In this post, I come to you with a rather strange topic; how to do home décor with plants… the right way.
Yes, this is still a personal development blog and no, I haven’t suddenly switched over to writing about everything ‘home’ related.
Plants are a great self-care tool and have proven to improve mental health, productivity, creativity and more! So, you can incorporate a style of home décor with plants as objects not just to decorate but also to create an environment that will help you achieve your mental health goals.
You will be getting answers to the following questions:
What are the benefits of plants on mental health?
Which plants are good for home decoration?
What are some of the best indoor plants to clean the air?
And as a bonus, I will be giving alternative ways for you to get involved with nature/ plants if you don’t wish to buy plants to keep in your house.
Also, download the FREE Mini Life Planner if you haven’t already! It’s designed to help you achieve the best in life and to help you get started on your life of success.
What are the benefits?
For you to understand why you should incorporate plants into your list of home décor ideas, you should first know the many benefits of it:
Less anxiety
With plants being around you all the time, your levels of anxiety will lower as plants allow people to feel relaxed. The process of taking care of them has also proven to decrease anxiety.
Increases productivity
Plants have been proven to put people in more productive moods. In one study, employees were 15% more productive because they had plants around them as they worked.
Betters memory
You can increase your attention span by 20 percent by having plants around you. Place one on your desk at work or in your study at home!
Boosts your mood
Taking care of plants reduces your stress and betters your mood because it suppresses sympathetic nervous system activity and as a result gives feelings of comfort and peace.
Interestingly, the soil also betters mental health; when we work with soil, the interaction between the microbes in it and our immune systems can actually act like a natural antidepressant.
In fact, horticultural therapy is becoming more and more common for people who have gone through serious mental health issues. Doctors in Scotland have been prescribing patients to have walks in nature as a way to better their mental health.
This is just one short list on the many benefits of focussing on home décor with plants when renovating your house, and there are many more.
So now that you know the benefits and are itching to buy your first plant friend, here’s some that you can use to decorate your home!
Which plants can be grown at home?
Aloe Vera
Everyone knows the many great physical benefits of Aloe vera, it can be used a treatment to heal and cool inflamed skin. Mix it in your DIY face mask or hair mask, or apply it on your skin to reduce the feeling of razor burn.
You can use Aloe vera in so many ways for your self-care routine, but did you know it is also a great air-purifying plant?
Aloe vera is a great natural source to detoxify your air of chemicals and toxins.
English Ivy
English ivy is easy to grow and take care of and is great at reducing the amount of faecal particles in the air making it a great plant to put in your bathroom/ toilet.
Focussing on your home décor with plants is a great advantage not just for air-purifying and beautifying qualities, but it can also help with the maintenance of your home! English Ivy also works to reduce the amount of mould you have growing in your house.
Lavender
I’ve seen lavender essential oils, lavender pillow sprays, lavender candles that are all designed to decrease your anxiety and provide you with a calming environment.
So why not get the plant itself? Have a pop of colour to brighten your interior design and reap the benefits the scent of the lavender has on your mental health.
Kentia Palm
This is a great plant for those of you who live in flats/ apartments. As well as having great air-purifying properties, they can add a sophisticated touch to your home décor.
Eucalyptus
Eucalyptus can be used to treat colds, congestion and even asthma. Its beautiful smell and gentle look is the perfect addition to your home to add an elegant touch.
Peace lily
Peace lilies symbolise innocence, peace and prosperity. With this in mind, place peace lilies in your home to create a zen environment. They are also a great air purifying plant and can rid your home of harmful chemicals.
To further this feeling of peace, when sitting next to your peace lily repeat your positive affirmations. If you want your own list of positive affirmations that are unique to you, click here.
Fern
This is a very popular houseplant, and for good reason to. Ferns are said to be best plant for reducing formaldehyde in the air (a very common pollutant).
Related:
5 Steps To Control Stress When You’re About To Have A Meltdown
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Snake plants
During the night, snake plants convert carbon dioxide into oxygen. Place a snake plant in your bedroom so that at night while you sleep, you are soaking up all that freshly produced oxygen and giving your lungs a treat!
Other Plants To Grow In Your Balcony
For those of you who have a garden, as well as having indoor plants focus on create a luscious environment of different plants in your garden too! And don’t just think about flowers, plant some fruits and vegetables that can directly impact your physical health.
If you don’t have a garden but have a balcony and would like to plant some fruits or vegetables, you can do it too!
Some plants that can flourish in your balcony includes tomatoes, peppers, chillies and even a dwarf lemon or lime tree.
And for those of you who don’t have balcony space, why not grow some fresh herbs to elevate the taste of your freshly cooked meals?
The best herbs (that aren’t particularly hard to grow) would be ones like chives, mint, rosemary and basil.
Alternative ways to get yourself involved with nature
Flower arranging
Head over to your local flower market and buy some flowers for you to cut and snip and arrange at home. Make this into a weekly hobby and create your own bouquets to beautify your home and make it smell amazing.
Fruit farm
Make this into a group activity with your friends and indulge yourselves in nature as you pick fruits on a sunny day. I guarantee you that it will be a nice change when spending time with your friends as you all feel the peace of handling nature and being in the open air (if that’s something you don’t usually do together).
Trails/ bike paths
Getting involved with nature could be as simple as taking a walk in the park or riding your bike in a trail in the forest.
Museums/ events
If you know of any places you can attend where you can immerse yourself in nature even if you’re not outside, go for it! Here in the UK, places like Sky Garden, Lavender Gardens and Kew Garden are popular spots for people wanting to enjoy nature and spend time with friends.
Having beautiful home décor with plants as a focus point has many, many benefits. It has become a common object that people use to decorate their homes but it also has the effect of improving your mood and promoting better mental health.
If you’re not the type of person that likes to get messy with soil and dirt, take a small step and first go to a place where you can be surrounded by nature.
Personal development and working on one’s self-love and care is different for everyone. Try loads of things (even if you think you may not like it) and be open minded when doing it.
The best things come in unexpected places and who knows? Having a plant friend or two in your house may be just what you need to make a gloomy day at home feel okay.
