A small plant on a side table is easy to miss. The living rooms that stay with you use plants as tall as the furniture beside them, and they let those plants own the corner. These 7 living room plant ideas show how that looks in real rooms.
7 Living Room Plant Ideas for Empty Corners, Window Walls, and Behind the Sofa
Tall plants fix a problem small pots can’t: empty space next to the furniture. A leafy plant that reaches the back of the sofa fills that gap and softens the hard lines of windows, cabinets, and walls.
Every room below does the same thing: give a big plant its own corner and pick a pot that suits the room. Here’s how each one works, so you can copy the part that fits yours.
A Plant That Works Like Wall Art
One long, bare stem reaches across the cream wall toward the gray swivel chair, with just a few tufts of leaves along the way. A wide, pale pot with dark stones on top keeps the base calm. Pick a leaning, open-shaped plant for a small corner, since it fills the wall without eating floor space.
Fill the Window Wall Top to Bottom
A big paddle-leaf plant stands by the TV, another sits by the window, and trailing plants hang from knotted rope hangers in front of the glass. That puts green at three heights, so the curtains never look flat, and the warm bulbs make the leaves look deeper at night. Hang the pots first, then add one tall plant at floor level.
Books and Leaves Share One Wall
Dark wood shelves full of books look softer with a tall palm arching over them and small plants tucked between the books. Tan leather, dark wood, and terracotta pots all stay in the same warm brown family, which lets the green stand out. For a moodier version of this mix, these dark boho living rooms go further.
The Corner Behind the Sofa Is Free
Not sure where a big plant would go? Try the corner behind the sofa, like this room does. A glossy dark rubber plant fills the corner, and a lighter, deeply split-leaf plant sits in front on a round stand. Pairing a dark, rounded leaf with a light, split one makes the corner look layered, not crowded.
Cream Leaves Brighten a Gray Sofa
The schefflera’s leaves are splashed with cream, so the big plant by the window glows against the gray sofa instead of sinking into it. Its pot sits on wheels, which makes it easy to turn toward the light. For more of this palette, see our white and green living room roundup.
Green Is the Calm in a Loud Room
Framed art in every size, a patterned rug, and a bright pink chair are a lot to look at. The tall ficus stands in front of the biggest print in a dark woven basket, and its plain green leaves give the eye somewhere quiet to rest. Choose a basket in one of the room’s dark colors so the plant belongs.
Pick One Plant and Let It Lead
Cream sofa, beige rug, blush wall: the whole room stays soft, so a bird of paradise with long arching leaves is the one strong color. It stands in a taupe pot behind the sofa, and the leaf print on the wall repeats its shape. To copy it, give the plant a bare wall to arch across.
