I have always loved living with plants, more than anything, for the feel good factor they bring to your space. Whether it be for texture, colour, smell, they're such a great addition to your interior styling scheme.
We all have that fond memory of buying a £5 cactus for our uni/college room and feeling rather proud of it and dare I say, grown-up? As our lives and tastes evolve so do our aesthetics but plants these days always seem to work their way into our homes and styling schemes. Coffee tables, kitchen islands, sideboards, mantle shelves, dressing tables, there are so many opportunities to incorporate some greenery.
The so called 'feel-good factor' we all talk about, does have some fact and research behind it. Some of these benefits include:
* Reduced stress level
* Increased productivity
* Decrease of airborne pollutants
* Increased energy and blood-flow
* Improved attention span
Sound like a good deal to me.
A couple of my tips on how to seamlessly include plants in your home:
* Take the the time to find a plant pot or holder that ties in with an element in your scheme. For example if you have a lot of brass details in your space, find something to pot your plant that has brassy details too. See at the end of this post, some of my favourite planters at the moment.
* Use plants with green tones that work with your existing colour scheme. The difference in colour between an olive tree's leaves and a banana plant's leaves is huge, there are so many options out there, so be that details queen that takes her colour chips to the garden centre...
* Be realistic about how much maintenance you can commit to your new leafy friend. Theres nothing more heartbreaking than coming from work one evening and discovering your plant has gone to greenery heaven. Ask the staff of wherever you are planning to purchase your plants from about maintenance, this includes sunlight too. For some fail-safe options try one of these suggested by Good Housekeeping:
As promised, here are a couple of my favourite pots and plants I've seen recently. I also buy a lot of my pots from charity shops and yard sales or markets, like with many things, there are sometimes patterns and designs whose authenticity just can't be compared or repeated.