6 Best Houseplants for Your Living Room (Low Light-Approved!)

Houseplants make wonderful indoor decorations that breathe life and nature into your living spaces. Not only do they beautify any room with lush greenery and textures, but houseplants also purify the air and have been scientifically proven to reduce stress levels. With so many fantastic varieties available, you can find the perfect plant for every single room in your home.
If you’re looking to spruce up your living room with some low-maintenance, air-purifying houseplants, this comprehensive guide has you covered. We’ll reveal the best houseplants for living rooms and provide recommendations tailored to every other room as well. You’ll also get insider tips on styling plants like a pro interior designer. Let’s dig in!
Decorating with Houseplants: Best Plants for Every Room
Turn your home into an indoor oasis with these low-light, air-purifying houseplants. From tall trees to trailing vines, we’ve got the perfect plant for every room size and style!
Table of Contents
Best Houseplants for Living Rooms
Living rooms are multi-purpose spaces used for relaxing, entertaining guests, and spending quality family time. When choosing houseplants for this central room, you’ll want varieties that can tolerate medium or low light levels and don’t mind drier air from heating and AC units. Here are 6 of the best houseplants perfectly suited for living room conditions:
1. Snake Plant

Snake plants are extremely tough and thrive on neglect, making them an ideal choice for forgetful plant owners or dark living room corners. Their stiff, upright leaves add height and architectural interest. Only need to water every 2-3 weeks.
2. Pothos

Pothos vines are vigorous growers that help filter indoor air while trailing beautifully from shelves, hanging baskets or allowed to sprawl along the floor. Allow the soil to dry out between waterings and prune frequently to encourage fullness.
3. Monstera Deliciosa

This trendy tropical plant’s huge leaves gloriously split with natural holes and slits make for a stunning focal point. Monsteras thrive in living rooms with bright, indirect light. They can ultimately grow up to ceiling-heights if you have the vertical space!
4. ZZ Plant

ZZ plants (Zamioculcas zamiifolia) are virtually indestructible and tolerate extremely low light conditions better than any other houseplant, making them perfect living room floor plants for dark corners. Water every 2-3 weeks.
5. Peace Lily

Peace lilies not only look graceful with their arcing dark green leaves and petite white blooms, but they’re also excellent at removing indoor air pollutants like benzene, formaldehyde and ammonia. Just avoid direct sunlight.
6. Chinese Evergreen

Chinese evergreen varieties like Aglaonema add a welcome pop of color to shady living rooms with their large red, pink, green or silver-striped leaves. Both upright and trailing types allow you to mix up textures and growth habits.
All of these resilient houseplants can thrive in average living room conditions as long as you take care not to over or under-water them. Yellow or drooping leaves are signs it’s time to thoroughly soak the plant again.
Room-by-Room Guide to the Best Houseplants
Not just for living rooms, houseplants can create a vibrant atmosphere in nearly any space throughout your home with their eye-catching foliage and health benefits. Here are some top air-purifying houseplant recommendations tailored to each room:
Bedroom
For bedrooms where you want low-maintenance greenery that can tolerate low light levels, top choices include:
- Snake plant
- ZZ plant
- Pothos (trailing or upright)
- Heart-leaf philodendron
Kitchen
Make your kitchen a healthier, more inviting environment by adding these pet-friendly, air-purifying plants that can handle the heat:
- English ivy
- Bamboo palm
- Gerbera daisies
- Spider plant
Bathroom
Bathrooms provide the perfect humid environment for moisture-loving tropical houseplants like:
- Ferns (bird’s nest, Boston)
- Orchids
- Begonias
- Tillandsia (air plants)
Home Office
Having lush plants in your office or workspace has been shown to boost focus, creativity and productivity levels. Some great options include:
- Succulents like echeveria, jade or hens & chicks (low maintenance)
- Trailing pothos, philodendrons or string-of-pennies (add interest on shelves or hanging)
- Peace lilies or Chinese evergreens (purify the air)
No matter which houseplants you ultimately choose for each room of your home, be sure to review their specific light, humidity and watering requirements first. Grouping plants together that have similar maintenance needs can make care significantly easier.
Pro Styling Tips with Houseplants
Beyond just placing potted plants on the floor, strategically incorporating and displaying houseplants around a room can really amplify their decorative impact. Try these easy expert styling tips:
- Hang It Up
Take advantage of vertical space by using hanging planters and placing trailing vines or potted plants on shelves at different heights. This creates a lush, lived-in feel while making smaller spaces seem bigger.
- Window Greenery
Clustering your houseplants near windows not only maximizes their access to natural light (carefully filtered if needed), but creates a bright, inviting atmosphere and a sense of natural privacy.
- Striking Combos
Mix and match plants with different leaf shapes, colors, heights and growth habits for effortless variety. Then either anchor them together in one stylish planter or group separate pots on a tray.
- Bold Pottery
Have fun with the containers! Use brightly colored, metallic, or uniquely patterned planters and pots to add visual pop and make your plant displays into sculptural accents.
- DIY Planter Style
Get creative by repurposing and transforming unexpected objects like vintage trunks, teakettles, mason jars or wooden boxes into charmingly rustic plant homes.
General Houseplant Care Tips
Remember, houseplants are living things – not just decorations! Proper care is essential to keeping them thriving and maintaining those lush good looks over the long-term. Here are some general houseplant maintenance tips:
- Know Your Water Needs
Different plant varieties have different soil moisture preferences, but a good rule is to thoroughly water plants until it runs through the drainage holes whenever the surface is starting to dry out.
- Re-Pot When Rootbound
Most houseplants thrive when slightly under-potted. Re-pot every 2-3 years into a planter 1-2″ wider if roots are coming out the bottom or the plant is getting top-heavy.
- Keep Leaves Clean
Gently wipe down each plant’s leaves with a damp cloth every few weeks to remove any dust buildup, which can inhibit photosynthesis and lead to health issues over time.
- Inspect for Pests
When bringing any new plant home, it’s wise to isolate it for a couple of weeks and inspect regularly for any signs of common pests like mealybugs, spider mites or fungus gnats. At the first sight of insects, quarantine and treat with an insecticidal soap, neem oil or other organic pest control.
Unleash Your Green Thumb!
With the plant knowledge and insider tips packed into this guide, you now have all the insight needed to confidently choose the best houseplants for your living room oasis and every other room in your home. From handsome low-light troopers like snake plants and ZZ plants to humidity-loving stunners like orchids and anthuriums – the plant possibilities are endless.
So start scoping out some lush plant life to breathe color, texture and life into your indoor spaces. Don’t be afraid to get creative with unique planter styling and bold plant pairings either. The more you can integrate nature indoors through houseplants, the fresher, more welcoming and energizing your home’s overall atmosphere will feel.
And who knows, your new houseplant decorating obsession may just inspire you to start that indoor greenhouse, terrarium garden or greenhouse window you’ve been dreaming of! So pick up that trowel, embrace your green thumb, diligently follow your new plant babies’ simple care needs, and prepare to be amazed as they thrive and transform your living spaces into an indoor jungle.






