REAL

It's a given: plants are perfect living accessories. Aside from their many health benefits, they make fantastic home decorations because they can add so much life and color to any room or space. Having house plants is also another way to appreciate your home more. 

If you'd love to accessorize your home with pretty, green foliage but need some inspiration on how to better do it, read on for these new and unique ideas. Soon thereafter, you will move on from the usual bar cart or garden rack filled with plants and come up with new ways you can spruce up your home.

 

Bookshelves aren't just for books, framed photos, and other displays and accessories. If you haven’t considered this yet, try including a plant or two to your bookcase to enrich the space and add some texture. If you want to go beyond the succulents or small potted plants, place a trailing plant on the top of the shelf to add a “living layer” and create visual interest.

 

Love plants but don't think you have any extra floor space? Well, the sky (or the ceiling) is the limit! Creating a garden in the air can instantly add a dreamy, bohemian look in your space. Also, setting up hanging planters at varying heights is an unexpected way to add color and visual interest. Hanging plants are also perfect if you have pets or small children and you’re afraid of them grabbing the plants on the floor or tabletop, especially since there are some plant varieties that could be poisonous to them when eaten.

You can opt for some macramé plant hangers if you want that boho-chic look. Or, simply use a hook on the coat rack in your entryway or mudroom to add a hanging planter as an instant accessory.

 

Want to try something different? Go over the top with an enormous potted tree that can add a burst of life to your space. It's perfect if you are already tired and bored of the usual small house plants, you have a minimalist home, or if you don’t have enough space or budget for lots of plants. 

Tall indoor plants and trees like palm trees, fiddle leaf fig, olive tree, or Monstera, can be a great statement or conversational piece in any room. They can add so much more floor-to-ceiling style to any space. And since trees are natural, living furniture pieces, they can complete the look of the home with the most organic feel and spruce up any space that needs livening.

 

One practical way to incorporate plants into your home is to use them as a room divider. They make attractive dividers especially on houses with open floor plans or layouts, and on studio apartments where you need to create defined areas within the room. Using plants is also a great way to maximize natural light and space.

There are several ways you can craft a divider using house plants. You can use any standard open bookcase, cube storage unit, or rectangular planter between the spaces you want to separate and fill it with plants. You can also line small, similar plants on top of a long table or bench. Likewise, choose several tall planters with small trees or plants with broad or bushy leaves to create a lush screen that will add a lot of character to your open floor plan.

 

Plant life can pop in many areas of your home—even in your restroom. Especially if you're looking for ways to improve the look of your boring bathroom, adding a few potted plants can add a soft, warm layer to all the hard materials. Some plants that will feel perfect in a bathroom or walk-in shower include peace lily, sansevieria or snake plant, and spider plant. The bonus is, even if you think you have a black thumb, these plants will thrive in low light and warm temperatures. Also, the moisture created from your daily bath can help your leafy friend stay alive even with less effort.

 

Bring the pleasure of cooking with fresh herbs straight to your kitchen by growing your own indoor garden. The beauty of this is, even if you have limited outdoor space or have no room for a vegetable garden, you can incorporate plant decor while filling your home with the calming and fresh-smelling scents of herbs. Try planting basil, rosemary, mint, parsley, and thyme in small pots or even mason jars, and then mount them on black wooden boards that you can lean against your kitchen cabinets. You can also use individual planters that will add another pattern to your kitchen wall. This way, your plants will not only serve as cooking aides but also as wall art. Plus, those herbs mentioned above are just some of your best choices for your indoor garden since they don't grow too wide or tall. 

 

Instead of filling that bare wall with expensive paintings or photos, why not display some greenery? Creating a gallery wall of plants is another great and unexpected way to incorporate them in your home. Adding some greenery to your blank wall can instantly add color and texture to your space. If you love succulents and cacti, they are perfect to decorate your homes with using tiny planters, as they will do well indoors and can thrive in less sunlight. To combine geometry with greenery, opt for wall planters with unusual or eccentric shapes and see how they steal the attention of anyone in the room.  

 

Mirrors can make a room look larger and feel more open. However, large mirrors can at times be distracting. To counterbalance the effect, place a few tiny plants or cute topiaries in front of it. You can use plant pots or containers that match the color of your mirror frame for a more harmonious effect.

 

If you have any areas in your home that look lonely and unfilled, adding different layers of plants may actually do the trick. Instead of adding a potted plant on the stairs landing, why not place some pretty foliage on the wall flanking the stairs? If you have high cabinets with an unused empty space on top, add some planters in there to create a lush backdrop.

Certainly, there are better and more innovative ways to decorate your home with plants. If you can't commit to having a mini plant sanctuary, you can always go for a few houseplants that are hard to kill and can thrive with minimal effort. Plus, plants not only make any space gorgeous, but they also have a special way of making us feel better, happy, and content just by being there.