How to Bring a Lush, Leafy Vibe to Your Home

Think leafy greens and natural materials! Everyone wants their home to feel fresh and relaxing. Add a botanical flair to your home with these easy styling tips.

It’s fresh, tranquil and brings the beauty of nature inside your home – the botanical fresh look is one of the most popular decorating trends for 2021. Think leafy prints, natural materials and every shade of green imaginable. The look is relaxed and easy to live with, and it works beautifully in homes with an indoor-outdoor focus.

Here, our interior designers share their top styling tips for adding botanical flair to the main rooms of your home

Draw nature into your living areas

The botanical fresh look puts a firm focus on light, texture and natural materials, so make sure they are front and centre within your living room scheme. Start with a white base on the walls and sheers or venetians at the windows to maximise light and make the space feel open and fresh.

Layer soft tones drawn from nature – soft grey, pale brown and white – across your sofas and cushions, in textural, natural fabrics such as linen and crisp cotton. Chunky loop pile carpet in warm greige is a practical choice as it’s great for disguising dust between vacuums and won’t crush under footfall, plus it ups the texture factor further. If you’re concerned about spills and stains, layer a sisal or jute rug over the top.

Introduce touches of timber for warmth in furniture such as your entertainment unit and coffee table. Soften the lines in the room with one or two curvy, playful pieces in woven, natural fibres, such as a sculptural rattan or wicker side table or plant stand.

Bring in colour through botanical art prints on the wall, leaf-print cushions and an abundance of indoor plants. Large potted plants such as elephant ears work well in the corner of open-plan rooms, while petite beauties such as jade plants or Chinese money plants are ideal for popping on a credenza or coffee table in a more compact living space. Learn more about indoor plants here.

Go natural in the kitchen

So how is the botanical fresh look expressed in the kitchen? It’s all about simple styling, laid-back elegance and plenty of natural touches.

Set the scene with luxurious stone benchtops in a light-enhancing shade, such as Caesarstone Georgian Bluffs. Pair this with blonde or mid-tone timber and white cabinetry. Be sure to include open shelves overhead where you can pop a trailing plant, display some of your treasured collectibl­es or keep everyday items such as cookbooks.

If your kitchen is open plan, create a connection with your living area by specifying tiles in a greige or soft grey that matches your carpet.

Keep it comfortable with two or three upholstered Scandi-style timber bar stools at the kitchen island and the cosy glow of frosted-glass pendants overhead.

Finally, add personality to the space with a couple of black and white botanical artworks in simple timber or white frames on the wall.

Add impact to your study nook

For a modern spin, seek out a graphic black-and-white interpretation of a classic botanical print. Or let your walls do the talking with a bold, botanical-print wallpaper in the study nook. Learn more about injecting colour with wallpaper here.

Avoid visual overload by keeping the rest of the scheme simple; dispense with a fussy desk and shelving and opt for a built-in timber desk and floating shelf instead. Create a casual display with photos in black frames propped on the shelf alongside a beautiful (and low-maintenance) trailing plant, such as devil’s ivy. Set a cosy tone with a pendant light in frosted glass.

As it’s likely that your study nook will be visible from your living areas, you won’t want it to feel too business-like. Try adding artwork or light-enhancing mirrors to the surrounding walls to create a more laid-back vibe.

Bring lush, luxury to the master bedroom

Transform your master suite into a botanical-inspired haven with gentle, earthy neutrals and layers of sumptuous textures.

A great place to start is the wall behind the bed – it’s the first area you see as you enter the room, so you’ll want it to make an impact. Line this wall with a textured wallpaper or grasscloth in a deeper shade than the surrounding walls, then add in a statement velvet-upholstered bedhead.

Pile the bed high with an indulgent medley of natural textures such as cotton, linen and cashmere in nature-inspired tones of white, olive and tan. Opt for bedlinen in block colours or seek out designs in playful, botanical patterns – both will look stunning.

For a satisfying visual contrast, seek out simple, Scandi-inspired timber designs for your bedside table and armchair. Or take it a step further with a tree stump bedside table.

Touches of black in light artwork will add a contemporary edge, while indoor plants at different heights – by the bed, trailing from a shelf and even suspended from the ceiling – provide the perfect finishing touch.

Create calm in your ensuite

Carry your bedroom colour scheme through to the ensuite for a sense of visual connection between the two. Then, look to introduce one or two unique touches to your ensuite to give the space its own personality – think funky terrazzo splashback tiles or graphic-print towels in botanical hues.

Make your ensuite feel bright and spacious by painting the walls white and specifying white venetians or painted shutters for the windows that let the light filter through. Choose full-width mirrors to bounce the light around further and, if you’ve got a garden outlook, reflect views into your ensuite.

Timber or timber-look cabinetry adds such natural appeal, while curvy, above-benchtop basins help soften the room’s sharp lines.