Bringing the natural energy of the outdoors in, there’s no denying houseplants are one of the coolest home trends of the year.
While using plants to decorate is nothing new in terms of interior trends, houseplants have been growing in popularity in recent years, inspiring endless Instagram accounts and Pinterest boards celebrating the simplicity and beauty of plants in the home.
Canberra interior stylist Flynn Dovey is an avid plant lover and a strong advocate for the importance of using them indoors.
Through her business, Staged by Flynn, she styles homes and offers design services, from providing advice on colour to helping choose furniture to suit a space.
She always adds plants into the home as the final touch, bringing the property together.
“If you stand back, look at a room and it’s feeling like it doesn’t have a soul, add a plant and it will bring in the soul,” she says.
From succulents to monsteras, Ms Dovey recommends following a few key tips for incorporating living and fake plants into the home.
“My first tip is I would not go out and spend a lot of money on them until you know what you’re doing.
“Go to Ikea and get one of their real plants because they’re established, they have a really good price point and are durable plants. If they can survive in a warehouse, they can survive in your house.
“When people say they kill all plants it just means they haven’t found the right plant!” she smiles.
Other key tips include not to “over care” for your plants and to think about the light levels in your home.
“A lot of people kill them with kindness. Most plants indoors will die if you give them water every week.
“Don’t assume they need a sunny window. You need to know the light conditions in your house and place the plants accordingly. If in doubt, google your plant!
“If you’re looking for an easy-to-care-for plant, look at the leaves. If they’re large and green, they are much more durable. Once you have brought a few plants that you love, the next step is to start taking cuttings from them to grow your collection cheaply and easily.”
While she prefers real to fake due to the air purification benefits, Ms Dovey says faux houseplants are a good way to add greenery into the home.
“The good thing about faux plants is you can put them anywhere. For example, if you’ve got a large faux plant to the left of a cabinet, then to the right you can put a smaller plant to balance the space.”
She recommends spreading the plants throughout the house so there’s “a bit of green throughout the space”.
“Clusters of three always look good!”
Looking for the perfect combination to add some green into your home?
When styling, Ms Dovey says her perfect combination is placing two plants in the bedroom, one or two in the kitchen, three in the lounge room and two in the living room.
“All you need to make a house look great is good art, a few books and plants,” she says.
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