House plants are stunning additions to home decor, plus they're beneficial for your health and the air quality in your space.

Catherine Willey, our VP of Purchasing, loves house plants for the life they breathe into your home. They also bring balance, color and texture into your space.

Balance

Balance is key in interior design and without it, your room will look off (although you may not know why). Plants are a fun and unique way to help create that structural balance and interest in a space. For example, you can place a tall plant, like a fig tree, opposite a floor lamp on either side of a sofa. This is a more contemporary take on the traditional symmetrical approach to design.

Catherine also recommends using different sized plants in a room to create an overall balanced effect. She advises placing groupings of smaller, potted plants on opposing bookshelves to balance artwork and other decorative items.

Varying the size of the plants you bring in will contribute to a full, dimensional appearance. Don't be afraid to mix hanging plants, potted plants, and larger standing plants in the same space.

Ultimately, creating balance in a way that's aesthetically pleasing will come down to trial and error.

Color

House plants can bring color into your space, showing off their beautiful green foliage. But if you're looking to go a step further, Catherine recommends flowering plants or plants with color in their leaves.

"You can pick up plummy colors from a flowering African violet and bring them into your throw pillows and accessories," she explains. In fact, Catherine loves pairing rich eggplant and deep greens from plants with neutral tones and gold accents.

Whether you have an emerald green tone or brighter chartreuse, bringing color from the leaves, flowers, or stems into your design will tie the room together.

Not only do plants add color, but their planters can as well; whether you choose the traditional burnt terracotta tone or a handmade painted piece.

Read more: Houseplants 101: Cost, Care, and More

Texture

Finally, house plants add texture and depth to your home design. Plants are, after all, inherently textured. And the more you vary the plants in your space, the more texture and interest you'll bring in.

There are so many different kinds of plants; some have waxy, shiny leaves, and others have smooth leaves like leather. Tall, thin, woody plants add a different feeling than a moist tropical plant. And similarly, succulents and cacti have a unique visual density.

Whereas a succulent acts almost as a resolute statue, sitting as calmly as a miniature Buddha, a hanging vine plant has more movement to it. Catherine says, "Mixing textures in plants in combination with your home decor draws your eye around the space and makes it interesting."

If you fall in love with houseplants, you can create the effect of an indoor garden by combining low growing plants, hanging plants, trees, and succulents.

"You can really have some fun with your plants and incorporate lots of different textures. The Philodendron plant has great smooth leaves and a hanging quality that draws your eyes up."

Creating a melange of textures, like placing a furry, cozy throw next to a plant with glossy leaves, will add energy and life to the room. 

Read more: Room Design: How to Add Color, Texture, and Life to Your Home

Choose the right plants

We love house plants and encourage you to incorporate them in a way that works for you and your home. With that being said, picking the right plants for the climate and light in your space is extremely important. They add beautiful color and texture to a space, but it's also important to place them in the appropriate environment to keep them alive. Fortunately, we chatted with our friends at Niche Urban Garden Supply to get their expert take on how to bring houseplants into your home.

Niche Urban Garden Supply

Learn everything from choosing the best plant for a beginner to which plants are best for low-light city apartments: Houseplants 101: Cost, Care, and More.