Let’s talk about plants ba-by..let’s talk about aloe and ZZ. Okay, that doesn’t have quite the same ring as a certain Sant-N-Peppa song circa 1991. You know the one. But today let’s talk about plants, specifically how to decorate a bedroom with plants. MORE specifically, how we decorated our primary bedroom with plants.
One of the tasks I charged myself with this year was making our bedroom more cozy and giving it that last layer of decor. One way I wanted to do that was with plants. So when the local garden store had a big house plant sale a couple of weeks ago, you better believe my car made its way there on autopilot.
If it was up to me, I would 100% go for the jungle look in our bedroom. But a certain someone (he who shall remain nameless) likes to get through doors without tripping on plants AND look out windows without moving a plant curtain. The nerve!
So let’s get to it and talk about bedroom plant ideas!
What this post is not about…fake plants, faux plants, artificial plants, and any other synonym for manufactured plants. I’m not against artificial plants. There is a time and place where they make sense. But today it’s all about the the ones that require things like water to survive.
Onward dear readers. Let’s have a little tour of our bedroom with plants along with some tips and tricks for bringing plants into your space.
1. Create A Focal Point With A Big Plant
Some of my favorite photos of bedroom plants are when larger plants fill a void. Oversized plants add so much visual interest compared to smaller plants.
From time to time, I move an older monstera plant to the big, blank wall in our bedroom. Its other home is in the hallway near a heating vent, which it prefers in the winter compared to our cold bedroom. I love how it fills the wall, provides a big visual impact, and gives so much life to the space.
Some other large plant ideas include Boston fern, fiddle leaf fig, and tall plants like a ficus. So grab a big pot and fill that blank space in your bedroom.
2. Build A Plant Corner
Got an empty corner? Fill that empty space with lush greenery to create a plant corner.
There’s a corner near a South-facing window in our bedroom that I always envisioned filled with plants. I gave it a try but it does impede egress from the bathroom. I hate it when Colby is right.
It’s pretty easy to create visual interest with a plant corner. Start with a large statement plant (I started with a spider plant on a basket-turned-plant stand), then mix in plants of varying leaf shapes and colors. Before you know it, those awkward corners of your room are alive and green.
Hot tip, put corks or something as a moisture barrier between the plant pot and your floor. Trust me. You don’t want a moldy or stained floor from the water.
3. Style Nightstands With Plants
I never met a nightstand plant I didn’t love. Well, maybe a cactus.
Adding smaller plants to a bedside table is a quintessential way to bring plants into the bedroom. Be sure to keep enough space for your bedtime trifecta of a book, phone, and water. A small succulent or aloe vera are great options for a nightstand.
I recently found a silver ripple peperomia that I potted in a thrifted pot and love the combo on Colby’s nightstand. The marble tray from Target helps corral the objects, it’s also the spot where he tucks his wedding band at night.
4. Create A Plant Shelf
While we don’t have a plant shelf in our bedroom, we did start building one this weekend for my closet window. More on that to come!
Adding plants to a shelf, or dedicating an entire shelf to plants, is a classic decorating idea for a bedroom. Some of my favorite plants for shelves include the ZZ plant, pothos, succulent plants, and other small plants.
Vining plants are always a beautiful way to decorate a shelf. When they cascade off a shelf they break up the harsh lines and help soften a space.
5. Elevate With Plant Stands
Sometimes, medium size plants need a little boost. While too big for a shelf and too small to sit on the floor, plant stands can elevate them (quite literally).
And no need to run out to your local garden center for a plant stand. Confiscate an unused basket and turn it upside down and you get an instant plant stand along with a plant that punches above its weight class.
In our bedroom, I’m obsessed with this spider plant/overturned basket combo.
6. Hang Plants
I adore hanging plants. Like Care Bear love hanging plants. They just give that extra touch of visual interest, often in a nook that can’t be softened any other way.
Break out a hanging basket or those macrame plant hangers your grandmother made you and add a hanging plant to your bedroom.
One of my favorite tricks for hanging plants in a bedroom is to hang a plant or two in the windows from the curtain rod. The plant gets lots of direct sunlight when placed in a south-facing window, and the window gets a little more visual interest.
As long as the curtain rod is anchored to the wall in studs, it should hold plants. However, I typically go for smaller plants and pots just in case. These coated S hooks from Amazon are so helpful for hanging plants this way.
Something new I’m trying in our bedroom is hanging air plants in a glass bowl. I’ve never owned an air plant so if the bedroom air plant experiment goes well, you may see more pop up in our home. They are so beautiful.
7. Fill Windowsills
Adding plants to window sills is such a classic plant move. Whether it’s one tiny African violet in a clay pot or entire windowsill gardens, that space in front of a bedroom window is a great place to bring plants in.
Storytime! I took our youngest daughter plant shopping with me. She’s two. And by two, I mean VERY two! At the garden center, she kept running and hiding from me, crawling into these small crevices between plants. I finally enticed her out by letting her pick out a small plant of her very own.
She picks out this little African violet, which I already had the right pot for at home. Perfect. But then I see the price tag. This tiny baby plant was a whopping $25. I’ve bought these before for $5 at another store. I tried to sell her on other plants but she just would not give up that plant.
We are perpetually on a budget here and a $25 plant for a toddler was frivolous. But, the idea of the ensuing meltdowns and games of chase cost me more in the long run. I pick my battles and this was not a hill I was willing to die on. So here I am, giving up on my beloved coffee for a couple of weeks to balance the budget for the $25 violet.
8. Accent A Mirror
Another easy spot to bring plants into a bedroom is to accent a mirror. Beautiful plants combined with a beautiful mirror…chef’s kiss.
Similar to plants on a shelf, adding a plant in front of a mirror can help soften hard lines. It’s also a spot where a smaller plant can feel bigger because of the reflection, making for a larger statement.
My personal favorite plants for accenting mirrors are peace lilies. Some of my oldest and dearest plants are peace lilies. I’ve had one since my first apartment circa 2004. The peace lily doesn’t need a ton of water or light to survive, hence why mine have lasted so long. Although they flower best in bright, indirect light.
Notes And Tips
When choosing plants for a bedroom, there are some things to consider. Although I’m a BIG believer in trying new things, learning from the process, and course-correcting. That’s how I learned to care for my kitchen garden and it’s how I’m learning about house plants.
Factor In Light
Light might be the number one factor in considering plant placement. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve placed a plant somewhere in our home, learned the plant didn’t like the light (either too bright or too dark), moved it, and the plant thrived. It’s all about the right place for the right plant.
Most of the time, I stick to low-light plants in our home since it doesn’t get the best light. The one exception is our bedroom. It’s filled with bright light most of the morning and into the afternoon since it has both south and east-facing windows.
Some of the plants I brought into our bedroom have not thrived in other areas of our home, like the ZZ plant. ZZ plants like bright indirect light so moving it from our darker kitchen to the brighter bedroom should help it thrive.
Place Plants Where You’ll See Them Most
When I have a beautiful monstera plant, I would much rather have it within eyesight every morning when I wake up rather it be in a corner where I rarely see it. Place plants where you can see them for all the plant eye candy.
Another example. My favorite house plant is the Chinese money plant. It is a beautiful plant with saucer-like leaves which is where it gets its nickname, UFO plant. Naturally, that’s the plant I keep on my bedside table for frequent viewings.
Also, if you’re a chronic plant underwaterer like me, you’re much more likely to water your house plants when you can see them regularly. The same goes for whether or not I need to find a step stool to water the plants. But that’s another story for another day. The convenience factor for watering is key to plant survival in our home.
Let Vining Plants Vine
Vining plants like to vine and trail and leave a beautiful wake of leaves. Let them do their thing and place them where their vining can thrive and add to the decor of your space.
There’s something absolutely special about a vining plant placed on top of a cabinet, or a wardrobe like in our bedroom. When the vines start cascading down it creates a work of art out of that furniture piece.
All the pothos plants in our home stemmed from plants vining on the arch at our wedding. I love that we’ve continued to propagate them and they live on throughout our home.
Make Watering Easy
My number one tip for decorating your bedroom with houseplants is to make watering easy by keeping a watering can nearby.
I am such a creature of convenience. I’m in my if-it’s-not-easy-I-won’t-do-it era. It’s one of the lesser-known eras after the 1989 era but before the Reputation era. Random side note, my eldest daughter is becoming quite the Swiftie and I am here for it.
Keep a watering can nearby for quick plant waterings, bonus points for one with aesthetic appeal that doubles as decor. Double bonus points if the watering can is a thrifted creature of beauty with all the patina.
When the watering can is on the dresser, it’s a thousand times easier to water the bedroom plants than if I have to march down to the kitchen for one.
Low-Maintenance Plants
Keeping my plants low-maintenance is also key, especially for me in my season of small children. I don’t have time to care for fussy plants (I’m looking at you orchids!) and I’m sure you don’t too. Someday, I can see myself in my plant lady phase watering and talking to my plants every day. But right now I’m squeezing in plant care while wiping boogers (not mine…just felt the need to clarify) and finding tiny lost boots.
Some of my favorite low-maintenance plants include pothos, ZZ plants, philodendrons, spider plants, snake plants, and peace lilies.
Mix It Up
The mix is what makes decorating interesting, and this holds true for bedroom plants. So experiment, mix different types of plants, and come up with some combos to help make your bedroom plant decor sing.
Like they say, opposites attract. So try mixing leaf shapes, shades of green, plant sizes, and more. Experiment and find your favorite combo.
And there you have it. The house plants I’ve brought into our bedroom along with all my tips for how to decorate a bedroom with plants. I’m sure things will change and get moved around as plants thrive or struggle.
Pssst…I haven’t even hit publish on this post and SOMEBODY’S children have already confiscated all the plants from the plant nook, window sill, and nightstands for their rooms. I had to barter with Bluey episodes to get my Chinese money plants back.
