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Some trends may jeopardize your overall health—cronuts weren’t that great for your diet a few years ago, and electric scooters have reportedly been causing road injuries recently—but the ongoing plant craze isn’t one to cause harm. In, fact, it’s quite the opposite: Some plants have been proven to purify your air and help you sleep better, which might be why everyone seems to have been cultivating a green thumb lately. Unlike Pokemon Go, this fad has the potential to enhance your life as much as your home’s aesthetic.
But if you haven’t jumped on the plant bandwagon because of your small space, these seven indoor garden ideas can show you how to capitalize on this trend with little square footage. From taking advantage of a closet wall and open shelving to bringing color to an entryway or a living room, these examples should cultivate an affection for indoor gardening faster than you joined in on the Ice Bucket Challenge. And even if trends change, indoor plants will likely never go out of style.
If you have open shelving…
We all know that a kitchen can appear larger with the addition of open shelves, but adding an array of plants—much like Justina Blakeney of the Jungalow—can make it look lively too. Blakeney intersperses different plants on her shelves to add height and texture to the space, even letting some vines drip down the edges. It’s quite all right if the rest of your kitchen doesn’t match the plants as it does here because greenery will still pop against any backsplash.
If you have a tiny entryway…
Designing for a small entryway is never easy, especially because it needs to blend day-to-day function with a welcoming design. A small garden can help when it’s styled like this space from Dabito at Old Brand New, which arranges plants on several shelves of a bookcase. Not only does this create storage where it’s needed most, but the mix of greenery keeps everything looking bright and laid-back.
Have an unapologetic green thumb…
Instead of arranging greenery throughout an area, you can follow the lead of Maria Bergstrom and cluster them all together on a console. Maria created a hanging planter using a broomstick and macrame to display even more plants on the wall, which draws the eye up from the rest of the pots. As vines grow, you can even wrap them around the broomstick for a whimsical feel.
If you love cooking with herbs…
While you could simply line a small herb garden along a window sill, this idea from Chris Loves Julia can showcase the beauty of your favorite herbs in a more creative way. Using terra-cotta planters, leather straps, anchors, and ceiling hooks, this project keeps herbs within reach and gives a kitchen nook some color too.
If you have a blank sliver of a wall…
Traditional design may have you believe that a shallow wall is only good for a lineup of framed photos—or nothing at all. But it doesn’t have to be this way. Dabito of Old Brand New designed a bold living wall on this sliver of a canvas using a mix of spinners and fillers that were planted vertically. This choice of greenery conceals the planters from the front and makes this small space look vibrant.
If you’ve actually killed more plants than you’re willing to admit…
Those who aren’t confident about their gardening skills don’t need to worry. It’s still possible to create a faux living wall, courtesy of this example from Emma Chapman at A Beautiful Mess. She used a few materials—like project board, wall anchors, netting, and astroturf—to build a backdrop for the fake plants to thrive. It took about 10 hours to arrange the leaves, but once the project was finished, the faux living wall provides texture and color to Chapman’s home office. And since she has three real plants hanging nearby, this project is not entirely without some plant upkeep.
See more plant tips:
What Greenery to Buy, According to Your Plant Parent Personality Unexpected Ways to Display Your Plants Expert Tips and Tricks on the Trendiest Trailing Plants