How to Add More Green Space into Your Apartment

More and more people are looking to live in modern luxury apartments, but there are some sacrifices that come with choosing to live in such a stylish home. Now more than ever, while we've been forced to stay at home, people are realising that most apartments surroundings lack greenery, and very limited properties have access to a garden. For this reason, new property developers are now designing apartments with green space in mind because of the wellbeing benefits greenery can provide.

Plush apartment blocks are popular when living in the city as green spaces and urban developments such as parks and woodland can help people to live longer as they provide an excellent space for exercise, relaxation and a place to escape from the hustle and bustle of the city centre. Studies have shown that green spaces can reduce stress levels and boost mental and physical health.

Not only do green spaces help to lift spirits, but plants, fresh-flowers and succulents can also help to purify the air, making for a much safer and cleaner space. As well as improving air circulation, plants can also provide shade, generating a cooling effect, which helps to lower air temperature, and so greenery is often associated as a way of reducing energy costs in the home.

If you haven't been fortunate enough to grab yourself an apartment that already has a dedicated green space or garden terrace, then you may need to think outside the box and experiment with how you could bring the outdoors in. Fortunately, there are multiple ways to do this, and it doesn't have to take up too much space either. Below are just a few suggestions on how you could add more greenery to your apartment.

Growing greenery

If you want to keep the greenery to a minimum as you're limited to space, then it may be a good idea to designate an area to a few potted plants and succulents or fill up your windowsills with flowers and cacti if you really can’t handle too much clutter. For the more adventurous green fingers, you may wish to decorate a whole wall with ivy or Chlorophytum Comosum, ‘spider plants’ as these look particularly great in hanging baskets where the foliage can hang free.

You could also add a herb garden with plants such as Rosemary, Thyme and Basil to your kitchen shelves or outside seating area if you have one. The possibilities are endless, and if you’re looking for inspiration on how to create greenery in your apartment, check out development properties with sky gardens, in urban developments, from companies like RWinvest - this should spark some creativity on ways to incorporate a green space in your home, or on your balcony.

Many might think that growing fruits or vegetables within an apartment space is out of the question, but it is entirely possible, provided you have the right conditions and monitor your progress closely. Some even go as far as building their own grow tent kit to get the most of their plants and greenery.

Depending on the amount of light you have available in your property (and whether or not you can have a window box etc., see if it might be possible to invest in a propagator, and give yourself something else to focus on when stuck indoors. You never know, you might find that you’re providing the salad yourself next time you’re making lunch!

Which plants are best for my apartment?

Wondering which plants might be best suited to your limited apartment space? Here are some of our top suggestions:

Mother in law’s tongue – the name of the plant is extremely strange, but its benefits are standout. Aside from having a pleasing low to it, this small indoor-positive choice not only can help to purify the air and provide health benefits (in some cases aiding breathing problems, headaches and even eye-strain), but don’t mind if you forget to water them, either. Sounds like a win-win!

Peace Lily – Another choice that has a positive effect on the room, peace lilies have a nice bright leaf to inject some greenery into your apartment/home office space, and help to minimise toxins such as carbon monoxide. You might remember this one from the Simon Pegg/Nick Frost film Hot Fuzz, as it was one of the main character’s most prized possessions.

Fake ones – House plants are fairly low-maintenance and so aren’t much of a burden to look after and maintain, only requiring a bit of watering every now and again. That being said, if you want to still benefit from the aesthetic of having plants around your home, but don’t want to deal with any of the hassle of maintaining them, it might be worth looking into some plastic alternatives that will keep their shape all year round without the need for intervention.

Quickfire tips

Incorporating plants and greenery into your home is a great step towards making it a more calming and inviting space, but again, sometimes it can be extremely difficult just to even find the space when you’re working with such a finite amount of room. To finalise, we’ve come up with a summary on some tips and tricks that you might be able to employ in order to bypass that pesky issue of space:

Using window/ledge space – If you don’t want to trip over plants or end up knocking soil all over the floor, make the most of any window ledges that you have around, ensuring your plants get their required amount of natural light and using a space that is often clear anyway. If you can fit a window box outside of your apartment window (and it’s safe enough to not blow away in the wind when high up), you could even hang some plants outside and still get some of the benefits

Using hanging baskets and wall space – Another solution could entail using hanging baskets and pots that suspend from the ceiling. Not only does this help you to again maximise floor space in your apartment, but it will also spruce up your apartment a ton! Just be careful that you don’t overwater these sorts of plants, and be careful if you have a pet that likes to jump up!

While on the subject of pets, it’s worth taking into account that some plants can be toxic to some types of animals, and so you should double check before going ahead and splashing out on something that could potentially poison your furry family member!

Putting plants in your bathroom – If your bathroom can get particularly humid and hot (which tends to be a common occurrence in apartment buildings), you might be able to take advantage of this with some different plants that prefer hotter environments. Sometimes some foliage across the white tiles can perfectly mix things up and add something refreshing to the apartment.