Decor Portfolio

Plants can also be used as architectural elements to bring unity and balance to a room.  The rounded form of a large fern can contrast with and soften the rectangular or boxy lines of a table, or be used to echo the curved back of a sofa.  The mass created by a branching or fountain-like plant may be used to both visually balance and repeat door or window shapes elsewhere in the room.  An upright specimen can counteract too many horizontal lines.  A tall, spindly plant occupying a corner next to an oversized armchair will appear under scaled, but a combination of tall, medium, and low greenery in a pyramid shape will give importance to the corner and provide the proper scale.
Plants can also be arranged to alter ones perception of a space: placing a large-leafed variety against the opposite wall will make the more distant plant seem much farther away – and the room longer.  (The reverse works, too.) An airy, light-colored plant with most of its lower branches removed will provide plenty of greenery without making a small room seems crowded.  By contrast, an overly large room can benefit from a dense, dark tree or a freestanding cluster of plants that commands attention from all directions and visually diminishes space.