Here’s a list of some of our favorite plants for interior design. They look awesome in any environment, and more importantly, they’re SUPER easy to care for. Whether you’re a renter who’s constantly on the move or a homeowner looking for your “forever plant,” we think you’ll find some great options here.
(Photo Source/Credit: ZZ Plant, Red Prayer Plant, Bird's Nest Fern, and Chinese Evergreen)
Low Light Plants
Many plants need direct light to survive… but not all homes have a perfect window spot in every room. Not a problem! Here are some of our favorite plants that do well in lower light:
ZZ Plant
The ZZ plant (also known as the Zuzu plant, Zanzibar gem, or Zamioculcas Zamiifolia if you need to impress someone) is one of the easiest plants to keep indoors. It’s the perfect starter plant because it does well in indirect light and only needs watering three times a month. However, the leaves are slightly toxic, so it’s NOT recommended if you have a kitty that’d be tempted to nibble.
Red Prayer Plant
The prayer plant is another amazing indoor plant. It does need to be watered regularly, but it’s happy in a variety of lighting and is 100% safe for pets. We also love the contrast of red and green in the leaves! Like many plants, this little guy serves as an effective air purifier, filtering out toxins and other chemicals from your home.
Bird’s Nest Fern
The bird’s nest fern is an epiphyte, meaning it’s typically found growing off things like the branches of a bigger tree. This makes it very flexible for placement in your space! You can pot it or hang it pretty much anywhere, even bathrooms or rooms without windows. It’s also a pet-friendly option.
Chinese Evergreen
This one’s another low light favorite! The Chinese evergreen can do well in low light but does like a bit of humidity (making it a good fit for bathrooms). It’s known for being easy to grow, but be aware that it’s NOT good if ingested by a pet.
(Photo Source/Credit: Spider Plant, Pothos, Iron Plant by Kim Lucian, and Snake Plant)
Hard-to-Kill Plants
Whether you have a green thumb or not, it’s nice to have a hardy plant that can tough it out if you’re out of town or extra busy. Here are some of our top picks:
Spider Plant
The spider plant can tolerate some skipped waterings, cleans the air nicely, and has a great look. Another cool feature is that it propagates itself! After a little while, you’ll find a mini-plant beside the original, which you can replant if you’d like to keep expanding your collection.
Pothos
The pothos is another easy-care plant that’s extremely versatile. It’s my personal favorite plant from this entire post! A coworker gave me one years ago, and it’s a badass – it survived long periods of neglect (sorry!) and the long car ride as I moved across the country. Now I have several, and they’ve all done really well.
Cast Iron Plant
As the name suggests, this is another tough plant that can handle whatever you throw at it. Though to be clear, you shouldn’t throw things at your house plants.
Snake Plant
The snake plant enjoys dry climates. In fact, it’s best to let the soil dry out completely between waterings. It can go without water for weeks without an issue, which is pretty fantastic!
(Photo Source/Credit: Faux Fiddle Leaf, Faux Calathea Orbifolia, Faux Rex Begonia, Faux Pothos, Faux Pilea Peperomioides, Faux Bird of Paradise)
Faux Plants
Okay, this may be controversial… but we’re big fans of fake plants. They are perfect if you travel a lot, move a lot, have rooms with very low light, or just kill every plant you touch (no judgment!). Many people think that all fake plants are overly shiny and plastic-looking. But after you take a look at these options, I think you’ll disagree.
Faux Fiddle Leaf from World Market
This one’s huge! And considering the size, it’s a really great price. It looks very convincingly real and is durable enough to not be damaged in a move.
Faux Calathea Orbifolia from The Sill
We absolutely love The Sill. Their plants look fantastic and you get to choose a really attractive pot with your purchase. This one, in particular, is beautiful and also quite large. It’s got more visual interest than many other plants due to that very pretty pattern.
Faux Rex Begonia from The Sill
How can you hate on fake plants after seeing this cutie?!? It brings a great pop of color that’ll brighten up any room.
We’ve also purchased and loved these options from The Sill: Faux Pothos and Faux Pilea Peperomioides.
Bird of Paradise from CB2
As you can see, we love faux plants with some size to them. This one’s nice and wide, so it makes more of a statement in the space. We’ve used this in several photoshoots, and we’ve had no issues bringing it across town in the car.
Let’s Keep Designing
Hope you found some useful plant suggestions in this post! For more interior design tips, join our newsletter today. We’ll send you some practical suggestions to keep making the most of your space.