A kentia palm arching over a sofa, a swollen-based Elephant’s foot topped with a mop of leaves, a phalaenopsis on a bedside table: every room in the house can take greenery. Match the plant to the room’s light, warmth and moisture, choosing resilient tropicals where it is steamy, and each one settles in.
When considering what makes each room special, they can be set up anywhere, from the bedroom to the bathroom…
This is the room where all your plant dreams can come true, especially if the dining area is vast and luminous.
Feel free to set up large plants that can spread as they grow, like the classical yucca, areca, dracaena and kentia palm which has a bearing that throws us back to palm-studded island beaches… an exotic breakaway whilst still in your own sofa…
In the same frame of mind, adopt beargrass or Elephant’s foot, a funny-looking tree with a swollen base and a hairdo like a mop that can grow up to 6 ½ feet (2 meters) when mature!
Cluster your plants together to create a lush “bubble”: this helps them share moisture and keep each other happy.
Each room offers a different combination of light, warmth and moisture, and that is what decides the plants that will settle in happily. Use the table below to match the greenery to the space before you buy.
| Room | Conditions | Plants to choose | Point to watch |
|---|---|---|---|
| Living room | Vast and luminous, room for plants to spread | Yucca, areca, dracaena, kentia palm, Elephant’s foot | Cluster pots together so plants share moisture |
| Bedroom | Smaller, darker and cool, with an even temperature | Phalaenopsis orchid, cyclamen, spathiphyllum, saintpaulia | Avoid fragrant flowers, drafts and nearby heating devices |
| Kitchen and bathroom | Often moist, with temperatures that vary a lot | Flamingo flower, ferns, lucky bamboo, Christmas cactus, papyrus | Papyrus needs enough light to enjoy the moisture |
Cactuses and carnivorous plants make a good extra choice wherever children will be watching them.
Usually smaller and darker, the bedroom is a rather cool place where the temperature stays even.
Place one or two small flower-bearing plants to add color to the bedside table or drawer chest. Avoid fragrant flowers that might meddle with your sleep.
The elegant phalaenopsis orchid is perfect, as is cyclamen, spathiphyllum (moonflower), saintpaulia…
Check that their emplacement doesn’t put them on the path of drafts and too near to heating devices.
Often moist and with temperatures varying a lot, the kitchen and bathroom also deserve their own specific touch of greenery, as long as mostly resilient tropical plants are chosen, such as flamingo flower with its beautiful red blooms, ferns (asplenium, nephrolepsis, etc.), lucky bamboo, Christmas cactus (a type of schlumbergera)…
Papyrus, native to the banks of the Nile river, is known to love the moisture of bathrooms if there’s enough light.
Remember that cactuses and surprising carnivore plants will be a source of curiosity for children. For instance, you can pair several different Gymnocalycium together, these chubby little cactuses bloom in red, yellow or orange and will add color to your design!
Laure Hamann
