How to Decorate With Large Indoor Plants

It's time to go big with your houseplants. Gone are the days of only decorating with teeny tiny succulents (though we still love those little guys, too!). Large indoor plants are in—and their repeated appearance in the 2023 Real Simple Home is proof. We're talking about the kind of houseplants that can stand alone (literally, on the floor), acting like a piece of accent furniture or large decor item in a room, rather than a tabletop accessory. Aside from serving an aesthetic purpose, large houseplants can also be a functional choice: Instead of cluttering your counters and surfaces, a big plant can fill up some empty floor space. Below, we took some ideas from the expert designers behind the Real Simple Home on how to decorate with large indoor plants.

Frame the Room

If you're decorating a larger room where it doesn't make sense to place your furniture along the walls, it can sometimes feel as if your pieces are awkwardly floating in space. Bobby Berk had to work around this challenge when designing the XL-sized living room in our 2023 Real Simple Home. And, don't get us wrong, having too much space is a good problem to have—it just takes a strategic touch to make everything look natural and grounded. To do so, Berk created a smaller rectangle within the space, working around a large area rug. The towering fiddle leaf fig plant in the corner of the arrangement helps frame the furniture and makes the space feel more complete.

Add Some Life to Your Home Office

If you have a home office, you probably spend a lot of time in it staring into a computer screen. That's why it's especially important to add some signs of life and color into your workspace. (You know what they say about "all work, and no play.") Designer Michelle Gage delivered big on the liveliness when designing this home office in the Real Simple Home. The large indoor plant beside the desk is almost like a second co-worker in the space—and the immersive floor-to-ceiling floral wallpaper and the large bunny print make "going into work" feel like stepping into a charming storybook garden.

Embrace a Nature Theme

There's a cool and sophisticated jungle theme going on in the primary bedroom designed by David Quarles IV in the Real Simple Home. The backdrop of the room is the designer's own '70s-style biophilic wallpaper design, which is unified by earthy greens, blues, and reds throughout the rest of the room. The jungle theme is brought to life with the sprawling tropical philodendron in the corner (and the triptych tiger pillows on the bed, of course).

Liven Up an Urban Landscape

If you're a city dweller, you're lucky if you have a private outdoor space—but those spaces can still feel pretty disconnected from nature. That was the case with the "before" version of the Real Simple Home roof deck. Even though the views overlooking Brooklyn and Manhattan are nothing short of spectacular, the deck needed some greenery. The large potted tree near the outdoor kitchen makes the space feel instantly more relaxing. Designer Linda Hayslett also added five zones of seating with different purposes, including a dining spot, a kitchen hangout, a lounging zone, and two conversation areas—making the space feel way more livable and inviting.

Cozy Up a Dining Area

Dining rooms can be rather formal spaces, intended solely to be a place to eat meals. However, they become instantly more welcoming and cozy when they get more of a living room treatment. That's what Kim and Scott Vargo of Yellow Brick Home did when designing the dining area in the Real Simple Home. The combination of the comforting earth tones, the plush sofa functioning as banquette seating, and the large potted plant feels like an invitation to sit down and stay a while.