Sketchbook

As we transition from summer to fall, I know we are all looking inward and prepping to spend a lot more time indoors than we have for the last few months.

While I believe it’s important to have a cozy, comfortable space all year long, I particularly need it during the fall and winter months. I don’t know about you, but I LOVE summer and being outside in the sunshine, so I take particular care to make my home and office the coziest they can be as the leaves start changing.

For the next few months, I’d like to share some of my best interior design tips and tricks about ways to make your space, whether it be your home or your office, feel cozy and comfy too!

Interior Design with Plants & Flowers

Let’s start with the easiest and cheapest way to make a space feel cozy: indoor plants and flowers! Now, why do they make a space feel cozy? Not only do plants provide life giving oxygen and purify your air, but they also are a great way to bring nature indoors.

We humans have evolved over hundreds of thousands of years and it wasn’t until the last 100 years, that we moved life primarily inside. In the grand scheme of our history, that is a tiny spec of time and we haven’t adjusted quite yet. We are living, breathing animals (yes animals, not robots) and we need connection to nature, to something bigger than ourselves, and to take a step back from the speed, stimulation, and stress of the modern world. Plants require patience, they require attention, and they are a great mental break from all the hustle and bustle we’ve created in our lives. Plants grow, change, and move but ever so slowly and peacefully.

Trust me, when you see your plant moving, changing, growing, and thriving, you will feel immensely proud, not only of your ability to keep something alive, but also of your space and the care you’re taking to make it home.

Where to Locate Indoor Plants & Flowers

Where do we put these plants? Here are a few interior design tips & rules of thumb.

If your plant has vines, like my favorite – pothos plants – they work best on high shelves or ledges where their vines can hang down.

Short and squat indoor plants and flowers are really nice in a windowsill. Not only do they draw your eye to the window, sunlight, and the nature outside, but they also bring a little bit of that nature inside. Place your favorite couch or chair with all the fluffy pillows next to your window sill plan. You will feel so cozy and peaceful curled up there. Add a cup of coffee or a glass of wine and you’re good to go!

If your plant is tall and requires a big, heavy pot – like a snake plant or anything resembling a small tree – these do great in a corner or next to a doorway (as long as they aren’t behind a forever open door).

Buying Flowers

Last, but not least – especially if the thought of keeping plants alive is just too much – I highly recommend buying flowers from your local grocery store or florist. You can buy them once a week and put them in a nice pretty vase on your table, on your kitchen island, next to the coffee pot, on your favorite bookshelf, on the fireplace mantel, on your bedside table, or your bathroom vanity. Really a flower vase can go anywhere, and these flowers will brighten up the room!

One of the reasons I love this so much is that the flowers change with the seasons. Not only does this provide some interest, but it provides some change of color / style without having to completely redecorate!

Also, this doesn’t have to be expensive. Most grocery stores have specials on the flowers that are in season – daisies in spring, sunflowers in summer and fall for example – and you can get them for as little as $5 a bunch. It’s fun, easy, and may I just say, a nice little touch to any home or office!

If You Can’t Keep a Plant Alive…

For those of you reading this thinking “I can’t keep plants alive!” don’t worry! I’m the first to tell you that I have a history of killing my indoor plants and flowers (I just want to love them and water them all the time!).

But here’s a little secret about plants that I learned the hard way: plants actually like to be mostly ignored. Once I got a puppy and had much less time to focus on my plants (aka I stopped watering them once a day) they thrived!

So, before you panic about keeping them alive, just make a mental note to only water your plants once every week or two. From my experience, they will be just fine.

If that’s too stressful, then just stick with the fresh flowers on the table. I promise it is worth the money and will make your space feel oh so cozy!

All in all, indoor plants and flowers are a great interior design tip to making a space feel lived in and comfortable all year long!

Check out my blog — Sketchbook — for more interior design and architecture tips, musings, and case studies.