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The Perfect Plant Shelf in 6 Simple Steps

A sunny windowsill is prime real estate for your indoor plants. And when the time comes that you run out of window space, a plant shelf is a great way to showcase all of your indoor plant babies.

Perfectly styled plant shelves obviously need to be shared online with other plant lovers. A plant shelfie is a photograph of a well-curated shelf with multiple houseplants as its focal point. Commonly found on Instagram with the hashtag #plantshelfie.

These Instagram plant shelves look like they were put together effortlessly. But in reality, they aren’t always so easy to curate. How do you style an indoor plant shelf?

Read on to learn how to decorate a plant shelf indoors in 6 simple steps. With tips and ideas on pots, placement, and which plants to use.

How to Style and Decorate a Plant Shelf in 6 Simple Steps

1. Choose the Perfect Shelf

The shelf is the base of the overall look of your plant shelfie. A natural wood shelf gives a totally different vibe than a smooth metal shelf. Both work very well in their own way with real greenery.

Look around your home. Decide what will be the perfect shelf for your space.

If you have enough floor space, you can style a shelf, or a few shelves, in a bookcase, or opt for a rolling cart or a plant ladder. In smaller areas, you can save space by choosing a floating shelf or tiered shelves on the wall.

TIP! Make sure the location of your shelf has sufficient light for your plants to thrive. No dark corners for sun-loving plants.

2. Select a Variety of Plants

The perfect plant shelf has a variety of different plants.

Pick houseplants with attractive leaf shapes, patterns, and textures to add visual interest. Mix around leafy plants with statement plants, and plants that grow upward with plants trailing down your shelf.

Grouping plants raises the humidity around them. Which is a bonus for many houseplants originating from humid tropical rainforests.

Don’t forget the importance of the planter pots. I am a big fan of terracotta pots and finding vintage planters at my local thrift shop. But use what you have, any pretty planter will do.

Mind the colors of your pots, keep it simple. You don’t want a chaotic color scheme to detract from the beauty of the plants.

Rolling cart trolley filled with houseplants in boho home.

3. Shop Your Home

While a shelf filled with only plants can look absolutely wonderful, and I absolutely applaud it, adding a few accessories will personalize the appearance of your shelf.

You don’t have to spend a dime on this if you shop your own home.

At this stage, just gather all the items you love and think would fit. Don’t worry about collecting too many things for the shelf. Arranging and editing items comes next.

What to put on a plant shelf besides plants? Plant-related items like a copper watering can or a pretty vase are great. And think about maybe adding a few books, souvenirs, pretty shells, or picture frames. You might have a letterboard. Put a funny plant quote on it. It’s going to be perfect!

Space Saver! Create an indoor vertical garden on a wall shelf. All your plants will be off the floor and you free up space!

4. Make it Balanced

Here comes the fun part. Adding in the accessories, moving them around, swapping them out to find the best arrangement.

Group items and layer plants behind other plants to create depth. Vary the size and scale of the items. Play around with the placements.

This process will take a bit of trial and error. Sometimes all it takes is moving one item a few inches left or right to make the overall look feel more balanced.

TIP! Don’t add in too much extra stuff. The accessories shouldn’t overwhelm the plants. You want the plants to be the focal point of the shelf.

Indoor Plant Wall Shelf and Vintage Peacock Chair.

5. Less is More

Now that everything is on the shelf, take a step back and look at it with a critical eye. Does it look too cluttered in any spot? Be tough and thoughtful. You might need to make some hard choices like taking out one of your favorite pieces.

Not every available spot on the shelf needs to be filled with something. Leave some open space and give your plants some room to breathe.

6. Take a Plant Shelfie

Once you are happy with how your plant shelf looks, it’s time for the final step. Snap a plant shelfie and post it on your social media.

Decorated tiered wall shelf filled with houseplants.

Marie Mercer

Friday 23rd of June 2023

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