DECORATING WITH HOUSE PLANTS

House plants can make your home look green and gorgeous.  Check out these clever ideas spotted on pinterest for ways to make your home come to life with a bit of natural loveliness...  

The Hanging Garden

Macrame is coming back would you believe. Hanging plants look great clustered together, and are especially handy for stairways where you have double height to play with and where you get to see them from multiply levels. (Image from: mechantdesign.blogspot.com via pinterest)    

A Space of their Own

This clean and simple shelving unit has been transformed in to an indoor garden by grouping together greenery of different sizes and shapes in vases and pots that go together well. Mixing structures plans such as succulents with trailing ivy keeps things visually interesting. (Image from lamaisondannag.blogspot.co.uk via pinterest)      

The Indoor Greenhouse

House plants and daylight go together like jam and toast.  Create some privacy in a sunny corner by fixing some simple shelving next to a window and loading them with light-loving greenery. The plants will thrive in all that sunshine and also throw interesting shapes and shadows in to the room. All of which makes for a lovely place to sit and ponder - a bit like sitting in a glorious greenhouse but without having to leave the comfort of your own home. We love the addition of green coloured glass vases and circular mirrors to bounce the light even more. (Image: of Kettle's Yard, Cambridge, by Wallace Gardens - spotted on pinterest)    

The Wonder Wall

We can't wait to give this idea a try.  This simple wooden bar wall is made with spaces to hook hanging baskets and wall mounted vases. Just fill with a mix of plants - some trailing, some not and mix it up as much as you please. A clever way to decorate a larger space and create real drama with lots of smaller plants. If you have an ugly wall to hide this could be just the thing. (Image by topastuces.net via pinterest)    

The Glass Garden

How lovely does this classy orchid look in its own glass garden? The mosses, bark and small ground level plants add interest as well as helping manage water flow to the easily swamped orchid. Beautiful. (Image from urban comfort.typepad.com via pinterest)    

Get Botanical

This mixture of a tabletop of live plants, branches from the garden and botanical prints makes for an interesting display. A little bit museum, a little bit modern country hotel.  Frame pages of old prints from antique books or, if you want to go large, have a look for botanical themed wallpaper or wrapping paper and frame that to make your own perfect backdrop.  (Image from vibekedesign.blogspot.co.uk)    

Shelve It

Box shelving comes in all shapes and sizes and can be picked up pretty cheaply. They make great stage for trailing plants and are a neat way to decorate an awkward corner. Paint them the same colour and mix up live houseplants with loved objects and paintings to create your own easy to do wall installation. (Image from Gardening Know How via pinterest)    

Top tip: Don't forget that if you choose well, house plants can also make the space you live in healthier by doing their bit to purifying the air you breath. Plants create oxygen and remove toxins. Clever little things. We love this article by buzzfeed.com which lists a whole host of plants that can purify the air. Best get down to the garden centre then...