When I help clients decorate a space in their home, there are two things that I usually add to the space every single time: lighting and plants. And I’ve heard all the reasons that people don’t want plants, real or fake. I get it, believe me, I have a black thumb and I don’t like dusting plastic leaves either. However, there are undeniable benefits to decorating with plants which makes it worth paying my seven-year-old to dust the fake ones or water the real ones. I feel so strongly about adding plants to any decor that I’ve come up with these 10 reasons to decorate with plants. You may not agree with them all, but I hope you’ll decide to consider plants when decorating your own home.

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10 Reason to Decorate with Plants – #1

Plants add life to a space. Do you know what else adds life to a space? You’re right, people and pets! Life is essential in a space, it adds warmth, comfort, and beauty. I lived in Oregon for 41 years, and whenever someone asks where I’m from and I tell them, they all say the same thing – I’ve never been, but Oregon looks like a beautiful place. They don’t say that because of the shortage of plant life. Oregon is lush with evergreens and deciduous trees, forests, wilderness, farmland, and even some desert. It rains there, a lot, but that’s why it’s so green and beautiful. The movie, Twilight, was filmed in Oregon because of the beautiful forests and rainy weather. My point is that you will never step into a room and think, hmm, there’s just too much life in this space. Adding plants to a space and the life they bring is a good thing.

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10 Reason to Decorate with Plants – #2

Plants add an organic element to a space. Can you think of some other organic elements in your space? There’s wood, baskets, stone, and even some textiles (think cotton). Organic elements are amazing for adding natural patterns and textures to a space. When we think pattern, we often think about man-made patterns, but some of the most calming patterns are organic and natural is soothing. Instead of hanging a painting of nature, consider bringing actual nature into your space and see how it makes you feel. (Actually, keep the wall art of nature too, but also add a plant or two~)

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10 Reason to Decorate with Plants – #3

Plants help soften angular lines. Most rooms are full of angles, just consider the actual room itself (unless you have an awesome room with curved walls, but most of us don’t). The walls in a room have 90-degree angles at each corner, the windows and doorways, rectangular or square furniture, wall art, mirrors, pillows, containers, trays, rugs, etc. You get the picture. That’s why decorators love to soften angles with round things like trays, coffee tables, lamps, mirrors, accessories. Plants are another wonderful way to break up all those angles and lines that naturally occur in a space. When a space is all angles, it can feel cold, boring, and not lived in (picture a furniture showroom without decor). Adding a plant will help soften the angular lines in your space.

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10 Reason to Decorate with Plants – #4

Plants add neutral color. If I walk into a room that’s decorated in creams, white, beiges, and black, and it has some plants throughout – I don’t add green to the client’s color scheme. Plants naturally add color, but in a neutral way. In fact, green paint is sometimes considered a neutral hue in a home – it’s that powerful you guys. Green is my favorite color, and believe it or not, some people don’t like green, but that doesn’t mean they don’t have plants in their space. Plants are nature and provide color without ever clashing with a color scheme. Plants always go, all shades, colors, and types.

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10 Reason to Decorate with Plants – #5

Plants add texture. You all know what I’m talking about with this one. I think most people are drawn to certain leaf shapes or types of plants. People like the texture and love touching plants. A well-balanced room will incorporate different types of plants to add all different kinds of texture. The fiddle leaf fig tree is very much on trend right now and may continue to be so because they have such a pretty shape and texture, but that doesn’t mean I should fill every room with only fig trees. Use different types of plants to add all kinds of texture, from succulents to grasses to hanging vines – all the textures are awesome!

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10 Reason to Decorate with Plants – #6

Plants add height. Of course, they do, I don’t mean to state the obvious, but when you’re styling your kitchen island, dining table, sideboard, console, coffee table, bathroom counter, etc. you aren’t styling decor that’s all the same height. To make things interesting and stand out, you’ll usually look for something tall, something medium sized, and then something low. A plant can offer you an option for any of those heights. Adding stems to a tall vase can provide some nice height, a plant in a basket or pot can provide a nice medium height, and some preserved moss in a shallow container is also a great way to use a plant for the low-level decorative items. Decorating with an indoor tree (real or fake) is one of my favorite ways to add height to a vignette (like in an entryway or corner of the room). Add some height to your space and keep the eye moving.

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10 Reason to Decorate with Plants – #7

Plants fill vessels. Styling shelves is one of my favorite things to do, and I love finding different types of vessels to help me style my home. And while it’s perfectly acceptable to leave vessels empty, adding a plant can instantly elevate the look and give the vessel purpose. It’s one thing to intentionally display a collection of empty vases, bottles, or jars, but if you have one empty vessel, make sure it doesn’t look like you forgot to fill it. If the purpose is to be empty, it should be obvious. If it’s not, consider filling it with stems, branches, flowers, or a plant.

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10 Reason to Decorate with Plants – #8

Plants can fill negative space in a room. Every room should have and usually has some negative space. Negative space is crucial in styling decorative shelving, counter and tabletops, and it’s just as important when arranging a room. Otherwise, things may feel cluttered, confined, or too busy. However, negative space is different from an empty space that you haven’t decorated because you aren’t sure what you want there. If you have a chair that’s floating out and away from the wall within your furniture arrangement, then you don’t have a wall to help style it and a plant can help in this scenario. It would be completely natural to give that chair a little side table or stool which gives the spot an even more useful function. Then if you place a tall plant behind the table and chair, it adds height, creates a trio, and fills some of the negative space so that the floating furniture doesn’t look out of place. The photo below is an example of floating a chair within a room and adding a plant to help fill the negative space.

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10 Reason to Decorate with Plants – #9

Plants add dimension. Plants are neither flat nor solid which makes them a natural at providing dimension to a space. Entryways are a great place to add plants because if you place traditional items in an entryway, it can sometimes feel a bit flat. For instance, if you have a console table, a piece of artwork or a mirror, and some decorative items on the table – it probably looks pretty nice but add a plant and now you have dimension. Lamps are another great way to add dimension to this space, but if you really want to up your game, place both lighting and a plant to your entryway. The photos below of my entry way show the space with and without plants. Both looks are fine, but I hope you can see how the addition of plant life can really elevate the whole ensemble.

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10 Reason to Decorate with Plants – #10

Plants are beautiful. Even if you still don’t want to add any real or fake plants to your home, I hope we can at least agree that plants are beautiful. Maybe not every plant has the beauty qualifier, but in general they are lovely. When it comes to decorating any space, I aim to make it beautiful and functional. I’m also a fan of bringing nature’s beauty inside the home whether it’s with flowers, branches, or clipped stems from my yard. So yes, add some beauty to your home by incorporating a plant, even a small one. The stems below are real, and they lasted about a week with water.

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Maybe you’re not convinced that adding a plant will do anything for your space, and that’s OK. Or maybe now you’re looking around to find opportunities to add a plant here or there. Either way, I hope you’re inspired to make your home beautiful to you, enjoyable to you, and comfortable for you – and hopefully that’s with plants~ If you will, set aside any and all of your reasons for why not, and see if you can find just one of my 10 reasons to decorate with plants and then add just one plant, and see what you think. I enjoy my plants so much that I no longer mind watering the live ones or dusting the fake ones – and I live with a family so they can help with this part of upkeeping our home. Chores build character, I always say~ Thanks so much for checking out this post. As always, I hope you find inspiration to love where you live.

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