5 tips for choosing home office plants
They provide colour, texture and fresh air – there are so many benefits to filling your home with house plants, especially in your home office. Here are our top tips for using plants to bring your workspace to life.
Anyone familiar with home-working will be all too aware of the need for surroundings that are conducive to productivity, stress-relief and practicality. So how about bringing your home office space to life with a house plant or two?
Numerous studies have shown the benefits of houseplants. They help energize, reduce stress, boost engagement and creativity, and instantly make any space more visually appealing - green is the colour of renewal and optimism. With all this in mind, it makes sense that they are often considered to be essential in offices and places of work.
Here are some of the ways to make plants work, where you work.
1. New lease of life
If you want to be really ahead of the game, you can choose house plants that will be happy to relocate if you want to switch things up - including being moved outside. Herbs are a great candidate for relocation. They’ll inspire you in the home office, providing beautiful scents and coming in handy for an after-work G&T, and they’ll thrive outside when they’ve outgrown their pots and it’s time to move.
2. All in the balance
Small can be beautiful, and less can be more when it comes to greenery that will enhance your home office without being distracting. A small group of mini succulents will grace a desktop, a single tall palm will sit elegantly in the corner of the room, a delicate Boston fern will provide softness amid your screens, and a simple English ivy will trail casually from a shelf.
3. Choose the right plants
To get your creative juices flowing, here are some ideas for plants that could work well in a home office setting.
- Small and succulent: String of Pearls, Aloe Vera, Cactus, and Zebra Haworthia all work well clustered together on a desk or shelf.
- Large and leafy: If you fancy just one statement place, Areca Palm, Umbrella Tree, Snake Plant, and Peace Lily will instantly elevate your home office.
- Midsize: Asparagus Fern, Boston Fern, and Spider Plant are a great size for a tabletop or stylish plinth.
- A recipe for success: Oregano, Rosemary, Thyme, Basil, Mint, Chives and Parsley. These delicious-smelling herbs will feel right at home on your office windowsill, and double up as great ingredients for a healthy work lunch.
- Off the shelf: If your office style is all about shelving, Devil’s Ivy, English Ivy, and Burro’s Tail are all trailing plants that like to hang out high up.
4. Going potty
Along with a plant comes a pot, and these can be a great way of injecting some style into your workspace. You can have fun choosing the shapes, sizes, colours and materials that suit your home office - from sleek and minimal industrial enamel, to traditional terracotta, to cosy rustic baskets. They're a great way of adding personality and tying a colour scheme together. For pots with drainage holes, make sure there's a big enough saucer to avoid overflow - you don't want any spills near your devices!
5. Don't forget TLC
Having beautiful plants in your home office is great, but you'll need to take care of them regularly - a dead plant is not particularly inspiring. A plant-care routine can also be a great way to add some structure to your day, either getting you in a positive mindset before you start work or providing a relaxing break time activity. The rule of thumb with indoor plants is to give them lukewarm water when the soil is dry to touch - enough that the water comes through the drainage hole but doesn't fill the saucer. Most plants thrive in a good amount of natural or fluorescent light, but avoid putting them in direct, intense sunlight as it could scorch them.
Whichever plants you end up choosing for your home office, your new green-leafed friends will make for great companions while you work from home.
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