Plants For Living Rooms: Common Houseplants For The Living Room

living room plants

(Image credit: lightkeeper)

last updated 29 March 2021

Growing plants in the home interior helps bring a little nature into your living space and cleans the air, as they add their effortless beauty to the décor. The living room is the heart of the home and often one of the first rooms viewed by visitors. Plants in the living room let everyone know that you value life and have a way of making the home a harbor for everything in it. Choosing houseplants for the living room that will thrive relies upon selecting those that do well in your home interior conditions. Read on for some tips on houseplant options.

Why Use Plants in the Living Room?

Small space gardeners, those that live in capricious weather regions, and those of us who simply love plants everywhere we go often choose to decorate a living room with plants. The very words "living room" seem to conjure up things that are alive and natural influences. Living room houseplants may be in small pots, grow to the size of small trees, provide food or add a regional touch to the home. Decide what theme or goal you require and then set about picking those plants that will thrive in your room’s conditions. Plants are inexpensive décor items that liven up a room, but they have additional health building purposes. The modern home is host to many items of manmade material which emit gas and build up in the home. Even running your heater brings in and stirs up dust and particles which are inhaled and can be harmful. The release of potentially toxic pollutants from engines and equipment used are stuck in the house. All these situations create a chemical brew that is taken into you and your family's bodies. Plants for living rooms or anywhere else in the home can help reduce toxins and purify air. There are also reports that any living room with plants helps to de-stress and calm the denizens. Now that you need no further reason to add plants to your home, some excellent selections that beautify and healthfully enhance the interior will get you on your way to a less toxic and more serene interior environment.

Choosing Living Room Houseplants

One of the biggest growing needs interior plants often lack is bright light. Luckily, there are many indoor plants that thrive in medium to low light. In a room that has eastern or northern exposure, the brightest light of the day will be of short duration and probably won't penetrate very far into the home.

An asparagus fern craves low light and will do poorly in bright light. They are elegant in hanging pots or can arch gracefully over the edge of a stationary standing container.
A foolproof, low maintenance mother-in-law's tongue or snake plant will give architectural sharpness to the living room in moderate light situations.
The funny but aptly named staghorn fern is a unique living specimen that can be grown on the wall. They often come mounted, but it is easy to make your own staghorn wall display.

More low to moderate light plants include:

Southern or western exposed living room houseplants need to tolerate the bright light and often hotter conditions that occur midday.

One of the best plants for living rooms that are sunny is a dracaena. There are several species from which to choose. Dragon tree and Rainbow tree are two unique plants with colorful tones and slender pointed leaves.
Succulents and cacti afford innumerable tones, textures, sizes and levels of ferocity. These usually prefer bright light but some protection from the noon sun.
Chinese money plant is an easy-to-care for small option, as is lucky bamboo. Both are supposed to bring good fortune!

Some other options might be:

Bonnie Grant is a professional landscaper with a Certification in Urban Gardening. She has been gardening and writing for 15 years. A former professional chef, she has a passion for edible landscaping.