How to choose houseplants for your bedroom: the best plants for creating a stylish, peaceful space you can relax in
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Whether it’s a single potted plant on a bedside table, or a jungle-like boudoir with a wild mix of greenery, every bedroom will benefit from a touch of green.
You spend almost a third of your life tucked up in bed, so your bedroom should be a tranquil place to rest and recuperate. Plants help create a peaceful space to encourage relaxation and calmness.
THINK OUTSIDE THE BOX WHEN IT COMES TO PLACING YOUR PLANTS
Bench seats provide flat space while remaining completely functional. They also break up the look of tall beds and add an interesting focal point to the room.
Side tables and stools of different heights create a staggered effect that gives each plant its own visual space. To maximise your plant display footprint, choose a side table with a cupboard or inbuilt shelves to hold your personal effects.
Free up space for plants on your bedside table by swapping a bedside lamp for pendant lighting and consider a small plant like emerald ripple or Chinese money plant.
THINK ABOUT LIGHTING
If your bedroom suffers from low light conditions, plants like a parlour palm or peace lily are good choices. If you’re lucky enough to have an east-facing bedroom, you have more options.
USING PLANTS AS A PRIVACY SCREEN
Used in the right way, plants can offer some privacy when your neighbour’s window is a mere few metres away from your own. A few small plants on the windowsill, like a trailing chain of hearts or sculptural air plant, draws your attention from the view outside.
In larger bedrooms, bigger plants like the broad-leafed fiddle leaf fig can be placed near a window. It’s a win-win situation: the plant will love its bright position and you will wake up to a green scene every morning.
MAKING A STATEMENT
Floor space in a bedroom can sometimes be tight, but there are often large blank walls. The solution is a big plant – anywhere from two metres upwards will do.
There are heaps of big plants to choose from, and you can use a plant stand to increase the height. Choose a plant that has a lot going on up top (the wider the better), but has a slim footprint. Ideally, you want to put it in a spot where it is out of the way.
Next to the bed is a good option if you have the space. Just make sure you won’t bump into it in the dark.
This extract is taken from Plant Style: How to Greenify Your Space by Alana Langan and Jacqui Vidal, published by Thames & Hudson.