Home, Hygge & House Plants

I am a really big lover of having fresh flowers at home. One thing I have noticed over winter is that the flowers and the stove fire do not like each other. It is safe to say that the downstairs to our home has never been warmer and because of this, my usual abundance of fresh flowers has been dramatically cut as I noticed that they simply did not last. I made the decision to start buying a few house plants instead knowing that they would actually benefit from the warmth and heat and enjoy the more greenhouse effect that our home now has, instead of fresh blooms.

Luckily our kitchen has cool work surfaces and it doesn't get the bare heat that flowers would in the living room, so I can still enjoy them in there, but like I said, it is the house plants and succulents I have bought more recently that are really thriving!

I first noticed that my Aloe Vera plant was positively blooming as we went into winter and could only put that down to its warm environment. Since then I have got myself a Swiss Cheese plant, a Dracena plant and a Kentia palm.With a water every 1 to 2 weeks these plants are truly thriving in the warmth of the house as they naturally are meant to live in much warmer climates.

The bold use of green against our white walls really pops and as I have said, the heat is not hindering them at all. In fact I think I am already slightly in summer mode on sunny days as the bright light, tropical plants and warmth from the fire tricks me into thinking it is actually warm outside. 

Bringing in greenery though is still filling that void of losing fresh flowers in our living area and allows me to still faff and potter about in my care for them as I would have done before. 

House plants are also on the rise again in terms of home interiors and current trends pip them to be one of the most important home accessories of 2017. Also, With their natural properties of cleaning air and providing a sense of peace, introducing house plants to our home is something that is not out dated, but truly in fashion. Until this year I would have never had accents of green, but since Pantone released their colour of the year as a green, I was intrigued how I could inject that colour without painting walls or changing the colour schemes of our home. Plants have given the room that up to date feel and look fantastic against our furniture and colours of our room furniture. 

If you were worried about using plants in the same room as a stove, fear no more. This is a perfect combination and one that I feel is bringing a different element to our home. It has been a month since I last mentioned Hygge, but it still is something that is on my brain. As we head into spring there will be a natural shift in mood and willingness to get out, so bringing a bit of nature indoors really has made a difference to my mood. Flowers always do that anyway; make us feel better about things, but these plants specifically have brightened the house as much as the natural change outside is also doing. With these lighter mornings and evenings it is only natural to want more elements to change to suit our newly discovered thirst for life. In fact last week I gardened, actually, properly gardened and re-planted fallen greens and trimmed back dead branches, it was really empowering and I really felt that freshness we all seek at this time of year.

Being able to come inside to plants has brought a real sense of peace and connection with outdoors which I think I didn't get with flowers. Even the watering of the plants is therapeutic and with the warmth from the fire still, it really is making the environment we live in very calming.

Emily xx