How to Decorate With Houseplants

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methods

1 Finding the Right Spot for Houseplants

2 Choosing Decorative Houseplants

3 Potting Indoor Plants Creatively

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Expert Q&A

Tips and Warnings

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References

Co-authored by Taya Wright, NAPO, RESA

Last Updated: February 8, 2025 References

If you're not sure how to decorate your home, why not take your garden inside? Potted plants can give your home a sense of vibrancy and bring your home to life. They also help purify your air and can reduce stress! Choosing plants that provide a specific atmosphere, positioning them as focal points, and giving them crafty containers can boost your houseplants' decorative appeal. With an eye for décor and careful selection, you can make your home look lively and lush!

Steps

Method 1

Method 1 of 3:

Finding the Right Spot for Houseplants

1. 
   1
   Make a "plant corner" if you have many houseplants. Too many houseplants placed around the home can crowd your living space. To decorate with multiple plants and create an eye-catching centerpiece, cluster your plants in one of your home's corners and arrange them on windowsills, shelves, or plant stands.

   • Choose plants in a variety of shapes, colors, and sizes to give your corner contrast.
   • To make your plant corner organized, choose a theme for your plants (like succulents or flowering plants).
   • You can even create several "plant corners" inside your house. If you have enough plants, you could have one in every room.
2. 
   2
   Use your plants as bookends if you have empty shelves. If your bookshelves take up a lot of space but you have nothing to fill them with, space plants out evenly between the books. This will keep your shelves from looking barren while also acting as decorative bookends.

   • Small houseplants like jade plants, Boston ferns, English ivy, and pothos make great bookends. If you want to make them blend in better, put the plants in a vase or planter that matches your home decor.
   • If you don't have bookshelves, you could install floating shelves in your bathroom, bedroom, or anywhere else you'd like to place plants. The plants will purify your air and give you a pop of color.
3. 
   3
   Set your houseplant on a narrow table as a room divider. If you have a large room with plenty of space, find a narrow table or bench to hold your houseplants. This can break up the space in your room and make large rooms look fuller.

   • Bright houseplants like flowering maples, lipstick plants, and anthuriums can make your room divider into a colorful centerpiece.
   • You can also set your plants on a bench if your room is smaller but you still want to make your plants a centerpiece.
4. 
   4
   Face your furniture towards your houseplants for a botanical centerpiece. Plants can make a great centerpiece if your room doesn't have an outside view. Position your furniture towards 1-2 houseplants to help your home feel brighter and more alive.

   • Large houseplants like fiddle leaf figs, kentia palms, and yucca plants all make great focal points.
5. 
   5
   Place your houseplants above cabinets to make use of space. If you have high cabinets in your living room or kitchen, fill the space between its top and the kitchen with foliage. Positioning a houseplant high up can draw your eye to the surprising splash of color and make use of empty space.

   • Position a trailing plant, like creeping fig or hoya, over the side of the cabinet that doesn’t have doors.
6. 
   6
   Put larger plants on a plant caddy for convenience. Large plants are difficult to carry but, by putting its pot on wheels, you can move it around your home with ease. You can wheel your plants around to vacuum or sweep the entire room, to make space during a party, or to put it near a sunny window if it needs more light.

   • You can buy plant caddies at many garden centers or plant nurseries.
7. 
   7
   Set your plants on a bench near the wall to highlight paintings or photos. Making your plants literal "wallflowers" by putting them on a bench near the wall can embellish nearby decorative objects. If you have any paintings or photos hanging on the wall, place your plant bench below it to draw attention upward.

   • You can also place them on a chair for a subtler effect.
8. 
   8
   Place plants or your mantle, if you have one. Plants make a lovely addition to a fireplace mantle. You can place them alone or position them next to other decorative items.

   • As an alternative, you can place the plants in front of the fireplace itself. They will look natural when placed in front of the brick or stone.

Method 2

Method 2 of 3:

Choosing Decorative Houseplants

1. 
   1
   Pick a spiky potted plant to make your room seem taller. If you're decorating a small room, spiky plants can make the ceiling look higher than it actually is by drawing the attention upward. Spiky plants can also add texture or contrast when placed near smoother, rounder plants.

   • Popular spiky houseplant varieties include spider plants, sansevierias, aloe vera, cast-iron plants, bromeliads, air plants, dragon trees, and many cacti varieties.
   • Spiky houseplants are ideal for giving hoes a whimsical touch.
   • If you have high ceilings, tall trees can fill up the space and accentuate how tall the room is. Try a tree like a fiddle or fig tree.
2. 
   2
   Choose flowers to give your home color and beauty. If you want to cultivate a soft, pastel atmosphere in your home, flowers are the ideal plant. Buy flowering plants that match your home's initial color scheme. If your home's main colors are red and cream, for example, look for red flowers.

   • Begonias, orchids, purple leaf shamrocks, geraniums, and peace lilies are all popular indoor flowering plants.
   • Flowers are also useful for improving a room's air circulation.
   • You could buy fresh flowers and switch out the bouquet every week or so. Choose a neutral vase that will work with different kinds of flowers.
3. 
   3
   Pick a large houseplant to fill space. To give a blank wall color or decorate a home with very little furniture, add a large houseplant. Big houseplants can fill space, make rooms look taller, and give your home a natural focal point.

   • Yuccas, philodendrons, ficuses, jade plants, umbrella trees, desert roses, areca palms, bamboo plants are all large houseplants that grow well indoors.
   • Adding 1 or 2 large plants per room works well with minimalist designs.
4. 
   4
   Try succulents for a minimalist splash of green. Succulents are smaller and generally need less water than many houseplants. Choose succulents if you don't want your houseplants to be the centerpiece of the room but a subtler decoration.

   • Popular indoor succulents include burro's tails, zebra plants, roseums, and crown of thorns.
5. 
   5
   Grow herbs inside for a practical decoration. Potted herbs are small, easy to care for, and useful for cooking. Not only are they practical, but herbs also emit fragrant aromas that can keep your home smelling good.

   • Chives, mint, bay leaves, winter savory, basil, horehound, rosemary, and thyme all grow well indoors.
   • Growing herbs in your kitchen window is both attractive and practical, as you can use the herbs for cooking.

Method 3

Method 3 of 3:

Potting Indoor Plants Creatively

1. 
   1
   Use old teacups or dishes as decorative pots. Old tableware can make cute and quirky pots for your plants. Just remember to drill a few holes into the bottom of the tableware to allow excess water to drain out.

   • If you don't have any tableware to spare, try visiting a nearby thrift store.
   • Wear safety goggles and protective ear equipment while drilling holes into glass or pottery.
2. 
   2
   Put your small plants in mason jars to save space. Plants with small root systems, like herbs and succulents, thrive well in mason jars. Use mason jars as inexpensive pots if you want to emphasize the plants' natural, botanical look.

   • You can also mount the mason jars to a board and hang your plants on the wall to save counter space.
3. 
   3
   Set up hanging plants as a statement piece. Hanging plants are useful for catching attention and conserving ground space. if you want to make your plants the focal point of your room without giving up space to a large plant, try hanging plants instead.

   • Shade-loving plants like spider plants, cast-iron plants, parlor palms, and rubber plants are ideal for indoor hanging plants.
   • You can buy macramé hanging slings that allow you to hang the plants in the air.
4. 
   4
   Try birch bark pots to bring the outdoors indoors. Birch bark planters are designed to look like tree stumps or logs. They are a great way to give your plant the rustic look of an outdoor plant while growing it indoors. Use them to cultivate a forested, wilder atmosphere.

   • You can buy birch bark pots at some craft stores or plant nurseries.

Expert Q&A

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• Question

  How do you decorate with a lot of different plants?

  

  Taya Wright, NAPO, RESA
  Professional Home Stager & Organizer

  Taya Wright is a Professional Home Stager & Organizer and the Founder of Just Organized by Taya, a BBB Accredited Home Styling Company based in Houston, Texas. Taya has over eight years of home staging and decorating experience. She is a member of the National Association of Professional Organizers (NAPO) and a member of the Real Estate Staging Association (RESA). Within RESA, she is the current RESA Houston chapter president. She is a graduate of the Home Staging Diva® Business program.

  

  Taya Wright, NAPO, RESA

  Professional Home Stager & Organizer

  Expert Answer

  This is a good problem to have. I think the more variation you have with your plants, the better. I'd recommend distributing them fairly evenly throughout your home. By spreading them out, you'll cultivate a broader sense of warmth across your entire home.

  Thanks! We're glad this was helpful.
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• Question

  Can I use fake plants to decorate if I don't want to deal with watering and whatnot?

  

  Taya Wright, NAPO, RESA
  Professional Home Stager & Organizer

  Taya Wright is a Professional Home Stager & Organizer and the Founder of Just Organized by Taya, a BBB Accredited Home Styling Company based in Houston, Texas. Taya has over eight years of home staging and decorating experience. She is a member of the National Association of Professional Organizers (NAPO) and a member of the Real Estate Staging Association (RESA). Within RESA, she is the current RESA Houston chapter president. She is a graduate of the Home Staging Diva® Business program.

  

  Taya Wright, NAPO, RESA

  Professional Home Stager & Organizer

  Expert Answer

  You can! It's your space, so don't worry about about doing anything right or wrong. I personally prefer real plants, but you aren't doing anything wrong by using faux plants. If you do use fake plants, get high quality stuff!

  Thanks! We're glad this was helpful.
  Thank you for your feedback.
  If wikiHow has helped you, please consider a small contribution to support us in helping more readers like you. We’re committed to providing the world with free how-to resources, and even $1 helps us in our mission. Support wikiHow

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• Question

  Where should I put plants if I just can't pick a spot?

  

  Taya Wright, NAPO, RESA
  Professional Home Stager & Organizer

  Taya Wright is a Professional Home Stager & Organizer and the Founder of Just Organized by Taya, a BBB Accredited Home Styling Company based in Houston, Texas. Taya has over eight years of home staging and decorating experience. She is a member of the National Association of Professional Organizers (NAPO) and a member of the Real Estate Staging Association (RESA). Within RESA, she is the current RESA Houston chapter president. She is a graduate of the Home Staging Diva® Business program.

  

  Taya Wright, NAPO, RESA

  Professional Home Stager & Organizer

  Expert Answer

  There's nothing wrong with being a little indecisive! I really love putting plants on entryway tables. I think it sort makes spaces feel livelier and welcoming. You can also put them in nooks on stairwells or alcoves. Take advantage of any built-in surfaces you have in your home, too! Mantles, windowsills, and ledges are all great options.

  Thanks! We're glad this was helpful.
  Thank you for your feedback.
  If wikiHow has helped you, please consider a small contribution to support us in helping more readers like you. We’re committed to providing the world with free how-to resources, and even $1 helps us in our mission. Support wikiHow

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Tips

• Add a few houseplants in your living room and bedroom if you live in a city with lots of pollution. Houseplants can act as natural air filters by removing carbon dioxide and some environmental toxins from your home.
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• Place non-flowering plants in a bold and colorful container to give them a colorful embellishment.
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Warnings

• Be careful where you position the plants. Children and pets can knock the plants over and could injure themselves if the plant is heavy.
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• If you have allergies, make sure you pick plants that won't irritate you.
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• Not every plant grows well indoors. Make sure the plants that you use thrive well when grown inside.
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• If you have pets, choose plants that are non-toxic to their species. Cats and dogs tend to nibble on houseplants, and some can be harmful or even fatal.
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