Houseplants can create a mood in a room, whether you want energy, calm or just a sense of cosiness. What you achieve not only depends on your choice of plants but also how you position them, match them with your interior décor, and scale them up or down, says Jason Chongue, designer and author of new book, The Plant Society Design Handbook. “It’s important you make sure the plants you group together all live in the same micro-climate.
There’s no point, for instance, planting a cactus with a tropical plant because the watering and lighting requirements will be different,” Chongue begins. Textures “I like to play with a range of textures to add some layering,” he adds. “Some people like to use the same texture of plant, which creates a flat tone throughout.
I prefer to use something that’s got a bold leaf to it and then something that’s more intricate in terms of a foliage texture.” You can harness texture from light and colour too: “Look at how the light comes through your space and how that can create texture in your house. “A fern, for instance, will cast more intricate shadows on the wall, as opposed to a monstera, which will have more of a solid shadow.
It’s almost like using a sheer curtain as opposed to a blackout.” Plants with upright foliage, such as snake plants, work well with detailed planters as their upright nature allows the planter to remain visible. Shapes and space “Shapes are more important than we think, because a lot of peopl.