Home Decor

Houseplants: great for the mind, body & soul

Jessica Crawford
Cotton & Co.

(8/2020) This year is a great year to focus on our indoor and home environments. We’re all staying closer to home this year, more so than ‘normal’ years. In the shop right now, we’re seeing a lot of evidence of this. Customers reinventing living spaces, creating home offices, and in general, taking the time to make their houses into homes that reflect themselves and their lifestyles.

Replacing furniture and swapping out home décor are an obvious way to improve a living space. But what about houseplants? Bringing a little bit of the natural life indoors has many known benefits. Not only are some pops of lush greens around your home, enticing and beautiful. They also have several health and environmental benefits too.

Are you one of the many that have been working from home more, or even full-time? Many studies show that a houseplant or more in a home office, helps contribute to a positive work environment. And may even increase work productivity. Adding houseplants, especially those with broad leaves, can help regulate humidity in a room. Plants release nearly all of the water that they take in, back into the air, contributing to healthy humidity levels, especially during dry winters. Not only are they generally very pretty, and there’s a tremendous selection to choose from, being close to nature, generally makes us feel more calm and at peace. Surrounding ourselves with nature indoors lifts our spirits and mental moods. Selecting a few favorite greens for around your home, could help positively affect your mental health. Which we all need these days.

Houseplants also can act as a natural air filter in a home. They can help improve indoor air quality by trapping and filtering toxins and allergens. They can trap harmful VOCs and toxins created by items we commonly use in our homes and work spaces, and can help protect us. Between their humidity control and toxin filtering, non-pollen releasing houseplants can be very beneficial to those suffering with respiratory issues.

So let’s talk about purpose and favorites. First and foremost, I am a firm believer in that you can never have too many houseplants. It’s about balance and how many you think you’re able to care for, and also direct and indirect sunlight opportunities in your home. Some indoor plants have different light requirements. When selecting them, check tags and choose them based on the environments you have available in your home. Caring for plants can be quite therapeutic and rewarding, also enhancing mental state and mood.

Are you interested in indoor plants for mood, environment, health, wellness, cooking and eating, perhaps a little bit of all of the above? There’s a plant for all of that. Aloe is a must. They are hardy and forgiving of neglect. Similar to a cactus and succulent, they require less attention than many other indoor plants. They aesthetically give off a boho, tropical, dessert vibe and tend to mingle seamlessly in any home. And additionally and most importantly, they are great to have on hand for health purposes. A quick snip of one of their leaves, releases that gooey aloe, that is beneficial in treating and soothing minor burns and skin irritations.

A counter top herb garden would not only enhance a space visually, and also help clean the air in a kitchen, it would also serve a purpose. In a sunny spot, herbs need lots of direct sunlight to thrive, an indoor herb garden would be wonderful for on the spot cooking needs. Basil, mint, parsley and chives would make great choices as they’re commonly used and would also tolerate living in a planter or pot.

Succulents and cacti are timeless. And there are so, so many to choose from. They require minimal attention, need good sunlight, well drained soil in planters, and come in all shapes, sizes and colors. The perfect household companion. These plants give off a Summer vibe year round, which I know boosts my spirits during those long winter months. And while they’re super easy to care for, the pack a decorative punch with all the options and varieties available.

Fiddle Leaf Figs and Monstera Plants have had a resurgence and have become increasingly popular. Both have large, showy leaves (excellent humidity controllers!), are generally easy to care for, and create quite a statement in a room. They’re beautiful and timeless in a large planter and integrate nicely with most home décor styles. I have mine paired with my vintage wicker peacock chair in a boho nook of my home. But they pair beautifully with other styles like Modern Farmhouse or Mid-Century-Modern.

There are many varieties of houseplants that look enchanting suspended or hanging. My sister hand-creates macramé planters for the shop. Her planters always look beautiful paired with something like a Pothos or Maiden Hair Fern. One of which is draping and trailing, the other lush and whimsical. I do love a single, statement houseplant in the corner of a room. But I also love a cluster of houseplants, that are all different but coordinating. Perhaps different sizes and variation of shades of greens, clustered together in a space. And remember, you want odd numbered groupings of things, as a home décor rule. Sticking the groups of three or five.

The options available are endless. And whether you think you’ve got the time and energy to care for one indoor plant, or a whole army of them, the mental, emotional and environments benefits are tremendous. We have a great selection of planters, tabletop, stationary and hanging available in store. As well as select indoor plants, and more coming soon! Stop on by one weekend and see us, we’re open weekly, Friday though Sunday and are always happy to help you create a space or make a vision come to life.