Fill your home with a variety of beautiful indoor plants from countries around the world, from tropical to desert dwellers and ferns to orchids.
A great way to set the tone of a comfortable home is a few wells placed indoor houseplants. They can help form a relaxed and natural atmosphere as well as helping set a theme or tone. Besides the great feeling of having plants poking out around your home, they also help to keep your place full of fresh air.
Houseplants are our often-overlooked helpers in ridding the air of pollutants and toxins, counteracting outgassing and contributing to balanced internal humidity. Most of these plants can be found in general nurseries and plant stores.
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For the desert feel, cacti are the ultimate in houseplants. Easy to care for, they love it when you forget about them! Give them some sun and they’re happy. They even work for those of you with modern style homes or minimalistic tastes.
If your home is styled towards the rustic, southwestern oasis theme then cacti or other succulents accent beautifully. Rough and ready pots are easy to find at decor stores or even garage sales.
Tropical houseplants are lush greenery that will give character to your rooms. Plants can make a room feel lived in, simply by being there. There’s no end to the types of tropical plants you can buy, from bromeliads to banana trees. Pick something that corresponds with your ability to care for it, as well as the amount of sun it will get through your windows.
Some tropical plants do not bloom, so be aware when you purchase your plant what to expect. Also, choosing contrasting leaf color to the different areas of your room can help brighten up corners. A large tropical plant with light colored leaves can lend balance to a dark room. However, if your furniture is very brightly colored, you might want to go with something a bit darker in leaf color. Contrast is the key.
These tropical plants, with their interesting shaped leaves, can cast quite a beautiful shadow. As well, placing them behind Japanese Shoji screens (used as room dividers in home decorating) can create an interesting silhouette shape in your rooms.
For those of you with an Asian theme in mind, orchids are the most widely known plants of that persuasion. However, they are not the easiest to care for the long-term. An orchid will probably be blooming when you purchase it, however, that can last between 2 weeks to 2 months. After that, it’s a miracle if you can get it to bloom again.
For a longer lasting Asian touch, try a small tree or Bonsai. There are many easy to care for Bonsai on the market, especially ones that grow very slowly. It may be an investment, but it will certainly last longer than an orchid.
Although somewhat suburbanized, the African violet can be a nice highlight for your room. Rarely associated with African decor, other than the name, this easy to care for the plant will bloom easily if it has enough light and water. If your decor is African in nature and splashed with yellow, then the purple African violet is the perfect complimentary color.
Whatever plant you choose, make sure it’s something that you can care for long term. And don’t forget the other option: fake plants, especially cacti, which look incredibly realistic due to the rubbery texture of real cacti.
