Pretty Ways to Use Green Plants in Your Home

Do you need some ideas for how and where and when to use green plants indoors? Let me share some pretty ways to use green plants in your home.

Spring is definitely here. Our tulips have come and gone, but the pansies are still blooming. Our hydrangeas are leafing out and the hostas have come up with beautiful leaves.

We’re at least another month away from the profusion of color that spring flowers bring to our yards and our homes.

Until then, inside, I use green plants for a natural look. These ways to use green plants will give your home a natural and organic feel.

Just to be clear, most of these green plants are live plants. You have to water and nurture live plants. (Thank goodness Sweet Shark is in charge of that job.) Sometimes a faux green plant works better for the location you need a plant.

My job is to make sure that our home is brightened with beautiful green plants that bring color, life, and interest throughout our home.

Until the geraniums, hydrangeas and other flowers give color outside, green will work inside. You can do this too with just a few ideas for inspiration.

These ideas for using green plants will show you where and how to bring nature into your home.

These pretty ways to use green plants in your home cover different types of plants, different sizes, different shapes and textures, and different containers – all in different areas of your home.

I’ll also share some information about why having green plants in our homes benefits us in ways that don’t have anything to do with decorating.

Our Greenery and Garden Inspiration

Today is Pinterest Challenge Day. Our hostess, Cindy of County Road 407 chose a garden-greenery scene as our inspiration from Carlene of Organized Clutter.

red flowers in containers in backyard with vintage cans

Carlene chose to use her outdoor patio as a space for plants. Because we don’t yet have many plants outside yet, I chose to share our greeny plants inside our homes.

If you are joining me from Rachel of The Pond’s Farmhouse, then welcome. Rachel has a wonderful farmhouse style.

How to Use Green Plants in Your Home

First, I like to think of green plants as accessories. Like art, books, or decorative items, green plants add color, texture, and interest. They fill an empty space.

The containers that hold plants also add color, texture, and pattern.

Plants provide a living, organic presence in our environment. Living green plants make us feel good – a part of nature inside our homes.

Research suggests that indoor plants not only purify the air, but have calming effects on your mood, stress levels and blood pressure.

Green Plants in the Entry

Let’s start with your entry. Most of us have a table, a console, or a dresser of some sort in our entry hall. This is a great place to include a green plant.

The size of your green plant just depends on the size and shape of the furniture. The type of green plant depends on the amount of light in your entry.

In our entry we have an antique commode ~ think of a chest of drawers. (It holds our Christmas china, placemats, napkin rings, and other tabletop accessories.) If the commode is not decorated for a holiday, it loves just a pretty green plant.

Since the commode is stained and topped with a grey~green piece of marble, a green plant provides color, texture, and pattern.

Usually, I have the commode decorated for spring or a holiday. Otherwise, Sweet Shark keeps one of his favorite bonsai plants here. This is about as easy as it gets for using one large green plant.

green plants in home decor

This one is a Schefflera, which has pretty bright green leaves. As a bonsai, it definitely has an interesting shape. Since the mirror always reflects the back of whatever is placed in front of it, it’s nice that the plant looks good from all sides.

Although our front door is partially glass and there is a large Palladian window above it, the light in the entry (which faces west) can range from dark in the morning on a cloudy day to very bright in the afternoon on a sunny day. And it depends on the time of year also.

The bonsai seems to adapt to the changing light. Sweet Shark babies his bonsais and knows where they will do best. This one seems happy here.

Extensive research by NASA has revealed that houseplants can remove up to 87 per cent of air toxin in 24 hours. Studies have also proven that indoor plants improve concentration and productivity (by up to 15 percent!), reduce stress levels and boost your mood — making them perfect for not just your home but your work space, too.

Greenery in the Dining Room

If you peek into our dining room, you will see a mid-size Dracaena Janet Craig plant in the corner.

When I was redoing our dining room in the spring of 2018, I knew that it would need something tall in this one corner and that a green plant would be the best option. Since the room is mostly grey and white, the color comes from art and this green plant.

I asked Sweet Shark to select a plant that was 3 – 4 feet tall and on the slim side. The dining room gets a lot of sun in the afternoon so that light needed to be considered. I didn’t want anything big or bushy, but with smooth and shiny leaves.

tall green plant in dining room with white curtains

He found the perfect green plant. This 4-foot tall Janet Craig dracaena plant fits the tall, skinny, shiny, and smooth requirements.

  • It would take the bright sun, but be fine in the morning when the light is low.
  • It provides a great pop of natural green color.
  • It fills up that corner of the dining room quite nicely.

The container originally was an ugly green plastic one that I spray painted gold.

The plant grew so big that Sweet Shark cut off the top and rooted it. This is how it looks today. A corn plant sits next to it.

The dining room gets lots of light so it needs plants that thrive in the light.

Plants in the Living Room

Our living room has several places for live green plants and I bet yours does too. With coffee tables, end tables, bookshelves, and mantels, plenty of places provide a landing spot for a pretty green plant. And, just like in our dining room, you can have large plants that sit on the floor.

On each side of our bookcase, we have a mid-size plant sitting on the floor. These sansevieria tropicals have an interesting shape, stay compact, and are slow-growing.

I found the bright blue containers at Lowe’s. I love the burst of color they provide.

My mom always called them “mother-in-law’s tongue”. I recently heard someone call them snake plants. Their tall, slim leaves make them a great plant for narrow spaces.

The sansevieria provides some height and also softens the hard lines of the bookcase. With the white of the bookcase and the pale blue walls, the green and yellow leaves offer contrast and interest.

sansavera plant

From Better Today: “As well as enhancing your mood and creating a living space that is soothing to be in, plants can also help with loneliness and depression: caring for a living thing gives us a purpose and is rewarding — especially when you see that living thing bloom and thrive.

On the mantel, simple mason jars are filled with a variety of green stems

green stems in mason jars on mantel

Coffee tables are prime real estate in any living room. Besides books, trays, candles, and pictures, green plants are at the top of my list for coffee table must-haves.

I often have seasonal or holiday arrangements on the coffee table. For in-between time, I use trays, baskets or stacks of large coffee table books (rectangle in shape). A green plant always is appropriate.

Since our coffee table is made of glass and metal, I like to use containers in solid, natural and organic materials. Changing the containers occasionally keeps the look interesting.

This rustic vase with an interesting shape and texture perfectly held simple greenery on the coffee table. Set on wooden cutting boards, the vignette works in any season.

2007 study showed that people with more plants in their workspace took fewer sick days and were more productive on the job.

A maidenhead fern sits on one of the side tables next to our sofa. I love how the bright green color works with the blues in the lamp, container and pillow on the sofa.

These ferns are a little finicky. You have to spray them water often.

On the other side table another blue container holds a green plant – but this one is faux!

Sometimes you need a plant to fill a space. Next to our backdoor by an end table was just a big blank space. A green plant would be the ideal filler.

To fill in the space next to the side table, a variety of Dracena provides lots of pretty green leaves.

Using Plants in the Kitchen

Since we spend so much time in our kitchens, this is another great place to add greenery. I can’t think of a better choice than herbs – especially if they come straight from your garden.

In our backyard, we grow all our herbs in pots. Although several herbs, such as basil, cilantro, and dill are seasonal, Mexican mint marigold, thyme, oregano, rosemary, and mint are perennial. Unfortunately, we lost all our herbs in the deep freeze we had in February.

I did add some herbs to the kitchen counter in some really cute containers. We’ll move these outside in a couple of weeks.

green herbs in fabric-covered planters

We always have pots of rosemary, thyme, lavender, chives, and parsley that come back every year~except this year. I love to cook with herbs and like to bring cuttings into the kitchen. It’s nice to have them ready for cooking, but also to provide a natural green organic presence in the kitchen.

The Le Parfait mason jars that I found in Atlanta and shipped home a few years ago are perfect for holding herbs. I really like to use them as accessories in the kitchen.

One afternoon, I cut some rosemary, chives, and lavender. I didn’t wash the herbs – that is done just before I snip some off for cooking. They get a good shake before I bring them in the house so little critters won’t stick around.

The fragrance of rosemary and lavender when I brush my hand across them is one of my favorite things.

herbs in mason jars

Plants in the Sitting Room

To fill this niche between the kitchen and the sitting room, a faux tree provides greenery, texture, and interest. What do you think of the pothos plant on the floor?

The pothos plant is a $5.00 garage sale find. I don’t want to put real plants that need to be watered on our hardwood floors.

Sweet Shark has been nursing this bonsai plant for years. It was a few inches tall when he bought it.

Greenery in the Master Bedroom

Since most of us have nightstands and sometimes a table by a chair – a little reading nook – bedrooms can also be great places for green plants.

We have a table between the two chairs in our bedroom in front of a bay window which gets morning light.

It’s the perfect place for some greenery.

green plant on glass table between two chairs

I decided that this spot could use more greenery.

Out in our garage, I have a collection of planters that I recycle and reuse. I found a small blue container that would fit nicely on a stack of books.

green plant on glass table

Then I looked for a plant with an interesting shape and texture at Lowe’s and found just the thing – a small variegated Schefflera that fit perfectly in my container. Green moss tucked on top finishes the arrangement.

Since we can control the light coming into our bedroom with the shutters, we don’t need to be so concerned about the light requirements of the plant, just the size, color, and texture.

Master Bathroom Gets a Pop of Green

Finally, we come to the master bathroom.

With a vanity to set a plant on and a higher level of humidity, bathrooms are great places for plants.

We usually have an orchid here (one of Sweet Shark’s passions), but they are just beginning to bloom right now. This small corn plant was in the laundry room (That’s where the orchids stay when they are dormant and waiting to bloom.) to this spot.

The mercury glass planter is a favorite and I like the metallic contrast with the green leaves. The planter also reflects the metallic finish of the frame.

corn plant in a metallic planter on bathroom counter

Our bathroom has a very large window, which is on the north side of our home. It can be very bright or very dark, depending on the season and time of day. The corn plant is doing well so far. I’ll move it somewhere else as soon as one of the orchids come to life again.

See this post for more ideas on how to use green and white in your home decor.

Best Houseplants for Stress and Anxiety

Mindful Searching compiled a list of favorite in-home plants for anxiety, stress, and overall well-being. The plants were selected based on their calming scent, ability to boost mood, and for their anti-anxiety effects.

  • Aloe Vera
  • Jasmine
  • Lavender
  • Peppermint
  • Gerbera
  • Snake Plant
  • Rosemary
  • Chrysanthemum
  • Chamomile
  • English Ivy Plant

Well, that’s my pretty ways to use green plants in your home decor: places, types, light, and containers.

I hope that you enjoyed my little plant tour and learned something that you can use in your home. If you like and want to save for reference, please PIN it.

Now please visit the other bloggers in the Pinterest Challenge. Next on the list is Michelle of Thistle Key Lane who always has beautiful things to share.

pin for later graphic in blue

Let’s make the world a prettier place by using green plants in our homes.

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43 Comments

  1. I love these plants, and how you have used them. I am working on getting more plants throughout my home, but currently I am fostering a large flat ledge I have in my upper dining/kitchen area. I have a golden pothos, dracaena, polka dot plant, and a gold dust croton placed currently. Thanks for linking up at Happy Hearts & Homes, I hope to see you again this week.

    1. Lyndsey, don’t forget to use green plants on side tables or on the floor by a cabinet or bookshelf.

  2. Julie Briones says:

    Great post, my friend! Love the way you put a twist on the container garden theme. Here by way of Senior Pit Stop, btw… I’m hoping we get to see this at TTA this week! 😉

  3. I loved all kinds of plants and trees for indoors and you have an amazing collection. Love them all

  4. Carol, your plants look so healthy and happy! Mr DIY has more of a green thumb around here lol.

  5. Wendy McMonigle says:

    Carol, what an excellent post listing all the great benefits of having plants in your home. You also shared so many great ways to display plants in our homes. From little plants to big plants, you covered them all. Thank you for all of the great ideas.

    1. Thanks, Wendy. I’ll give all the credit to Sweet Shark as he is the one who feeds and waters all the plants. I do the display and arranging and it works.

  6. Lora Bloomquist says:

    Tons of great tips, Carol! So fun to see all the plants all over your home. Nice that you have a hubs that will share in the care of them, too. That’s invaluable!

    1. Hey, Lora. We love plants inside and out to having green plants inside is second nature. Yes, I’m grateful that he loves taking care of them.

  7. I love all the plants you have around the house, Carol! They’re so pretty and how cool that they remove so much of the toxins out of the air. We have mostly flowers in the house so I’m excited to start incorporating more plans. Yours are amazing! Hugs, CoCo

  8. Wow! What a lovely — and HEALTHY — assortment of house plants you have!!! I’m so envious. Do you hire Sweet Shark out?

  9. Michelle | Thistle Key Lane says:

    So fun to see your pretty plants throughout your home Carol! Shark’s Bonsai tree is just amazing!

  10. RACHEL HARPER says:

    Carol,
    Your indoor plants are so refreshing. I wish I didn’t kill everyone I bring into the house. LOL. Great Post.

  11. Cindy@CountyRoad407 says:

    Your plants are so nice and full. The containers are pretty as well. Wish I had a husband with a green thumb like you do. Although, our home might look like a jungle if I did. I love plants. Thank you for joining in. pinned

  12. Thanks for the inspiration Carol. I love the idea of using plants as decor. Thanks for sharing these wonderful ideas at our #HomeMattersParty.
    I will be featuring your post at the next party. Do check it out 🙂

    1. Thank you so much. I’m so glad you liked the most and that it was helpful. Thank you for featuring it.

  13. Plants can really make a big difference in a home, but I think it’s easy to get a little confused about how best to use them. Thank you for this very practical post!

    And thanks so much for joining the Grace at Home party at Imparting Grace. I’m featuring you this week!

  14. These are all such great tips, Carol. I just love plants as decor, and I don’t have too many right now. Your plants all look amazing.

    1. P.S. I’ve featured this post today at Thursday Favorite Things. 🙂

  15. Your plants are lovely and do bring such a natural beauty to every space. I agree that Pothos look good no matter what you put them in and they grow so well in almost any room. I have them all of over the house right. Thanks so much for sharing again this week. #HomeMattersParty

  16. What delightful post!It is fun that I have almost all of your plants!The sanseveria is called here “Saint George’s sword”.Your home is just gorgeous!Hugs.

  17. I loved each of your ideas. I was especially drawn to the wooden toolbox. Such a creative way to display pretty greenery.

  18. This is wonderful arrangement indeed..I love all the green things inside the house. We all need it!

    1. Thank you Indah. I appreciate you taking the time to read and comment. Please visit again.

  19. Jann Olson says:

    Carol, you do have a lot of pretty greens. They add a fresh beauty to your home! I don’t have a lot in mine, but I love the look! My favorite was the paperwhites in the tool box. 🙂
    hugs,
    Jann

  20. Your plants look so healthy and beautiful. I can’t keep much alive so I tend to use faux plants.

  21. Really nice use of plants in decor. I love green and plants too! Have a great day, Kippi #kippiathome

  22. I just love your style!! And now I’m really wishing I had a green thumb! Your plants are amazing!!

  23. Carol,
    Green plants year-round live for a short while at my house. I tend to overwater or underwater. Ivy plants are my favorites.

    Judith

  24. Carol you have some lovely houseplants! Herbs are my passion so I loved seeing them in your post. I also love the pothos and the little arrangement you put together in the wooden bowl on your coffee table. The succulents in the “green” box are adorable!

    Thanks so much for sharin’ your green plants with us! Happy almost spring!

  25. Oh my goodness, I love all your greenery! It really says “spring is on the way”! I’m happy to see houseplants coming back in style – they really give a house a homey feel. So happy to be hopping with you!

  26. Your plants looks so good. There’s nothing like something living to add personality to a room. Your husband definitely has a green thumb and your plants all look happy and healthy. I’m most impressed by his bonsai tree.

  27. Your plants are beautiful! With my brown thumb they will be dead in no time… so I’m jealous of your green thumb! Great ideas for St. Patrick’s Day with the greenery!

  28. Your plants are beautiful and make me wish I had a green thumb. I have managed to keep a few alive but for the most part, I am a disaster when it comes to taking care of plants! You have done a wonderful job incorporating the plants into your decor. Everything looks so fresh and springy! Great hopping with you today!
    Shelley

  29. I’m so jealous of your green thumb Carol! And those La parfait jars are fantastic! Great find. Every space looks amazing.

  30. Great ideas. Love that your use many REAL plants. So much better than fake ones (although the fake ones can be pretty too!)

  31. Your plants are beautiful, Carol! And how wonderful that you don’t have to worry about the maintenance and the watering; what a gift! Fun hopping with you!

  32. What a beautiful showcase of greenery Carol! You truly share that a touch of greenery in a room really makes it come alive.

  33. I adore bringing fresh herbs indoors for a fragrant pick-me-up. I love all of your pretty plants! Happy to be joining you on the hop today! Blessings, Cecilia @My Thrift Store Addiction

  34. Such pretty greenery and such great ideas and inspiration for using plants through out the house.

  35. I bought grocery store bulbs last year. They didn’t do anything. Frustrating. You have a great collection of indoor plants. Perfect for this time of year.

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