Mumbai: Are you bored of the same interior décor? How about we give you a fresh outlook to redecorate your office/house in a pocket friendly budget.
When we say fresh, we mean it in literal way. The key to simple and refreshing interior décor is the use of indoor plants. These little plants can instantly change the whole atmosphere. You can make plants a part of your home décor in various creative ways.
These house plants can change the face of the house and contribute a lot to your home sweet home: Beauty, serenity, fresh air as they go about their daily growth and flowering.
Here are some recommendations by interior expert to add ‘green’ into urban homes to counteract our dependency on technology and lack of time to appreciate nature.
“In our ever-increasing concrete jungle, it’s becoming harder to bridge the gap between manmade and natural. In such situations, we must try to add those elements of nature in every small way we can. It provides much needed greenery, and takes us back to our roots (literally),” says Priyanka Padode, décor expert and owner of DezignGenie.
So embrace the ‘Go Green’ approach (in vogue, of course)! Here are a few ways how one can decorate their living room with a few ‘functional’ plants, which purify the air by either releasing oxygen in the night or filtering xylene, formaldehyde, ammonia, etc. (toxic components) from your room.
Now pick which plant goes best with your home décor and preserve Mother Earth, in style!
- Snake Plant:
(Photo: DezignGenie)
This plant complements a high-ceiling room because of its tall-structured leaves. Placing it in an attractive mud or metal pot could add an artsy touch to your living room. If you have a narrow stretch to spare, you could also fix this plant along with some pebbles and stones above a layer of soil to give it an outdoorsy feel!
(Photo: DezignGenie)
Tips to take care: Tend it with moderate to bright light, low to moderate watering and avoid repotting the plant unless necessary.
- Golden Pothos:
(Photo: DezignGenie)
This plant usually poses as a gorgeous vine in any space. Placing it on a high shelf and allowing it to cascade naturally is a recommended look with this climber. It’s free-falling characteristic paired with its need for minimal space adds a dainty look to the room.
Tips to take care: Treat it with lighting and water the same way as you did for the above, and untangle vines once in a while.
Spider Plant:
(Photo: DezignGenie)
Often confused with the Snake Plant, this one is less sturdy, hence making it seem shorter and rather bundled. A mid-sized pot for this long-leaved air cleanser is an apt form of its decoration. Due to its huddled look, it seats itself best in a spacious room (usually the living room).
Tips to take care: Nurture it with bright light and abundant amount of water to produce baby spider plants (which make lovely gifts by the way!)
- Dwarf Banana:
(Photo: DezignGenie)
We recommend placing this plant by a full-length window, as it needs sunlight in abundance while it’s broad radiating leaves make your space seem bigger!
Tips to take care: Grow it with maximum exposure to the sun, fertilize it often and keep soil evenly moist. The key to its longevity is turning the plant periodically!
- Peace Lily:
(Photo: DezignGenie)
Now comes the elegant flower to enhance any room with a clean and smooth finish! This petite addition to the living room, placed on a decorative console will enhance the look while also cleansing the air. Refreshing indeed…
Tips to take care: Thrives in low light conditions and evenly moist soil (might just make a beautiful centerpiece!)
- Aloe Vera:
(Photo: DezignGenie)
This one isn’t just used for clear skin, but also clear air! We recommend placing this plant in a secluded corner to avoid a pokey situation. For those interested in a little Feng Shui, quite unlike its prickly texture, it brings harmony and positivity into the room!
Tips to take care: Flourishes in abundant sunlight and wide rather than deep pots, which dry soil out between watering faster.
Go green with style:
Money plants are very common and can be placed on desks and tables. English Ivy can be used in small pots to hand from ceilings. Use vines and creepers on long poles or pillars to add greenery very much in line with design.
Ferns, palm plants and other flowery pots like gerbera daisies are great on windowsills, where they get ample sunlight to breathe and gleam! Even try Aloe Vera plants! They’re pokey so keep it out of reach of children—use these for decoration, clear skin and clear air! Talk about killing many birds in one stone,” says Padode.
