So, apparently, it’s Spring here in the Northern Hemisphere. While the days are definitely longer and the sun is most certainly higher, it’s still been pretty cold here the last few days so it doesn’t quite feel like Spring. But there is one thing I almost always do at this time of year: bring in more leafy houseplants. Over the winter, when the air is dry and we don’t have a whole lot of sunlight, my plants suffer. Not all of them, of course, but there are always, sadly, a few fatalities. But in Spring, I get to go ‘plant shopping’ again, knowing that at least for a good 6 months or so, my plants should survive rather nicely.

How to Style with Plants - 6 Creative Ideas for Bringing Your Home to Life

Yesterday, I spent my day potting up a few of my new babies (some of which are seen above) and replacing some of the ones that have sadly not survived but I was thinking while I was doing this how much I use plants in styling my home. Without them, my rooms somehow feel a little incomplete. I adore how much colour and life plants bring to my home and how they seem to soften a space, giving it a more relaxed vibe. As you know, I love a bit of glam in my interiors but adding a bunch of plants takes a little of the stuffiness out of the glamour.

I thought today we can talk a little bit about how to use plants in your own styling. I’ve used plants in my home for so long now and so I thought if we had a look back on some of the variations of ways I’ve used them, you might gain some inspiration for using them in your own styling too.

Styling Plants On Shelving

I love dotting a few plants on any kind of shelving. I tend to use my smallest plants for this but trailing plants work really well too. When you are styling shelves, I tend to start with my biggest items first – so things like books, boxes or items that carry the most visual weight and then layer in plants.Β The smallest items can be added in last to fill in any negative space although you don’t want to clutter up every single last available spot. Give your plants a little breathing room to allow them to shine.

How to Style with Plants - using plants in shelving

For my kitchen seen above, I’ve used faux plants, simply because they don’t get a whole lot of sunlight inside the shelves but I may swap them out to some smaller plants that can tolerate lower light levels over the summer. Even a pineapple can be used to add some additional greenery – you can get creative when it comes to your styling – anything that adds a bit of an organic touch is fair game.

How to Style with Plants - using plants in shelving

These were my old office shelves and while I recently replaced this unit, I have realised there aren’t any plants on it. I think after looking at this photo, I need to add a few back in! The touches of greenery just give the whole scene so much life. Now, if I can figure out how to keep Maidenhair Ferns alive, I’ll be all set.

How to Style with Plants - using plants in shelving

On my bar cart, I always add a little bit of life (you can see my post on styling your bar cart here) but on the shelving above, a few wee plants always look great, just punctuating the other items on the shelves and adding some colour and life.

To Add Height to a Vignette

Another wayΒ I use plants to style in my home is in vignettes. I change up my coffee table probably once a month or more but there is almost always a plant on there in some form or another. You can see my post on styling a coffee table here but one of the elements you always want to include is something with a bit of height. So a nice tall leafy number is great for that.

How to Style with Plants: Using Plants within a Vignette

How to Style with Plants: Using Plants within a Vignette

How to Style with Plants: Using Plants within a Vignette

Styling Plants to Draw the Eye Up

One other way I like to use plants is to draw the eye upwards and you can do this in three different ways.

Plants in High Places

First, consider putting a trailing plant on top of a shelving unit, a wardrobe or on top of your kitchen cupboards. Plants are a little more unexpected in these high places so they’ll naturally draw your eye upwards, creating more height in a room.

How to Style with Plants - On top of shelves or kitchen cupboards

Hanging Plants

The second way to do this is with hanging plants from your ceiling or your walls. They’ll naturally make your ceilings look taller – just don’t do what I do and forget to water them!!

How to Style with Plants - hanging planters

My trailing philodendron as seen below sadly hasn’t survived the winter so it’s been replaced with a string of pearls which I’ve been told are a bit easier to care for. I’ll let you know how I get on with that one!

How to Style with Plants - hanging planters

Using Large Plants and Trees

And the third way to draw the eye upwards is to use a really large plant to add visual height to a room. My fiddle leaf fig is my pride and joy in my living room because it’s just so large, it really makes quite a statement.

How to Style with Plants - using large plants to add visual height

I somehow managed to kill this Kentia Palm but I’m actually considering getting another because, my goodness, they are just pretty beasts. I am determined to have another go.

How to Style with Plants - using large plants to add visual height

Styling Plants in Groups

And finally, I love to group them into a little jungle. One thing you might want to bear in mind when doing this is to use plants of different sizes and leaf shapes so they contrast against each other.

How to Style with Plants - styling in groups

How to Style with Plants - styling in groups

This is also the best place to add a few fauxs in because it’s difficult then to tell the real from the fake so don’t be afraid to mix them up a bit.

So those are my top tips for styling plants! Do you find yourself using plants in your own styling at home? What’s your favourite way to style them up? Go on and share in the comments!


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