Give a space a fresh new look by decorating farmhouse shelves with easy-care houseplants.
One of my favorite DIY projects is the farmhouse shelves we put in the Dining Room.
They were quick and easy to build, and they add style and personality to the room.
I decorate this space by season, and it was time to freshen it up for Spring!
This time, I used houseplants as the main feature of these Spring Farmhouse Shelves.
Tips for Decorating Shelves with Houseplants
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Decorate farmhouse shelves with houseplants by choosing plants that suit the lighting in the room.
I’m a fairly new houseplant mom, and I’ve had fun trying out new plants. I’m thrilled that *most* of them have survived my beginner care! I’d say these are great houseplants for beginners, and maybe even the easiest ones to keep alive! ;)
This space gets very little direct sunlight, but it’s near a big bank of windows. So when I shop for live houseplants, I look for easy-care plants that don’t need sun.
Here are a few of my favorite low-light houseplants:
- Snake plant – I’ve read this is one of the easiest houseplants to care for, and I totally agree! I seldom water mine, and I make sure the soil is really dry first. It’s as happy as a clam.
- Prayer plant – This one is new to me, but I love its striped leaves. I’ve read that the prayer plant does NOT like direct sunlight, so as the days get brighter and sunnier, I may need to move it to a shadier spot.
- Coffee plant – I had some trouble with brown leaves on this one, but once I trimmed them off, lots of new growth appeared. It has been happy in various low-light spots around our home.
- Money tree – This is probably my favorite larger plant of all. I water it once a week, and it keeps putting out new growth. I panicked when it started dropping leaves in the fall, but apparently that’s normal!
(The money tree is the large plant in the DIY planter stand beside the buffet.)
Alternate the heights of the plants on the shelves.
I started by placing the tallest plants along the edges of the top shelves. The smaller prayer plant works well on the lower shelf.
It’s fine to mix faux plants with real houseplants
Before I was brave enough to try live houseplants, I used only faux greenery for decor. I never had to worry about them dying!
Adding a few faux plants and flowers helped fill out the space nicely.
Group items in threes, mixing colors and textures.
I like to use the rule of 3s when I arrange decor. Grouping three items of varying height looks lovely.
Add art to the shelf arrangements for extra color and interest.
I wanted some art on the second shelf, so I printed some Impressionist art (from free public domain sources) on my home printer. I didn’t have a frame that fit it, and I didn’t want to take time to make a simple DIY picture frame, so this time I just stuck it to the wall with scotch tape!
If you’d like this beautiful impressionist art for your decor, too, it’s free in my Printables Library. The library is filled with printable art, cards, organization labels, and checklists.
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I recommend printing wall art on cardstock with these supplies (affiliate links):
- Home printer – Ours is the Canon TS5020
- White cardstock (which is thicker than regular printer paper)
If you’d rather, you can have it printed on cardstock at your favorite print shop.
Step back and look at the overall arrangement often.
Shelf styling really comes down to personal taste. There are some easy steps to help you get started, but there’s no single right or wrong way.
Arrange and rearrange things until the overall look and feel is what you like.
Houseplant containers can be a big part of your decor.
Some of my houseplants came in plain little plastic pots. I’ve enjoyed searching for pretty containers that will also become part of my decor.
Mine are all fairly neutral, but if you prefer, you could choose bold colors to pop in your decor scheme.
SHOP EASY CARE HOUSEPLANTS ONLINE FROM AMAZON:
For more posts on bookshelf styling, you may want to check these out:
- How to Style a Farmhouse Bookcase in 3 Easy Steps
- Ideas for Decorating Bookshelves with 3 Key Items (you probably already have!)
- Adding Moulding to an Ikea Billy Bookcase
For more fresh ideas for your home:
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