorative items.
It’s easy to place the new plants you bring home from the plant store on an end table or a coffee table in your living room, but plants also do a wonderful job filling empty corners. Taller floor plants are a great way to add instant height next to chairs, sofas, or a bed—adding a plant close to a window can feel like an extension of the outdoors.
No matter your design style, one current plant trend is using a plant wall as a focal point in a space. There are so many versions of this on Pinterest and decor blogs, but I love a wall full of plants no matter what version I see. I made this one for one of our short-term rentals. They can be a great solution if you are working with small spaces or are short on floor space.
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Here is another idea for a mini plant wall if you don’t have much space. This wall planter was a quick DIY you can see here.
This is such an easy way to fill a wall or shelf. Choose a warm area with lots of bright indirect light and fill your tubes or vases. I made this one with glass beaker vases from CB2.
This was an easy DIY and added a personal touch to the bedroom. The window provides just enough light for the plant babies to thrive.
Plants that propagate easily:
I like to use low-maintenance plants for styling; If I get busy and neglect them a bit, they can take it. These plants are pretty hardy. Keep in mind plant experts say that one of the most common mistakes in plant care is over-watering.
I also love to use air plants and succulents, as they lend themselves to styling in different types of containers and are very easy to care for. Remember to choose plants carefully and always check lighting requirements. I lack natural light, so I stick to medium/low-light-loving plants and place those with higher light needs in my sunnier bathrooms.
Hopefully, I’ve given you a few ideas on styling your plants, and you are ready to dive in.
YOU MAY ALSO BE INTERESTED IN THE FOLLOWING:
Turn a Jar into a DIY Terrarium
Vintage Crate to Modern Plant Stand
How to DIY your own Cactus Terrarium
Until next time,
Libbie
Wow I love all the ways you have styled these plants!! I need a lot of help and often times have no idea where to start or how to keep alive
I’m always looking for new ways to display plants. Thanks for giving me tons of ideas Libbie!
I am such a plant lover! This is a wonderful world of information
OMW, how lovely. Plants in a home always make it feel like you’re outside and you have some beauties in your collection Libbie. Thanks so much for all the ideas
So much inspiration here and all gorgeous! Did you DIY that hanging plant wall?
I need all the plant tips I can get! Thank you for sharing.
I’m just past the ‘keeping them alive’ stage and am ready to progress to styling so you tips have come at the right time for me – thanks!