IKEA Furniture All Plant Lovers Need
Hey folks, we've found this great new store. It's under the radar right now, but we think it will be huge. It's called IKEA. Oh, you know it? Well, you and the rest of the world. It's hard to walk into someone's home without spotting an item from the ubiquitous Swedish furniture chain. IKEA has become a go-to for virtually every household item with easy-to-build (well, sometimes) furniture and elegant Scandi designs. It's little wonder that the company made over 40 billion euros worldwide in 2021, per Statista.
It's not just flatpack chairs and tables that you'll find in their hallowed halls. IKEA has the goods for plant lovers, too. The move to decorate our living spaces with houseplants is almost as beloved as IKEA. Considering indoor greenery's ability to provide visual appeal and reduce stress in young adults, it's no wonder people love adorning rooms with plants (via National Library of Medicine). With IKEA's mind-blowing range, how do you know which items are best for showing off your houseplants? We've done some research for you and found the best IKEA furniture for plant lovers, including a few pieces you may not expect. While there are some things you should never buy from IKEA, these pieces are top-notch. Let's take a look!
The BUSKBO plant stand is a lightweight option for pots
We firmly believe that you should display your houseplants proudly in your home. Enter the BUSKBO plant stand. This simple plant stand comes in a lightweight rattan design, making it easy to transport, effortlessly stylish, and suitable for most plant varieties. In true IKEA fashion, the BUSKBO comes in several different sizes. The individual BUSKBO plant stand is a gorgeous stand-alone piece, suitable for single pots. The longer BUSKBO is a two-tiered affair, with space for several plants on the top part and more plants or accessories underneath.
As a natural material in a neutral tone, rattan is the perfect addition for rooms of all shades and will complement the natural fibers of your plants. Rattan is also easily stainable or paintable, so you can brighten up your BUSKBO stand by painting it a light white or cream shade, per Better Homes & Gardens. In its natural form, the pale wood tones of the BUSKBO stands can help enliven neutral spaces.
The ÄPPELROS hanging planter adds beauty to indoor spaces
Hanging plants aren't just for placing outside your front door. Inside, they can provide a pop of nature from a completely different angle and add a cozy feeling. For all your hanging needs, it's hard to go wrong with IKEA's ÄPPELROS hanging planter. The pleasing off-white, lightly fluted edge keeps it engaging to the eyes, and a generous diameter gives your plants plenty of space to spread out. The long rope allows the ÄPPELROS to descend well into the room. However, if you prefer to use it as a stand-alone pot for your plants, the cord is easily removable.
According to My Scandinavian Home, choosing the right hanging indoor planter for your setting can be challenging. However, it's hard to go wrong with Boston Ferns or spider plants. English and Devil's Ivy plants also have a stunning effect. You'll need to keep them out of reach of children and pets, as the leaves are poisonous. We suggest getting a few of the ÄPPELROS and following your heart.
With an easy hack, the VARIERA box becomes a planter
IKEA is a haven for multi-purpose items. The VARIERA is a testament to this. This simple bamboo box, which features a handle in the middle, is mainly shown on IKEA's website in the kitchen to house food items or crockery. According to Hunker, the VARIERA turns into a stunning planter with a few simple adjustments.
To start, you'll need to build the VARIERA box and leave out the handle. You can attach it if you wish, but leaving it off the box gives you more space for your plants. Take four wooden dowels, each of the same length, and mark around the edges on the bottom side of the box in each corner. Drill a hole through the center of the marks and into the center of each dowel end. Place some glue on the drilled end, put it on the underside of the box so that the holes line up, and put a screw through them. Line the box with plastic for protection, and then add in soil and your perfect plant. For an easy setup, forget the dowels and use the VARIERA as a freestanding box.
Turn the BORRBY lantern into a terrarium
One of the most exciting parts of interior design is using items in unpredictable ways and getting stunning results. To prove this, we'd like to present an adjustment to the IKEA BORRBY lantern that blew our minds. We're sure that plant lovers will want to try this trick.
The design of this well-sized lantern holds pillar candles and casts light around a space. However, repurposing it into a terrarium can create a stylish green scene in an eye-catching vessel. Plus, it's also a super-fun DIY project, per Thou Swell. Begin with your assembled BORRBY lantern, and squeeze a little sealant around the bottom edges of the lantern, leaving it to dry completely. Then, place a small amount of gravel on the bottom of the lantern and put a layer of screen above it, cutting eight inches square. This screen will provide drainage for your plants. Next, put a layer of soil down, and place your plants inside. Finally, cover the top of the dirt with a layer of moss, decorate with any accessories, and mist well. Keep the lantern in a cool area of your home, away from direct sunlight, to keep your terrarium healthy.
LACK shelves make a great plant shelf
If there's one thing IKEA's good for, it's shelves. (Okay, it's good for other things too). Shelves aren't just for your books, people. IKEA's LACK shelf, in a simple white, is a simple and elegant floating shelf that's calling out for plants.
By buying several of them and placing them at equal distances vertically, you can create a next-level plant wall, per House Mix. Plant walls work well anywhere in the house but are particularly at home in a bathroom, where they can take a space from anonymous to cozy. "Plant life in your bathroom adds warmth and fresh oxygen to spaces that can sometimes be sterile," states Leaf and June's Lisa Muñoz (via Architectural Digest). Using LACK shelves in a white bathroom is an excellent choice as their already-white neutral tones blend in perfectly with gleaming tiles. To boost the health of your plants, place them in and around the shower to let steam from hot water cover them with a gentle mist. To add visual interest to your plant walls, use a mix of pot sizes and plants.
Create a beautiful terrarium from the FABRIKÖR cabinet
Indoor terrariums are all the rage right now. They present plant life uniquely and excitingly. However, why should you fork out potentially thousands of dollars on a purpose-built terrarium when you can make one at a fraction of the cost? Furthermore, why shouldn't you go big with your terrarium?
The FABRIKÖR cabinet has you covered on both fronts. This glass-paneled cabinet, available in dark grey and a light neutral, provides plenty of space for a terrarium that you can fill with your favorite plants. For your terrarium, it's advisable to opt for plants that grow at a slow pace so that you won't have to replace them or worry about finding a new home anytime soon, per Ambius. Ferns and succulents are ideal choices, with ferns being especially suited to a terrarium's microclimate. It's also essential to think about the placement of your terrarium. Situating it in an area with indirect light will generally work well. If you're putting it in direct sunlight, make sure you open your cabinet periodically to allow heat to escape.
Make a portable plant shelf with the HYLLIS shelving unit
With the HYLLIS shelving unit, you can create the plant shelf of your dreams. Gone are the days of scattering your pots around a room. This three-tiered shelving unit is lightweight yet sturdy, with ample space for all of your favorite little plant children. The galvanized steel frame is particularly well-suited for outdoor use if you want to spruce up your garden with a dedicated plant section.
Bear in mind that a plant shelf isn't just for plants. Try combining potted plants on your shelves with chic ornaments, books, and photographs. You can mix up the size and color of your pots and objects to create a visual banquet, per The Spruce. A plant shelf can be placed anywhere in your home, from your front room to an office. Adding plants to your study gives it extra vibrancy during your workday. Alternating plants that stand straight with hanging varieties can also provide a dynamic touch to your plant shelf.
The SOCKER is ideal for greenhouse lovers
A greenhouse is a pure joy. It is a place to store your plants, protect them from the elements, and see them flourish. Unfortunately, this luxury is typically only for people who have a garden with ample space. For most city-dwellers, greenhouses may seem a distant dream. That is until IKEA came to the rescue with the SOCKER greenhouse, an indoor version for stylishly storing a selection of your favorite plants. Available in a white neutral, this mini-greenhouse will complement pretty much any room and is snug enough to fit onto most windowsills or mantels.
The SOCKER can hold many different plants and purposes. Use it to grow your first herb garden or your prized collection of succulents. Just bear in mind that, as with anything when it comes to interior design, styling houseplants takes thought. Keep an eye on the plant varieties you want to decorate with and what works visually. You'll also want to ensure healthy conditions for your greenery. For example, "you don't want to put a fern next to a cactus," says Landcraft Environments horticulturist Dennis Schrader to Architectural Digest.
Create a dedicated plant cabinet with a MILSBO cabinet
Every plant lover is looking for the perfect place to display their beautiful babies (we mean plants, we don't think of them as our kids). It does not get much better than the MILSBO cabinet. Available in white or anthracite, the MILSBO cabinet contains four distinct levels to house a collection of house plants. The glass paneling is unobstructed by the subtle frame, meaning that your green friends will be the star.
If you want to take the MILSBO to the next level, try out an IKEA hack. This trick is what Erin Bishop, who runs the popular account unrulybotany, did on Instagram. After removing the original glass shelves, Bishop replaced them with wire shelves to improve airflow and ventilation. She also installed a water tray, grow lights, an air fan, and other accessories to let her plants thrive (via The Spruce). She then filled the MILSBO with philodendrons, alocasias, and anthuriums. The entire job cost around $500, but it was worth it. "It's a more expensive endeavour than just buying a grow tent, but the Milsbo allows me to see and enjoy my plants and it looks great in the apartment, and works with the feel of the rest of the decor," said Bishop.
The RIGGA clothes rack becomes a display area for plants
One of our favorite things about IKEA products is their seemingly endless versatility. For our next trick, we present an item made for one purpose that, with some clever thinking, becomes a plant display. The RIGGA clothes rack, an unassuming and reasonably-priced place for hanging your coats and shirts, can quickly become a display piece for your plants.
This subtle white rack features a shelf running along the bottom, where you can mix and match your clothes and some plants. Or you can devote the entirety of the RIGGA to greenery. According to IKEA, the IKEA plant stylist uses a clothes bar to hang up a selection of planters. They wrap some of the long leaves back up around the clothes rack. Underneath, an eclectic assortment of stand-alone pots adorns the bottom shelf in a selection of sizes and textures. The best part about the RIGGA is its wheels — as soon as you get tired of it being in one place, push it into the next room. Job done.
Find plants hard to maintain? Try the FEJKA artificial potted plant
Looking after plants is a rewarding job, but as anyone who's had their ficus die on them knows, it's hard work. It's even more difficult if your capacity to look after your big-leaf houseplants is limited. If you're replacing dead plants constantly to brighten up your room, consider investing in an artificial plant or two. As IKEA's U.S. Business Leader for Home Decoration Jenna Scherson said to MyDomaine, "If your green thumb leaves something to be desired, we also have a fantastic selection of artificial plants and flowers for the same lifelike feel, minus the work."
The FEJKA is an artificial plant that adds maximum impact with minimum effort. The imitation weeping fig tree is a good height and can add drama and vibrancy to any room. The best part is you won't need to deal with errant soil or watering responsibilities. You'd be hard-pressed to spot that this potted plant is artificial unless you got up close, and the best part is it's also suitable for outdoor use if your garden needs a bit of a shake-up.
The PS FEJÖ self-watering pot does the work for you
We're inclined to think that the world falls into two camps, people who adore watering their plants and people who hate it. If you're a member of the latter group (and we wouldn't blame you), the PS FEJÖ might be the object for you. This self-watering pot is an object of engineering ingenuity that only the people at IKEA could design. Available in black or white with handy little wheels on the bottom, all you have to do is pour water into the central wick. The water then releases itself in a controlled manner into the soil. You only have to top it up periodically instead of monitoring the dirt like a hawk for any hint of dryness.
If you're prone to seeing your plants die on you, it might be worth opting for the easiest houseplants that require less watering. String of pearls plants, succulents, and snake plants are all excellent choices for potted plants due to their limited need for water, according to House Beautiful. Dracaena plants are also well-suited to arid conditions and, in addition to being visually striking, can survive long periods without needing a top-up.
Create living walls with the ASKHOLMEN trellis
Using a trellis to display your favorite plants is a no-brainer, and a well-placed (and well-used) trellis can add vertical greenery to an otherwise plain wall. The ASKHOLMEN trellis from IKEA is perfect for this task. Coming in a light shade of stained brown, we love the pleasingly minimal design and the worn-in color that gives it a rustic feel. The trellis also extends to 190 centimeters, providing ample room for your vines and ivy.
If you're styling your ASKHOLMEN trellis for the first time, remember that you don't just need to use it against a wall. "You can even install a trellis to appear free-standing. This allows you to section off parts of your garden and provide an illusion that it's a little bigger than it may initially appear," states the founder of Gardening Express, Chris Bonnett, to Ideal Home. By placing multiple ASKHOLMEN next to each other, you can create a living wall and have a feature in your garden that you'll treasure for years to come.
The VATTENKRASSE watering can is both functional and stylish
Too often, an A-plus houseplant game pairs with a poor watering plan. The VATTENKRASSE watering can is a much more luxurious option than running your houseplant under faucets and hoping for the best. In contrast to other watering cans, the VATTENKRASSE is a thing of beauty. It features a four-sided handle opposite a stylish extended spout for controlled watering and reaching out of the way spots under leaves. The 30-ounce capacity of the VATTENKRASSE means there's more than enough water for a good soaking of your plants while remaining small enough to be portable.
For us, though, it's all about the color scheme. The VATTENKRASSE comes in a base color of either ivory or pale pink, with a luxurious gold handle. The VATTENKRASSE adds a touch of elegance to any room. The pop of gold is the perfect way to brighten up rooms with either lighter neutrals or darker, moodier tones, per Houzz. Gold tones are particularly showstopping when placed in rooms with contrasting black and white shades.