New House Updates and How my Houseplants are Settling into their Home

Well, hello, and welcome to September! Gosh, it’s been a while. Hasn’t summer just flown by? It’s about time I updated the blog to tell you about what’s been going on, both in the world of houseplants and at home. That said, home and houseplants are really one and the same, as I post about them both on Instagram!

About the New House and Move

As many of you know, I moved house at the very end of April before the craziness of RHS Chelsea Flower Show in May. The events of the show pretty much wiped out my May and meant George and I were unable to really get our teeth into any home projects until well into June. It’s been frustrating at times, knowing exactly how I wanted to transform the spaces to compliment my plant collection, but not having the time or finances to complete projects!

I can finally reveal that we’ve started to make some progress. I’ve been documenting the changes with photos and videos and have added a new Pinterest board for The Plant Parlour, which you can see here. It’s my intention to utilise this to illustrate the redecorating process and bring the décor ideas to life!

So many of the rooms in our new house will have their own unique display and installation, showcasing the very best in easily implemented biophilic design. Almost all of the plants came with me from the old house, and many of my houseplants are thriving in the new spaces! We’re blessed with south-facing light at the front, and north-facing at the back, with large, bright windows, that bestow the best light on plants.

The colour-scheme I’ve gone for is blues, greens and neutrals, which compliments the botanical life perfectly! I’ll talk you through the rooms in our 3-bedroom semi-detached house in Surrey, and you can see some of the changes made for yourselves in the pictures.

Hilton Carter, eat your heart out… (Come on, if you don’t know who he is, you should do – call yourself a houseplant lover?)

The Entrance Hall

We had an old, cheap beige carpet extending up the staircase in the entrance hall, all the way up to the landing. As an asthma sufferer, I really can’t stand old carpets because of the dust and dirt they’ve collected over the years, so… up it came!

Ripping up the carpet was a difficult job as there were a lot of nasty tac strips and staples in the wooden stairs, but it was worth it. You should have seen the dirt caught underneath it – safe to say I was happy to get rid of it!

I sanded the original 1950s wood stairs and primed them ready for painting. I went for white chalk paint on the top with a black accent on the underside of each stair. I figured the black would work well with the existing black handrail on the wall and add some drama to an otherwise boring space. It helps that the black matches the linoleum on the kitchen floor, too.

Next to the door we’ve added a large mirror to reflect light and a rustic scaffold-board shelf for storing plants and useful things. I plan to add a little more colour to this space later with half-panelling, but we’re not quite ready for that yet! There’s also a possibility we’ll get a stair runner to collect some of the dirt our miniature schnauzer, Leia, takes upstairs with her on those mucky little paws. (I’m all for pretty AND practical!)

The Kitchen

The kitchen in our new house needs a bit of an update! The counters and top seem to be 1980s Formica and there’s trim missing in multiple places. The top walls were bare but look to have been re-skimmed at some point, so at least they’re flat. That said, storage was a NIGHTMARE in this room when we moved. We simply found we didn’t have enough cupboard space!

In order to transform the bare walls into useful spaces, we’ve installed more of our favourite scaffold-board shelves. Now decorated with Kilner jars filled with essentials, recipe books, and of course… plants, they’ve really helped to give the kitchen an update. The room has been lifted into the 21st century with a rustic, bohemian appeal!

Naturally, we brought the copper saucepan hanger with us. Laden with hanging pots, pans, and of course, trailing houseplants, this new window feature distracts from the rather wonky window frame. Look closely and you’ll see it… I can’t unsee it! The copper bucket on the left was repurposed to a plant pot – it used to be my gran’s fire bucket and contain pieces of coal!

This North-facing window provides the perfect ledge for a Ginseng bonsai tree, a caladium and the Philodendron Melanochrysum I picked up from Another Plant Swap back in April. This bright window is giving the plants a space to lap up indirect light and I’ve had an abundance of new growth from them all. I’ve even had my Marimo moss balls in a jar on the left of the sill.

The Living Room

Three months after we moved in, I’m thrilled to say I’ve finally painted the entire living/dining room! Originally it came into our lives in mauve, dark red and a stony colour, which isn’t really my cup of tea. After staring at those ugly walls, and all the holes left behind by the previous owner, I got my paint brush out step by step and redecorated every wall.

Finally, the block-colour has been achieved and I’m so pleased with the result. We’ve not replaced any of our old furniture, so the ‘Botanic Noir’ teal-tinged green paint from the Elle collection for Crown matched our duck-egg furnishings perfectly.

My Monstera Deliciosa is 4 years old this summer and it looks like it was made for this space behind the sofa! Its aerial roots are going nuts and I’ve already extended the coco coir moss pole since we’ve been here. The light in this spot is indirect south-facing with a bit of a dappled shade from the tree outside the window. This means my monstera is green and healthy with no burn-marks.

The Dining Room

This dining room has been the most satisfying room to redesign. Now painted green, the far wall was previously an ominous, deep red. Currently presenting a combination of styles between modern, antique and boho, this space has some of my favourite houseplants and accessories.

To the left of the image, a warm ‘Vanilla Bean’ wall displays a bamboo mirror which I’ve been training a Rhaphidophora Tetrasperma around for the past 3 years or more. A black Ikea Akerbar greenhouse is framed by the window and contains some not so small anthuriums. The north-facing ledges are filled with indirect light and have proven to be excellent for growing smaller plants.

The warm, botanical hues of this room pair well with the 1930s antique drinks cabinet I salvaged from Facebook Marketplace. Its warm walnut colour and blue and gold leaf leather inlay match the colours in the room so well. I’ll have to share some pictures of the inside soon too – its mirrored interior really is spectacular!

Lastly, I had so much fun arranging the picture wall. Each picture frame was set out on an axis on the dining table, before I transferred the markings onto the wall in chalk pen. I filmed the process to share on Instagram, so you can see how I aligned everything. There’s just one frame missing at the bottom now. Oh, and what’s more, my RHS Silver Gilt Medal is now hanging here so I can see it as I eat dinner!

The Landing

This bright space has been modernised ready for more houseplants to be added! After ripping up the old carpet, I went about painting the original floorboards with white chalk paint.

I’ve painted the panel Farrow & Ball ‘French Grey’ in ‘Dead Flat’, which has a lovely, matte finish on wood and plaster. Black accents add some contrast, and a black and white geometric patterned rug picks out some of the key shades in this room.

On the windowsill, I’ve placed an Anthurium Magnificum and a Philodenron Pastazanum. They’re lapping up the indirect western light in this bright, airy space!

Stay tuned to see me add a shelf, some pictures and of course, more foliage in this area.

The Master Bedroom

Last but not least is the room we’ve chosen to sleep in. The master bedroom has a large blue feature wall, which I’m particularly fond of. In an alcove above the coloured wall, we’ve placed a new shelf to accommodate lots of beautiful trailing houseplants. I’m currently growing several different types of maranta, a string of hearts, and a Philodendron Micans here.

This south-facing room receives bright light throughout the day which is filtered by the large, modern shutters on the window. The white bedding and mirror in the corner of the room help to reflect light, making the room feel sunnier.

My favourite buy in this room so far has to be the rattan headboard. I saw it advertised on Facebook Marketplace for a mere twenty-pounds, and feel like it adds a tough of boho style to this simple space. I can’t wait for the plants on the shelf above to really start trailing down!

Stay Tuned for Updates

In other news, I’ve been putting together my very first workshop programme to start rolling out in my local area. I’m SO excited to spread my love of houseplants around the community near where I live, and inspire people to grow plants inside their homes.

If you’d love me to bring my workshops to you, or do a talk where you live, then reach out to book now before we get too far into the autumn season!

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