Perhaps it’s been the rise in stress and anxiety in recent years. It’s hard to say why zen-style home décor has grown to be so popular. A total slow-down from the hectic hustle most do in their modern lifestyle, when we get home, we don’t want to have no worries, no responsibilities, and nothing weighing us down. That’s zen. That’s zen-style home décor.
How plants fit into zen-style home décor is fairly straightforward. Plants don’t appear as hectic. They aren’t busy to look at. They represent something organic and natural, even faux plants do. This is why greenery is such a major décor piece in any calming, serene space, a la a spa, meditation area, or library.
Here is a little more about how zen-style home décor and gentle, calm fake plants go hand-in-hand.
What Is Zen-Style Décor?
Zen-style home décor is based in Japanese-influenced Buddhism. The priority is to find balance and harmony with every element. Anything that isn’t simple and soothing is removed, and anything entered into a room based in this is relaxing and natural.
Talking about what zen home décor is, you may arrive at a lot of answers. You can certainly approach it from a few different areas. For the most part, these are the characteristics most decorators and interior designers agree on.
- Neutral, warm color palette, with lots of beiges, whites, and continuity into neutral tones.
- Minimalism in décor placement. You don’t want things to look cluttered.
- Natural materials – i.e. plants, wood, stone, and metals – are favored over plastics and synthetics.
- Clean, clear lines or clean shaping.
Why Do Plants Calm Us So?
It’s thought that human beings have a natural inclination to want to be around nature. It is interpreted as a subconscious desire, as if we feel at home when we have nature near us. This translates to indoor plants in home décor.
Have you ever noticed plants in high-stress environments, like hospitals, healthcare centers, law offices, call centers, and corporate offices – us too. That’s because there’s something about greenery scientifically proven to reduce stress and anxiety, make us less depressed, and actually can contribute to more focus and concentration as well. The majority of us tend to be more productive when we have an artificial plant near us.
You can choose to use faux plants as a calming mechanism in several ways.
- For meditation areas or places where you do mindfulness exercises, a plant fits nicely.
- In home offices or where you work from home, plants can have a positive effect on productivity.
- Mix fake plants in with natural elements, like wood, natural rocks, wool, and more.
- Put a fun, lush artificial plant in your bathroom alongside an essential oil diffuser and relaxing music. The same can apply to your bedroom at sleep time. The right décor elements will instantly create the relaxing mood you need to let go of everything that’s been built up earlier in the day.
- In areas of décor that are a little too neutral, a plant can add just the right amount of colorful chaos.
