When we moved into our Finn Fixer Upper, I vowed that I was going to be a plant lady. I wanted real indoor plants in every room and I wanted to actually learn how to keep them alive. Indoor plants help purify the air and add greenery and life to any space. I’ve got a brown thumb (more like a black thumb) and I’ve never had much success in the past. But this time around, I wanted to be different!

I’m happy to say that I’ve actually been keeping quite a few indoor plants alive in our new home! I credit my success to the fact that I’ve chosen a lot of low-maintenance plants that are tough to kill. But still, I consider that a win! Let’s take a tour of our home and I’ll share all of our indoor plants around here.

The Living Room

I have a mix of faux and real indoor plants in our living room and it’s working out pretty well for me. In the corner, I have two real plants that are both thriving!

I had this large planter in our condo and had a lot of success keeping snake plants alive. The plants from the condo died during our renovation (this sad planter sat in the basement!), so I planted new snake plants in the fall and they seem to be doing well (although they’re leaning a bit…). I still adore this planter (it’s the large size, btw) and I never plan to get rid of it. Snake plants are ridiculously low-maintenance. I can go weeks without watering and it’s totally fine. I do try to water this plant once a week with two cups full of water and it’s been working great.

This is a new plant for me and so far it’s thriving here! At first, I thought this was a “dieffenbachia” but it’s actually a Chinese Evergreen. I’ve been watering it once a week and it’s thriving. There have been a few brown/yellow leaves at the base of the plant that I snip off to keep it tidy. That seems to do the trick for me. Here’s a link to the planter I found at Lowe’s. It’s a hefty size so it could work on the ground or on a shelf.

Now, onto the faux plants in this room…

You guys know how much I love my faux olive tree. Real olive trees come with a hefty price tag and knowing this faux one won’t die on me makes me happy. Plus, it looks super real! I have it in this basket with a blanket on top of it so you can’t tell it’s fake.

In the front windows, I have this faux jade plant. It, too, looks very real. The concrete base brings a good texture and organic vibe to the room and I like that it requires zero-maintenance.

Finally, here is a faux fern (similar) that I picked up from Target. I gravitated towards it because I love the pot with its creamy color and terra cotta rim. It’s full, lush, and again…no maintenance required!

Kitchen

I’ve had this cute planter (from HomeGoods) for quite some time. I used to have a snake plant in it (in our condo), but when we moved here I planted a “string of bananas” plant in it. It’s actually a succulent and I love how it drapes. It has grown so much over the past few months and has gotten so long!  I keep it in the window sill of our kitchen because it thrives in lots of light and this window sees sun all day long. In terms of water, I go by the soil. If the soil is dry, I give it some water. I’d say I water it every two weeks or so.

On top of our hutch, I have a pothos plant that is also thriving! I’m telling ya, my plant lady dreams are slowly coming true! I have this one in a terracotta planter and it sits on a terra cotta tray. If the tray gets wet, it can transfer moisture to the surface it’s sitting on (i.e. our antique hutch). So I also have it on a dinner plate just in case!

The leaves on this pothos plant have gotten really long and drapey and I love it. I want it to grow and grow so it hangs down over the hutch even more. I take the entire planter to the sink once a week and totally soak it, letting the excess water drain out the bottom. I’ve found that my pothos plants need lots of water. I then place it back up there for the remainder of the week. I pluck any dead or dying leaves as they come about. This has worked out wonderfully for me and it’s looking very healthy!

Bathrooms

In our first floor bathroom, I have another pothos plant in a cool modern planter (that I picked up from HomeGoods). This one doesn’t get much light, but it’s still doing really well.

In our guest bathroom upstairs, I have this nerve plant. This is my first time with a nerve plant, so I was a bit nervous about keeping it alive (okay, that was a terrible pun but I had to!). Apparently, it thrives in a moist environment so I figured this bathroom would be a good spot for it. It receives bright indirect sunlight through the window here and I think it seems to like it. From what I’ve read, this is actually a pretty high-maintenance houseplant so I’m pleasantly surprised it has survived in here for five months. I’ll keep you updated on its life span…

On the shelf in this bathroom, I have a cute little plant that I picked up on a whim at IKEA. It’s a peperomia plant and I love the cream and light green colors on it. It adds some height to the shelf and has been easy to keep alive with a weekly dose of water.

Main Bedroom

 

Finally, the main bedroom. I’ve got another pothos in here in this cute planter (no longer sold).

In my main bathroom, I have this silver dollar ivy that is draping really nicely. This planter is a find from HomeGoods and you actually fill the round part up with water and it waters the plant that way. So I just fill up the planter with water once a month and it’s good to go! It also gets a nice amount of humidity in this bathroom with the shower, and I think it likes it!

Best Indoor Plant Tips

Overall, here are some of my tips on indoor plants, plus tricks I’ve learned along the way.

• I buy all of my plants at Lowe’s in their garden section and I’ve had great luck.
• Most of my planters are from HomeGoods or Target (minus my favorite large one from West Elm).
• I always try to buy planters with drainage holes and a tray. If a planter doesn’t have a drainage hole, I usually put rocks on the bottom and then put the soil and plant over it. This has worked well for me.
• I have an alarm set on my phone for every Sunday at 10 am to water our plants. This keeps me on track with watering!
• I usually bring lots of my plants to the kitchen sink and give them a bath there. I soak the ones that need it and let them drain and dry in the sink.
• Even though I was tempted to buy all the plants when we moved in, I’ve slowly added to my collection as I learn what each plant wants. This method works well, so don’t go overboard if you’re just starting out.
• There are some great looking fake plants out there if you want the look without the maintenance.

Favorite Indoor Plants

• Snake Plant
• Pothos
• String of Bananas
• Chinese Evergreen
• Nerve Plant
• Peperomia
• Silver Dollar Ivy

This post features my favorite indoor planters and this one has more details on keeping indoor houseplants alive.

More Indoor Plants?

I’m planning to add lots of plants to our home office when it’s time to decorate that space. I can’t wait! Then I’ll probably incorporate some faux plants into the nursery built-ins to get some greenery in there. Slowly, but surely, I’m going to have a jungle around here (sorry, Finn!).

Casey