Why you should always use plants in your home décor as well as easy tips on where to use them and what to do when you have a black thumb
Plants or faux greenery are often used in home décor as décor accessories. But have you ever stopped and wondered why? Why do we use plants in home décor, and do you choose your indoor plants consciously or do you just pick the prettiest one at the grocery store?
Do you know where to use plants in your home décor or are you always moving them around because they just don’t look right? Are you maybe tired of trying to care for plants that just die on you because you have a black thumb and have given up houseplants completely? Let’s discuss it, and you will see that it is easier to use plants in your home décor that you might think.
Why you should always use plants in your home décor
Plants add life to a room and brighten our moods. We recently added some greenery in our kitchen, and the effect was immediate. Not only does the greenery brighten up a dark kitchen, but the smell of your favourite herb in the kitchen makes it feel like home. Plants bring liveliness to a room and make us feel good. Plants can also be used to tone down a bright room; in this case, it has grounding properties.
Bringing nature into our homes is so comforting, and the easiest way to do that is by using plants, flowers or tree-cuttings in your home décor.
Where and How to use greenery in your home
Plants can be used in various ways in your home. Let us explore them.
Fillers in Home décor
Plants can be used to fill open or dead spaces in a room. It might be a corner in a room or an empty space in a bookshelf. When plants are used as fillers, they should not draw too much attention.
The purpose of a filler is to bring balance to the room. This can be achieved by placing a bushy plant on a small stand in the empty corner. This will pull the otherwise empty corner into the space. You can also use a filler plant to balance out a table lamp on a cabinet or sideboard.
Fillers should not create a focal point and should not be extravagant, so you will mostly choose a plant without flowers for this purpose.
To create accents in your décor
This is basically the opposite of the above mentioned. Plants as an accent or focal point in a room should be strong enough to stand on its own. Similar to a sculpture. Just think about an orchid and how beautiful it looks on its own. Your eyes can follow the lines of its stem and come to rest on the beautiful flowers.
Plants for accents or focal points can be used at the end of a hallway with a contrasting background in a simple planter. You can create a focal point on a table or cabinet with an orchid or flowering plant, or even a fresh bouquet.
Use plants for Architectural Effects
You can also use plants for architectural effects in your home. Create a wall of hanging plants to act as a screen in a one-roomed apartment or on a porch to screen off unsightly views.
Vertical gardens are also trendy and create architectural interest in a room. You can also create this effect with hanging plants or use a trellis with climbers or air plants.
But what to do when you have a Black Thumb
I can relate, I know how it feels to fail at keeping your houseplants alive. I managed to kill a bamboo and a couple of succulents, and they are supposed to be easy to care of. And although I’ve found my green thumb, there are still a couple of species that I just can’t keep alive.
It might also be that your house does not have enough natural light or humidity for certain species and that it is not your fault. So, let’s take a look at what you can do instead.
Explore different Species and placements
Although I succeed somewhat in keeping houseplants alive, I’m not a pro. If that is the case with you as well, a plant that I have found relatively easy to care for is Peace Lilies (Spathiphyllum). I have seen that they do well in medium to low light areas. Their leaves start to droop when they need water. They are very forgiving when you do water them a little late. They always recover, and they act as a reminder for when the rest of your houseplants need water too.
Investigate different plants at your local nursery, and buy a few inexpensive ones to see which do the best in your home and under your care. You will find your match, and it is ok to use a couple of these easy-to-care-for plants in your home. Be sure to look at lighting requirements.
Use Faux Greenery instead
Our entrance foyer and powder room get almost no natural light. I’ve tried a couple of different plants in those rooms, but they did not work. Peace lilies might work, but they are not suited for the sizes of the rooms. So in these rooms, I use faux greenery, and it is ok! There are so many choices for faux greenery in the stores nowadays. And a lot of them are so realistic looking.
Don’t be too hard on yourself. If you can’t keep plants alive, use faux greenery in your home décor – you are allowed to do so.
Use clippings from your Garden
I have a blue vase on the coffee table in our lounge, in which I always use a couple of branches from shrubs or trees in our garden. It adds the greenery this room needs, and it is free. I put water in the vase, and they last for about a month, sometimes more. Then I throw them out and take some more clippings from the garden. Explore with the various tree or shrub clippings to see which works best for you.
Conclusion
Even if you don’t like gardening, some greenery in your home will always brighten your mood. It also plays a big part in filling gaps in your décor, balancing things out or creating focal points in your room design. I love adding plants in my home, and I prefer to always place them in white pots or planters. I used cute mid-century inspired planters in our family bathroom. And I also created this cute boho-look planter from a thrift-store find.
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Tell me about your favourite spots to use plants or greenery in your home. I would love to hear from you in the comments below.
I’ll be back soon with this month’s Thrifty Thursday Transformation! Until then, take care!
