Building an Indoor Landscape

September 2, 2024

Greetings, Friends!

This week we're going domestic and talking indoor landscapes. What is an indoor landscape? Here's my definition:

Indoor Landscape (n): The combination of foundational pieces, like furniture, plus non-living décor, as well as the addition of living décor.

Living décor is so beneficial for you and your home. Plants are fairly inexpensive and beautiful, first of all. They're living works of art and can be great replacements for expensive decor. Plants can also help to clean the air around you! And importantly - more and more studies are showing that having a living plant in your home promotes mental wellbeing, because we naturally tend to relax when we are in the proximity of green, living fauna. As long as you're willing to give your plants a little love (and I'm talking once a week at most), your plants will love you back and give you a beautiful landscape.

Monster the Monstera, placed next to a beautiful walnut wood circular mirror, in the corner of our Dining Room.

The Intimidation Factor

I used to work at a community gardening organization that helps teach people how to grow gardens, lower their grocery bills and access healthy, fresh foods, and I got to learn quite a bit about plant care and the people who are good at caring for plants. The most important thing I learned? Anyone can grow! I have seen hundreds of people come to that organization knowing nothing about growing plants, and with just a little knowledge they are able to start entire community gardens within their own city blocks that nourish all of their neighbors.

Caring for plants can sound intimidating, I get it. I used to think I couldn't keep plants alive. But if you follow just a few simple steps, I promise you'll have a good chance at a healthy and beautiful landscape:

Most houseplants like "bright indirect light." This means you should place them near a bright window, but not in the direct path of sunlight. This'll keep your plants lush-looking - they'll get all the sun they need to fill out, but they won't get crispy.
Most houseplants want to be watered when the top 1-2 inches of soil in the pot are dry. The best method for watering is just to stick your finger in the soil and feel for dryness. When dry, water!
When you water, take it to the sink and water your plant until droplets start coming out of the bottom of the pot. This indicates the soil is saturated and happy! Let it sit in the sink for a bit to drain well.
Every other watering in the Summer, use an organic fertilizer with your water. I recommend this one. I get really great results with it!

And that's it for the basics of day to day plant care - 4 simple steps! There are other things you might consider doing with your plant, such as repotting and propagating. You can find lots of information on specific plants and how to do these things with a simple search.

How Do You Build an Indoor Landscape?

Unless you're reaallly into plants, my bet would be that you'd want to choose your furniture before planning your living décor. Assuming you've got that in place, think about the vibe you're working to create in that space. Is it more of a Mid-Century Modern style, or Transitional? Are you trying to evoke a certain emotion or memory?

I love the indoor landscapes in my living room and my office! They bring me so much joy and are located in the two rooms in which I spend most of my time. But they are a bit different from one another:

The Living Room

The living room is a mix of Mid-Century Modern and organic Southwest/explorer aesthetic, with its leather lounger, walnut bureau, hand-carved wooden blanket ladder, cacti, and various rocks from all over Colorado. I decided upon this aesthetic, because I wanted something that could potentially distract the eye from the television. 😉 Cacti make some of the most interesting shapes and textures, and placing many together can create a visual playground. Found objects also bring so much intrigue into a scene, and so on my walks with June I collect items now and then that can be added to the landscape. So it's visually engaging and constantly evolving - this is what brings me so much joy.

The Living Room Landscape - one of my favorite items here is the glass cloche, holding items I've found on my walks with June on Colorado's renowned trails.

The most recent addition to the living room is the Sayuri Snake Plant, which I placed in a beautiful hand-stitched basket from South America and filled with some minerals I've collected from various areas in Colorado. I love its profile against the white wall behind it, but I do wish it were somewhere you could explore all of the intricate minerals placed atop the soil. You see? Constantly evolving…

The Sayuri Snake Plant is so beautiful, with its silvery leaves that nearly glow in the sunlight.

All of these items were intentionally placed, and I know that can also sound intimidating, but here's my secret to a very storied, textured, intentional, and visually engaging landscape: do it piece by piece. Each one of these cacti, minerals, furniture pieces, etc. was chosen at a different time, in a different place, and when I look at them, I can remember each one of those experiences. It's a special way to design a space, one that really only its dweller could inspire.

Playing around with different heights for your plants can create a storied look - here I have the Sayuri Snake plant on one surface, while a few others are placed on the floor, which increases the cozy factor. The olive tree on the side table presents yet another level, leading the eye up the guitar's frets to the hanging planter holding a peperomia.

The Office

The office takes the vibe of the living room down a moodier path - the light in that room is lower, and during my workday I want to feel very cozy and comfortable. I chose to splurge on the office chair, while saving on the other two main pieces - the desk and couch. However, I have to admit sometimes I prefer the off-brand couch to the fancy leather office chair! My desk is a sacred space. It's the place where I need the most focus out of myself, and so I chose items that would help me maintain balance.

The gemstones I keep on my desk have different meditative meanings and to me serve as physical symbols to help me focus on certain things.

The latest addition to the office landscape is one I'm very excited about. This Dracaena Marginata Magenta is available in my shop and looks absolutely gorgeous in a matte black pot. I love that I can set it next to the monitor, and it's right at the edge of my sightline while I'm working. Let me tell you, it makes all the difference! The proximity of the Dracaena is so calming, with its willowing emerald leaves and strong, twisty branches, and earthy pot of soil.

Plants are very important in this space for the purpose of maintaining balance - I know I need to get up from my desk every so often for a physical and mental reset. These plants can change from day to day, and sometimes need a spritz of water to maintain their humidity levels, which provides the perfect compelling reason to tear myself away from my work. And while I'm caring for these plants, I'm taking in their fresh oxygen and the mental health benefits of being close to nature.

Here are the key takeaways for creating an indoor landscape:

Consider the aesthetic you're working to achieve, which can take many forms these days. Heck, "explorer" certainly isn't a common aesthetic style, but it's real because it's in my living room.

It could be a classic style
It could be a mood
It could be an era
It could be an influence
It could be inspired by a fictional person
The list goes on….

Use plants to help complete the space:

They're relatively inexpensive
They're living works of art
They provide both physical and mental health benefits

Once you know what you're looking for, do it one piece at a time:

Take the pressure off! There is no rule that says you have to have every room decked out from Day 1. We don't live in HGTV. Unfortunately.
Put things in the space that evoke memory and personality
Don't be afraid to use found objects! This is a fun activity that can really bring a lot of personality and curiosity to your landscape.

I hope this article helps encourage you to try indoor landscaping, if you've been thinking about bringing some nature into your space. Not long ago, I thought I had a rotten thumb. By following those simple steps above, I was able to build several thriving indoor landscapes that bring me joy and peace. And if I can do it, you can too!

P.S. I promised I would give sneak peaks of our upcoming artisan line. This past week, we got all of our gemstone beads inventoried and ready for designing! Later this month, I'll be volunteering with the Denver Gem & Mineral Guild at the Denver Gem and Mineral Show, where I'll be sourcing new items to round out inventory for a Winter season of design work.

We're starting to put the foundational pieces of this June Moon dream together, transforming our modest little shop into something more - something that brings people even closer to the intersection of nature and design - and we can't wait to share it with you!