5 plant tips that will give your flat a cute Scandi interior look
Scandinavian interior design; where do I even start? Since the rise of Instagram—and perhaps before that, when Pinterest was our main source of inspiration—the ‘Scandi look’ has become a life goal for many of us. After all, are you even a real influencer if you don’t take selfies in your pastel pink foam mirror? If you don’t have one yet but you do own a popcorn table, same thing. My daily social media routine includes scrolling through images of pretty kitchens filled with HAY chopping boards and Sophie Lou Jacobsen wave pitchers. Enviously liking pictures of cool Scandi girls wearing Ganni cowboy boots while posing on what looks like the softest sofa in the world has become a full-time job.
But what if you can’t afford to buy the obligatory KJP checkered cushions? How can I achieve a minimalist and cute Nordic interior design without breaking the bank, you ask? Well, well, well, let me share my number one secret with you: it’s all about the green plants, baby. Here are the best green plants to buy and how to present them in order to give your flat a cute Scandi interior look.
Say yes to big indoor plants
Forget about IKEA’s mini cacti and try to think big—or at least as big as your house’s ceiling height allows you to. Look for plants such as the aspidistra, a nice rubber plant or a fiddle-leaf fig tree. Once you’ve picked one (or more, who am I to judge) make sure you buy a super plain pot for it. Concrete plant pots are probably the best and easiest way to go but if you feel adventurous you can also go for something funkier like this nice dark green terracotta pot from ARKET. Avoid colourful tones at all cost, which would be too funky to be Scandi.
Elevate your small plants
Small plants such as trailing jade or string of pearls are the cutest when presented in the right way. Forget about leaving them on your indoor windowsill—that’s now a big no-no. Instead, hang them up in macrame plant hangers. Hang long plants higher to keep vines and leaves from dangling on your floor and suspend shorter plants lower. Don’t even mention hanging terrariums or kokedama hanging gardens, these are not welcome in our Scandinavian bubble of minimalism.
Try elevating your big plants too
Okay, hear me out on this one. While elevating bigger plants sounds pretty dangerous, I’m only talking about a few centimetres in simple plant stands. This will give your flat more ‘space’ and will probably help your little friend get more light too. It’s a win-win situation.
Don’t be afraid to put your plants in less usual places
Having a couple of plants in your living room is pretty basic. Now, what about having some in your bathroom and bedroom too? Next time you give your ficus elastica tineke its Sunday bath, try leaving it in your bathroom until next week, you won’t regret it.
What about adding a few snake plants in your bedroom? They will contrast well against your cold concrete floors and white sheets and will also convert CO2 into oxygen at night, which makes them an ideal plant for bedroom decor.
Finally, buy flowers
Like, a lot of flowers. Although Scandinavians go through winters with almost no sunlight, they have a thing for pretty flower arrangements, and they’re always nailing them. From a simple bouquet of flowers left in a clear jar in your bathroom to preserved flowers kept in a Sofi Gunnstedt smiley vase, flowers are the way to go.
