Houseplants can make a great addition to any home. They bring life to empty corners of your room, hide awkward spaces and also improve the quality of air in the space. The more plants there are, the better.
If you’re living in a small space like an apartment, certain houseplants can make a room look bigger. Here’s a guide on how you can make your small rooms look larger than they are.
Get To Know Your Space
The first thing that you need to do is get to know your home. Since you’re getting an actual, living plant, you’ll need to know the best spots for them to grow. If you checked on our guide on how to greenify your space, there are factors that you need to consider before bringing home any plants.
Like the level of humidity and light that your home has. Take note of spaces that have a lot of exposure to light as these will be places where you’ll potentially be placing your plants.
Once you get to know all the nooks and cranny of your home, you’ll have a pretty good idea of how you would like your place to look.
Add Some Height
If you have smaller furniture, you can emphasize the height of the room with a tall tree potted in gorgeous floor planters. The secret to making this method work is to get furniture that is smaller or at least the same height as your plant.
If you have smaller plants that you would like to showcase instead of one big statement plant, you can add to their height with plant stands. Our suggestion is to get a floor planter that comes with its stand like our Mid Century Iron Planter with Stand.
Let it Peek Out
If you have a shorter partition or a half-wall around your space, you can add some depth to the whole room by letting your plant peak out. Choose plants that are tall enough to peek through. If it seems that the plant isn’t tall enough to peek through, you can use a tall planter or plant stand to add to its height.
The visual can be further enhanced by complementing it with another plant that’s placed just right outside of the partition. Add hanging light fixtures to strike a balance to the whole room.
Slim It Down
One of the best ways to make a room look bigger is to get houseplants with slender trunks and branches. This technique is effective with rooms that have panoramic views. It will create an illusion that there’s more space than it has.
It's even better when you choose to leave with large, round leaves like the fiddle-leaf fig tree! Accentuate their size with a tall, Venetian style fiberglass planter.
A Wallpaper of Vines
Vining plants are a great way to make a space look huge. Do you know how vertical lines on a shirt can make a person look tall and slim? Your climbing and creeping plants can do the same for your room.
Install a trellis on your wall, set it up to point upwards. After doing so, you can “train” your plants to grab unto it and grow upwards. As a result, this ultimately makes your space look even taller. You can also hang them close to one another and let their vines drape downwards like a curtain.
Add a Splash of Color
If you’re working with a light gray or white wallpaper and floorboard, then the best way to make it pop is adding a splash of color to your interior. Decorate your home with vibrant colored furniture and complement the ensemble with a large plant with lush leaves.
The trick to this is to choose furniture or plants that can contrast each other well. For example, let’s take a peace lily with lush, deep-colored leaves and pair it up with a red-colored chair.
Hanging Plants Are the Best
Hanging plants are perfect for homeowners with a love for the dramatics. This will draw the eyes upwards, making the ceilings feel higher than they are. Let their vines hang loosely like a curtain for an elegant, flowy effect.
Place them at the corner of the room where you can draw attention to it. You can further enhance this visual by adding another plant at the midpoint of the room.
Make Use of Negative Space
The long distance between pieces of furniture and wall can add to a sense of spaciousness. For this tip, use a large-leafed plant, growing horizontally, much like the bird of paradise houseplant. Space it between two pieces of furniture that are placed on either side of the plant, far away from each other.
This will give your room a sense of “bigness” as there’s a single focal point that’s pointing towards all directions. It’s further enhanced by the negative space between each piece of furniture and the plant. It’s the ideal set up if you’re going for a minimalist-themed home.
Install a Mirror
Depending on how they’re installed and where they're placed, a mirror is a great way to make your room bigger. Placing a large plant next to it can also make the plant look bigger and even lusher. And because mirrors can reflect light from the sun, this will bounce back across the room will make the space appear even brighter.
Consider getting a large mirror to visually expand your room, giving it an illusion that it’s an even bigger room. Complement this with a statement plant or two at either side of the mirror. Using the tips we touched upon in the first few sections, having a mirror around will amplify that and make it look twice as big.
Have Fun with It!
Now that you know the few ways on how you can make your small space look bigger, it’s time to have fun with it. Play around with different sizes and species of plants.
Look for unique indoor planters and varying kinds of furniture that can complement your plant as well as your interiors. Let your imagination run wild and don’t forget to take care of your plants.