Are you looking for a way to spice up your at-home office and boost your aesthetic? Do you want to bring a little bit of the outdoors indoors while you work, watch TV, etc? If so, then you need to learn all you can about interior design with plants.
Believe it or not, it’s a whole thing. Studies have shown that the benefits of plants indoors include helping you keep a positive mindset, lowering the amount of stress you deal with, and can even give you a higher pain tolerance.
See below for an in-depth guide on indoor plant design, the benefits of it, and why it’s a necessary facet of your interior design moving forward.
Why is Interior Design with Plants so Important?
It’s fair to question why we’re placing such a huge emphasis on interior design with plants. What could be so great about bringing them from the outdoors to the indoors? Why can’t you just walk outside to enjoy them?
If you work remotely, you know that’s nearly impossible. The hustle and bustle of your day job make it hard to step outside, even if only for 5 minutes. For that reason, it’s vitally important to bring the plants to you!
Even something as small as bringing in fiddle leaf figs can give a significant boost to your indoor aesthetic. Instead of just being painted walls and colored fabrics, your room now has life, real-life inside of it with a vivacious plant.
Many different plants will thrive inside your house. You can use different shapes, species, and sizes to master the art of interior plant design. A nice bonus is that, since plants naturally produce oxygen, having more of them in the house will improve your air quality.
Make sure to think about large plants to place in planters, hanging plants, tabletop plants, and more to switch up the look.
Common Mistakes to Avoid with Interior Plant Design
You might not think it, but there is certainly a wrong way to decorate your house with plants. As beautiful as they all are, it takes a sharp eye to have them all work together.
First off, one of the biggest mistakes is incorporating too many plants inside the house. Unless you live inside of a greenhouse, you don’t need to have plants standing and hanging from wall to wall.
Try to keep it within 2 to 3 plants per room. For smaller rooms, you should only aim to incorporate 1 to 2 plants (1 large, 1 small).
Next, you want to avoid using the same plant too often. For example, refrain from filling your house full of ficus trees. As beautiful and easy to maintain as they might be, you should aim to expand your horizons a bit more. Otherwise, all the rooms will look the same and the plant won’t have that eye-grabbing effect you’re looking for.
The third mistake—which you’re likely making right now—is not having any plants in the house. One of the biggest reasons for this is because people think they are hard to care for. Spoiler alert: some plants require very little maintenance at all.
Even if you’re notorious for killing plants due to poor upkeep, you can still incorporate a few cacti into your home. They literally require no water. That said, don’t just flood your home with all cactus plants. Remember, it’s important to mix things up.
The Biggest Benefits of Indoor Plant Design
If you’re still (somehow) a non-believer after getting to this point in the article, here are a few key benefits of prioritizing indoor plants in your home.
Fresh Air Quality
Humans were meant to be outside, but very few of us are getting the necessary amount of outdoor time each day.
A big reason we crave the outdoors is due to the fresh air. Think about it, your HVAC system is cycling the same air supply through your house over and over again.
Putting indoor plants in each room will help refresh your air quality. As we all learned in grade school, plants go through a process called photosynthesis, in which they turn carbon dioxide into oxygen.
Boosts Your Mood
Simply laying your eyes on indoor plants can boost your mood. So much so that studies have shown humans receive a psychological boost from looking at fake plants.
Indoor plants help remind you that there is a larger world out there than the room/space that you’re couped up in.
It helps you to see the brighter side of life. By simply being around these plants while indoors, your brain will produce more of the feel-good hormones (such as dopamine).
Helps You Look Forward to the Day
Dan Miller, the author of 48 Days to the Work You Love, always talks about how he prioritizes having the right setup for his at-home office. That way, he looks forward to his time in it and doesn’t dread it.
That’s another reason why indoor plants are so important. They help liven up the space you live in, making it even more of a comfortable area for you to enjoy.
This is especially crucial in an at-home office, where (if you work remotely) you might be spending upwards of 7 hours per day inside.
Dive Into Interior Design with Plants for Your Home
Now that you have seen an in-depth guide on interior design with plants and all that it encompasses, be sure to use this information wisely in your interior design.
Take the time to browse our website for more articles on indoor plant design, as well as many other topics that you will find fascinating.