6 ways to create a Scandi home with plants

The Scandi style is minimalism at its finest. It combines clean lines, simple furnishings and fresh colours to make spaces feel comforting and calming. That’s what makes plants brilliant decorations for any Scandi-inspired home. Apart from being scientifically proven to boost mental health and wellbeing, plants add shape and texture to create a warm, natural finish. 

The Scandi style is all about refined simplicity, which means making a statement should look effortless. Just two or three showstopper pieces placed in the right areas will draw the eye around the room and make your space feel super polished. 

If you have minimal floor space, choose long slender plants like Fera the coconut palm and Howard the aspidistra. But if you have more room, Dora the upright elephant ear, Musa the banana dwarf cavendish and Fidel the fiddle fig tree have full leaves, guaranteed to add opulent impact. 

The Scandi style was born out of the need to optimise sunlight in the dark winter months of Northern Europe. That’s what makes the Scandi colour palette so fresh, light and natural. Brighten up a room with plants that add a bit of colour while matching your interiors. 

To complement natural materials like sisal and jute, choose rich toned calatheas like Juliette and Jesse. For a lovely pastel accent, look no further than Sophie (or syngonium neon robusta if you prefer Latin) and her gorgeous pink leaves. And for added texture, go with variegated plants with a mix of colours in their leaves – Rob the rubber plant is ideal. 

The Scandi style takes a lot of cues from nature, and a circle is one of nature’s favourite shapes. Experiment with lots of curves and rounds. It’ll complement the simple lines in your Scandi interior and give it some understated elegance. 

A Chinese money plant like Penny is perfect for a little nook. For a sophisticated touch, try a ficus like Alto or a rubber plant like Robin. And go curvy crazy with a fishbone cactus like Kate. 

Natural materials and textures feature heavily in Scandi interiors, so carry this through to your plant pots and stands. Go for wooden stands to elevate your plants (physically and visually), and for hanging plants, try clay hanging pots with strong jute rope to hold them up. 

Fractured pots feel luxurious yet earthy, while clay pots are clean, classic and sturdy. Great supporting acts to your stunning plants. 

Contrast your minimalist aesthetics and furnishings with houseplants that have volume and texture. The abstract shapes their leaves create will go a long way to add some depth and intrigue, while softening some of the straight lines in your interior. 

Pick light and airy palms like Sharon and Dorothy, or go with plants that have wider leaves like Chaz the Swiss cheese plant. For smaller spaces, try Gus the asparagus fern or Venus the maidenhair fern.

If more balance is what you’re after, mirror the plants that you have in your outdoor spaces with those inside your home. Ringo the fun bun for inside and Fats the glossy-leaf paper plant for outside make a fabulous pair.

The Scandi trend strips spaces back to their bare essentials. This can leave a lot of empty spots on the shelves and walls, so it’s easy for a room to feel cold and uninviting. A quick fix? Place trailing plants like ivy on a high shelf, or hang a string of nickels from the ceiling for a delicate waterfall of leaves. They’ll add layers to the space and make you feel like you’re in a tranquil forest. 

Keeping it simple is the key to the Scandi vibe, and by adding plants you’ll elevate the style and make it feel at one with nature.