How to Choose the Best Houseplants for Your Decorating Style

A riot of color and texture creates a living wall, carving this sitting area out from a larger loft space. Consider every surface, from floor to wall to ceiling, a potential home for plants of all sizes and growth habits and incorporate different hues, textures, and variegated leaves to pull it all together.

The upright growth habit of this showpiece cactus offers striking juxtaposition to the round mirror, light, and hats in this airy entryway. Get this look by layering natural elements, such as glazed tiles, terra cotta, and wood, and playing with form and shape.

Bold leaf shapes lend themselves beautifully to a mid-century aesthetic. Featured here are the sturdy pillars of snake plant, a conical cactus, and large-leafed philodendron, all set off by the crisp white of the lamp and a luxurious rocker.

You needn’t group plants to make them the focal point. Minimalism celebrates the loneliest number—a solitary specimen in a neutral container strikes a perfect pose against a black-and-white background. Here, an entryway gets pop from a potted fan palm. Instead of clustering, choose a single plant with a striking shape or color and let it take a place of honor.

This antique rolling cart hosts an army of cacti and haworthia in uniform terra cotta pots, joined by feathers that ape stems and leaves sprouting from a vintage jar. The white-washed exposed brick and cactus housed in a snakeskin-look basket add rustic texture and interest.

A mix of plant types and containers create an enticing green corner. A vintage bar cart plays host to varied plant forms on two levels beneath a showpiece painting. Choose a bare space in your own home and then incorporate plants with many textures in containers of varied shapes and sizes. Rethink the table trope and reuse existing furniture pieces to showcase the plants. Incorporate paintings or sculpture to pull the look together.