Turn your home into a forest with style

Once you’ve given into an impulse plant buy or two, it’s like opening up the flood gates. One second your home is well… just normal home. The next it becomes your best attempt at creating a suburban style Amazon Rainforest.

Sure, you’ll face the major challenge of new plant parent life - ‘How the heck do I keep all these suckers alive?’ You learn by killing them sometimes so don’t judge, k. If you’re looking for help in that area my best advice is to use a crutch like a plant app! This plant lady has used Planta in the past. It helps give you detailed information on each plants needs specifically and even sends you reminders for when they’re thirsty!

Your next challenge will come along as your collection grows larger and larger. Once you’ve stuffed every window sill you’ll probably start to ask yourself “What’s the best way to arrange my plants in my house without it looking like a tree just puked all over the place?”

Over the years, I’ve had my fair share of times that I’ve questioned if my plant arrangements at home look a little less well curated and a little more like tree puke. If you feel that struggle, I’m here to give you the best tips and tricks I’ve learned over the years for how to turn your home into a forest in the most stylish way.

Tip 1: Be bold but don’t be hasty, darlin’

My favorite tip for home design in general will ALWAYS be to be bold. Whether it’s being bold with a color or a unique vase, being bold is what makes your home so perfectly you.

So how does that translate to plant parent home design? It means that, honey, you go for that super funky plant you’ve been side eyeing from across the green house. Don’t be afraid to divert from the ever so popular Desert Rose Echeveria and Pothos. You go and get that unique plant you’ve never seen before that makes you feel all fuzzy inside when you look at it.

BUT don’t pick your diamond in the rough just to bring it home to its grave. DO. YA. HOMEWORK. Make sure your new babe will be happy with your homes lighting and know how much work you’re getting yourself into by learning about its watering, feeding, and pruning needs. Sure, a challenge is fun for plants but you don’t need the gut punch of watching your new plant kick the bucket all because you had to get all hasty with your plant purchases.

Tip 2: Mix and match ya plant groupies

Mix and matching varieties is great for us plant maximalists but it can be a little tricky pairing the right plants together in a well curated fashion while also giving them the proper lighting. The secret to designing the perfect plant group is to combine plants with varying characteristics. You can add so much contrast by picking out plants with different leaf sizes, shapes, textures and even colors.

Don’t worry I’m not telling you it’s unacceptable to own 15 of the same plant variation. I would be the biggest phony in the world to say this. I am a proud outfit repeater AND plant repeater. If you love something why only enjoy it once, right? But if you jumble up all of the same plant into a space sometimes it can feel a little too repetitive. So spread them babies out and just pair them nicely with a contrasting buddy or two.

Three of my little buddies that I love pairing up are my Dwarf Umbrella Tree, Burgundy Rubber Plant, and Alocasia. They all love a front row seat to a window without too much direct sun and they look so playful together with the pops of color from the Rubber Plant.

Tip 3: Put that queen on a pedestal

When I dove head first into plant parent life, there were two options for my plant placements - the window sill OR the floor in front of my window. Sure, this plant arrangement has its own minimalist design but sometimes it can just feel a little more sad than classy minimalism.

By staggering the heights of your plants, you can add depth and place focus on your favorite leafy friends. If space isn’t an issue you can add a funky thrifted set of plant stands to help layer your plants. You can even get playful with it by mix and match plant stands of different styles or repurpose something that wasn’t even meant for a plant like a china closet or a vintage children’s desk chair! Get weird with it and have fun because the world is your oyster, honey.

Another option is hanging some of your more viney friends so they can drape like the queens they are. They’re so many options for hanging hardware so you can pick and choice which ever design fits your style. You can use small hooks to screw into a ceiling, plant brackets for outdoor plants, or even just pop your plant on a shelf that needs a little extra oomph to it!

Tip 4: Don’t underestimate the power of a planter

I mean we’re talking about how to carefully curate your home with plants so obviously I had to touch on plant pots? Sometimes when your plant decor is feeling a wee bit dressed down, a plant pot is the thing to pick it right back up. I’m not here to tell you ‘Ew, your plants look soOo sad in the plastic pot from the store’. Don’t feel the pressure to repot your plant right when you walk in the door. REMEMBER, repotting a plant is a stressful thing for them! Have you moved before?! That is strenuous activity, honey. Repot them appropriately and not when you simply need to redecorate.

Tip: You can avoid this by simply placing the plastic pot inside of a large enough planter that hides it.

Alright, now that I’ve sassed you about repotting…

Personally, I love the simple warmth of a traditional terra-cotta planter but it’s so fun to play around with a bold plant pot every now and again. My favorite bold planters are my vintage and repurposed ones. You can easily take a secondhand ceramic bowl or cup, drill a hole in it and make it into a one of kind planter! When you’re in need of a plant dressing up, make sure to think out of the box before hitting the plant store to buy a new planter.

When picking out your next plant remember to step back and ask yourself ‘What kind of planter would step my decor game the F up?’ ‘Do I need warmth or a clean minimalist look?’ ‘Do I want something dripping with character or maybe just a pop of color?’

These questions beforehand will stop you from the impulse planter purchase that you’ll either run back to return or you’ll just hide it in a cabinet until some unsuspecting victim gets it gifted to them for a present…

Additionally, you can ask yourself ‘Do I even need a plant pot or can I just cover my plastic pot with a basket?’ Plant baskets ARE MY FAV for when your plant isn’t exactly ready for a new planter and you’re simply in the mood for a slight revitalization in a space. The best part about this option is that you can rotate the baskets from plant to plant as time goes on without the full commitment of repotting!

Tip 5: Make propagating the new centerpiece

Here’s a two parter tip for ya’ll, you ready?

1: Invest in a plant you can propagate like wildfire.

2: Next snip, snip, snip. Place your cuttings in a vase with water so they can root. BOOM. You have a new centerpiece.

Who says you can’t have your cake and eat it too? Does that work for this? ‘Have your Pothos and eat it too'? No that’s not it… ‘Have your Pothos and propagate it too’? IDK but you get it.

You can have a plant and also enjoy it while you clone the HECK out of it. Plants like Golden Pothos, Monsteras, Spider Plants, Philodendrons, etc. are perfect to invest in if you’re ballin’ on a budget when it comes to make your at home forest. These plants have aerial roots which can root very easily in water or directly in soil so when you buy one plant you could potentially make another during the plants growing season - maybe even more depending on your plants growing speed and maturity!

Not only are you able to make more plants without spending a dime, while you let your baby cuttings roots in water you can make it your centerpiece! Since the start of spring, my kitchen island has become my designated propagation station. Where I would normally place a small flower arrangement or piece of decor, I started placing cuttings. This can be done very simply with some spare cups, or fun vintage bottles. OR if your feeling like stepping up your classiness a bit you can place your cuttings in some of your favorite decorative vases - for me that’s my three lovely vintage empoli vases. V CLASSY. And hey, they’ll last longer than a floral arrangement!

Tip 6: Invest in a big mama jama

Want your space to truly say ‘I am the plant master and my indoor forest is cooler than yours’?

If that’s the case than you’re going to want at least on big mama jama!

Find that secret corner in your home with the perfect balance of natural light and an abundance of space. Doesn’t it just scream ‘PUT A PLANT IN ME’? I am apologetic if that sounds painfully creepy but also come on, wouldn’t that space look so much happier with luscious big plant in it?!

Yes big plants can be a hell of an investment, believe me I know. Want to know a secret? It doesn’t have to be a beast immediately. You simply hunt down the perfect babe for that spot that has the potential to fill up the space. My monster Golden Pothos mama? She was a measly two and half feet long when I invest in her a year ago! Now? SHE’S ALMOST 6 FEET LONG. AND I’ve been trimming her this whole time so I’ve made at least three more plants out of her too! The secret to spotting the perfect potential big mama jama that’ll grow fast is to know which plants are known for growing large quickly OR you can spot the signs of maturity in the plant - i.e. thicker vine, larger leaves than common for the plant.

If this sounds like a little too much work and patience than just go for it, dude. Spend the extra $15 to buy that big mama jama and love her deeply.

If we’re being honest… I could keep giving you tips on plant home design for the rest of my life and never run out of anything to say. For now we’ll end it with these six!

Have your own plant design tip you’d like to share with the world?! Share it in the comments below.

And now here is a photo with me and as many of my plants that I could fit in one room. Enjoy.