We all know by now just how beneficial it is to have greenery in the home. Countless studies have been carried out that prove everything from wellbeing to cleaner air is gained by having plants in our living spaces. The problem for most people is knowing what plants to put where.
The good news is that there are plenty of options to think about when it comes to having a different plant in every room of your home. From the bedroom to the home office, here’s our quick guide to the plants that are perfect for every room in your home.
Best Plants for the Bedroom
There are lots of reasons why you should have an indoor plant in your bedroom. From reducing stress and boosting productivity to simply bringing some color to your room, plants and bedrooms are a natural fit. There are plenty of plants that work well in the bedroom, but here are two of the best options to consider.
- Snake Plant: Not only is the snake plant (also known as the mother-in-law’s tongue) a plant that requires very little maintenance, it’s also one of the plants recommended by NASA as being great for purifying the air. It does need to be positioned where there’s some bright but indirect light, but snake plants don’t take a lot of looking after. Just remember to water them occasionally, and they’ll last years.
- Gardenia: If you’re looking for a bedroom plant that will help you sleep, most people opt for lavender. However, a gardenia is a much more effective option, although it will take a bit more looking after. Gardenias are fantastic in the bedroom because not only do they look and smell amazing, but they’re also known for reducing anxiety. If you struggle with sleep, a gardenia in the bedroom could change your life.
Best Plants for the Bathroom
One of the fastest-growing and most popular bathroom design trends of recent years, more people than ever are placing plants in the bathroom. It can be a tricky decision, simply because it can be a struggle to find a plant that thrives in that damp and humid environment.
Your first step is to check the lighting. Less light and fewer windows mean fewer choices of plants that will love living in your bathroom. There are some great options, though. Whether your bathroom is large, small, designed just for you, or used by the whole family, here are the top choices for plants in the bathroom.
- Bromeliad: You might assume that any plant that’s so closely related to the pineapple isn’t going to do your home decor many favors. The fact is that bromeliads are one of the most popular choices for bathroom greenery. Bright, exciting, and ideal for adding a splash of color to even the drabbest bathroom, bromeliads are great. They even feed via their leaves, and they love mist and humidity!
- Peace Lily: If you’re looking for something that will thrive in the dampest room of the house, you can’t go wrong with something that’s native to the tropical rainforests of the world. A truly beautiful plant, the bright white leaves can utterly transform your bathroom, and peace lilies don’t need a lot of light either. Low to bright indirect sunlight is ideal, and they’ll thrive even in your darkest corners.
Best Plants for the Kitchen
The kitchen is often referred to as the heart of the home. It’s where you cook meals for yourself and your family, fuelling the bodies and souls of your loved ones. Lives are lived in the kitchen, and it can be the most chaotic room in your home. Plants can be calming, reduce air pollutants, and even boost creativity!
One issue with having plants in the kitchen is that lighting plays such an important role. Check out our choices for the best plants to have in one of the most important rooms in your home, but make sure that you have sufficient lighting for your top pick.
- Herbs: It probably doesn’t need saying, but if you want plants in your kitchen, then you can’t go wrong with some fresh herbs. Add flavor to every meal without worrying about the shopping, and gain all of the benefits of having plant life in your home. If your kitchen is well lit, then basil and rosemary should be your top option. If you have a darker kitchen, you can still grow herbs that aren’t quite so fussy, such as mint, chives, or parsley.
- Aspidistra: Ideal for darker kitchens, the aspidistra (or Cast-Iron Plant) is about as hardy as plants can get. The low light levels won’t bother it, and even in the dingiest kitchen, it will add some real elegance, charm, and color. An aspidistra will take some watering during the warmer months, but you can afford to skip the care over the winter months as it will stop actively growing.
Best Plants for the Dining Room
Perhaps even more so than the kitchen, the dining room is where we share good times. It can be hard to decorate a home, especially decorating smaller homes when you’re on a budget. However, the dining room always has lots of potential. Like all decisions involving plants in the home, a lot will be determined by your lighting.
- Strelitzia: The bird of paradise plant is well-named. When they flower, they look truly stunning. That makes them the ideal talking point for when you’re relaxing with friends and family around the dining room table. You’ll need your strelitzia to be placed in direct sunlight, and you’ll need to keep the soil moist and the room at around 60F (16C).
- Philodendron: There are 489 different species of philodendron! So make sure that you do your research before you buy one for your dining room. Of those species, there are two main varieties: climbing and non-climbing. Whichever one you choose, the philodendron is an extremely impressive plant that’s also very easy to care for. It’ll need regular watering, but low-lit rooms or shaded parts of your dining room are perfect for this gorgeous greenery.
Best Plants for the Lounge (Living Room)
Most lounges are designed to fit an extremely basic but well-tried formula. The couch and the TV are the cornerstones, and everything from throw rugs and coffee table choices all stem from the couch and the TV. While most people have their accent chairs and framed art for the walls of the lounge, you don’t have to stop there.
Plants are excellent additions to the lounge, but it can be a genuine struggle to narrow down your choices. If you can’t choose, here’s our pick of the top plants for any lounge.
- Cascading Pothos: Ideal for those that have bookcases or shelving in the lounge, a cascading pothos is simply one of the most popular plants for almost any room in your home. The thick, billowing leaves, combined with the lushness of the pothos and the fact that it’s so fast-growing, will add real character to your lounge. It can also cope with a range of light settings and only needs to be watered about once a week!
- Braided Money Tree: Having a real tree in the lounge is becoming one of the biggest trends in interior design. Obviously, having a huge oak tree might be a little intrusive (and almost impossible to keep healthy), which is why the smaller money tree is such a great choice. They don’t take much looking after and can easily thrive even in bright, indirect light. Of course, it’s called a money tree because it’s known for bringing luck and prosperity, so it might be worth buying a few lotto tickets too.
Best Plants for the Home Office
More people are working from home than ever before. While there are lots of pros and cons to working from home, plants in the home office are always a positive touch. If you spend a lot of time working in your office at home, it’s always smart to add some personality to it. Motivational posters, your favorite art for the walls, and filled empty spaces with live greenery are the bare minimum.
Adding plants to any workplace is shown to have benefits, but they’re also an extremely low-cost way to add splashes of life, color, and energy to your office.
- Zanzibar Gem: The ZZ plant is one of the easiest plants to own that you can ever buy. It’s ideal for the home office because you won’t be distracted from your work by constant green-fingered nurturing. If you can remember to water it at least once a fortnight, it will stay healthy, even if the light is low. It’ll grow too, so it’s something that you can witness come to life even without you having to do much.
- Bamboo: Technically a grass but often referred to as a tree, bamboo is simply remarkable. It’s hardy, and you only have to get your watering can out when you can see the soil is starting to go dry. Bamboo is very popular in workplaces because it’s a symbol of good fortune and luck. That might be great news for your workload!
Have a Different Plant in Every Room
Having plants in your home is great for your mental and physical health. They’re awesome to look at, and even those that require very little looking after can give you a satisfying sense of accomplishment. From reducing stress levels and improving your mood to helping concentration and productivity, plants are just brilliant.
Take a look at the light you have in every room of your home. Do a little research, and try to get the plants that will match your level of commitment. Having plants in the home is always a good idea, but if they start to go brown and die, you’ll lose all of their positive aspects. Water when they need it, and those plants could become as much a part of your interior design as your color schemes.