10 Best Living Room Plants to Green Up Your Space

After a well-thought-out interior design, choosing your color themes and complementing furniture, among other details, is crucial to curating your indoor space. The look and character of your living room could be enhanced with the addition of befitting living room plants to complete its look. You can easily take your pick from a wide range of easy-to-care indoor plants based on the variety of living room plants you fancy the most.

Living room plants relatively thrive from exposure to low light and infrequent watering. Whether you are a beginner or seasoned plant parent, the following 10 best living room plants will bring a touch of greenery and nature to your space.

1. Kentia Palm (Howea forsteriana)
2. Pothos (Epipremnum aureum)
3. Chinese Evergreen (Aglaonema commutatum)
4. Fiddle-Leaf Fig (Ficus lyrata)
5. ZZ Plant (Zamioculcas zamiifolia)
6. Rubber Plant (Ficus elastica)
7. Money Tree (Pachira aquatica)
8. Snake Plant (Dracaena trifasciata)
9. Peace Lily (Spathiphyllum wallisii)
10. Spider Plant (Chlorophytum comosum)

What to Consider When Picking the Best Living Room Plants

It goes without saying, not every potted plant can grow optimally indoors. It is crucial, therefore, to watch out for the following traits when choosing the best living room plant. The best plants to decorate your living room ought to tolerate low light exposure; not every plant you purchase will be placed near your south-facing windows, where there is sufficient access to sunlight. Being cognizant of this, every indoor plant you add to your portfolio, especially to your living room, should thrive under low light.

Due to less evaporation, given that living room plants will not be overly exposed to direct sunlight, the watering of indoor plants should be kept to a minimum. Plants that use a lot of water and get thirsty quickly are not ideal for incorporation into your living room because of their high care demands.

As an extra tip, indoor plants for the living room should not be extremely tall or fast-growing. If such plants reach their maturity quickly, you will have a short time to enjoy them, and you will be out looking for new plants in no time. Best living room plants should at least last a minimum of three years before you consider replacing or renewing.

The following top ten living room plant picks should make your household very happy!

Kentia Palm (Howea Forsteriana)

Kentia Palm is the best living room plant, especially when you have a large living room space. It can grow to an impressive height of 40 feet (12 meters) when fully mature. To get great results with it, plant it during spring to ensure there is enough space within its surroundings to allow its fronds to spread freely.

Kentia palm should be watered once a week and exposed to medium to bright but indirect sunlight for a total of 4-6 hours daily. Humidity is crucial to this living room plant. Should you need humidifiers in your living room to achieve this, it is important you provide a humid environment for your Kentia palm.

Pothos (Epipremnum Aureum)

Pothos has pointed, heart-shaped foliage, with a dark green shade capable of complementing any interior design effort. Its hanging vines can grow at a high speed, adding between 12-18 inches monthly. For the best experience with this indoor plant, you can easily guide its vines to your preferred direction within the living room, either through the walls or by letting it hang on a bookshelf.

Pothos can tolerate moderate to low light exposure, watering once a week, but only when the soil fully dries out. Pothos plant care can be easily executed by a beginner plant parent without any fuss, since pothos is an undemanding living room plant, yet a must-have in your space.

Chinese Evergreen (Aglaonema Commutatum)

Chinese Evergreen, also referred to as Aglaonema, is an easy-to-care-for living room plant. If you are looking for a plant decoration in the living room space, you will not go wrong with this one.

It comes in a range of colors from green with whitish stripes to red and silver. The color options give you the opportunity to pick the right plant that matches your living room theme. Exposure to moderate to low light, watering once a week, and avoiding soggy soil are the growing conditions to adhere to when tending to the Chinese Evergreen.

Fiddle-Leaf Fig (Ficus Lyrata)

Fiddle-Leaf Fig (Ficus Lyrata) is not new to the interior design world, loved and adored in equal measure by interior design professionals. Due to its dark green foliage and growing style, it can easily be the focal point of your living room.

Fiddle-Leaf Fig can transform your living room from ordinary to a masterpiece when placed strategically within your space. Remember, though, they can be sensitive to environmental changes, so expect a shed of leaves first weeks, but once it adjusts to the environment, it will grow well afterwards.

ZZ Plant (Zamioculcas Zamiifolia)

Zamioculcas zamiifolia (ZZ plant) is native to Africa and is the most trendy living room plant, due to its ability to thrive under low light and minimal watering.

Its dark green foliage adds the desired green tone texture to indoor spaces and brings the right feel of nature to your living room. Being a succulent, it is prudent to reduce the watering drastically and limit it to when the soil dries out completely to avoid damaging your green ZZ plant.

Rubber Plant (Ficus Elastica)

Rubber Plant (Ficus elastica) is a popular choice when it comes to indoor plants for the living room. Though it is a speedy grower, the rubber plant requires moderate to bright indirect light, with watering kept once a week.

Its burgundy-colored foliage not only makes it a unique living room plant, but it also brings character and nature's magical touch. This plant is associated with stimulating a positive mood and boosting your productivity and energy.

Snake Plant (Dracaena Trifasciata)

Snake Plant (Dracaena trifasciata), which can also be referred to as mother-in-law's tongue, is a hardy indoor plant that can easily thrive as a living room plant. Snake plants can be watered once a week to once bi-weekly, depending on how soon the soil dries out. Exposure to minimal light is more than enough for your plant to grow and color your indoor space.

In addition to being an easy-to-grow living room plant, snake plants have immense benefits, ranging from aesthetic appeal, purifying the living room air, getting rid of toxins, and also boosting your mood and mental health significantly.

Peace Lily (Spathiphyllum wallisii)

For beginner plant parents, Peace Lily (Spathiphyllum) is a good place to start in greening up your living room space. The plant can easily communicate to you if it is underwater, when it droops, that's a cry for water. Interestingly, when watered, it easily revives itself back to life.

However, if you are also a pet parent, then it is advisable to keep your Peace Lily plant as far as possible from them because it is harmful to pets. The highlight of this plant has to be its whitish petals, which can brighten the living room and add some contrast to it.

Spider Plant (Chlorophytum Comosum)

Spider Plant (Chlorophytum comosum) can effortlessly add a unique touch and character to your living room. With its dangling foliage, the plant can easily become the focal point of your space.

Growing a Spider Plant as a living room plant is effortless; the plant requires access to low light and prefers to stay on the drier side. Water it only when the soil feels dry enough.

Money Tree (Pachira Aquatica)

Money Tree (Pachira aquatica) cannot go unnoticed in any living room space due to its striking braided trunk. Watering once a week and giving your plant access to bright indirect light daily will enhance its growth to a magnificent height of 8 feet within your living room space.

Bring a good luck charm to your indoor space with a great living room plant, because, as you may know, the Money Tree is considered a symbol of good luck and prosperity in some cultures.

Though there are many more living room plant options to choose from, it is prudent to go for plants that are able to withstand low light to moderate and bright indirect sunlight and minimal watering throughout the year. Decorating your living room with the aforementioned living room plants transforms an ordinary living room space and gives it life and texture.

Based on your preference, aesthetically or your interior design plans, the above top ten living room plant picks should come in handy; green up your indoor space and bolster your mood, increase productivity, purify the air, and rid your living room of any unnoticeable toxins.