Tips and tricks to decorate the bathroom with plants and make them survive.

Bathrooms are not what they used to be. They have gone from spaces dominated by a minimalist, clear, and aseptic aesthetic (called a clinical bathroom in English) to ones that exhibit character and decorative intent entirely. Color, paintings, wooden touches, vintage inspiration, and, of course, plants are what take over and transform this year’s successful bathroom proposals, made from social networks and accounts on platforms dedicated to interior design.

There are trends that require less logistics, as seen in TikTok, which tries to recreate the effect of a home spa by placing eucalyptus branches in the shower. There are also those who want to merge the shower space with plants so that it is possible to achieve the feeling of soaping in the middle of nature. This was the case in a viral video by Studio Wust introducing textile and plant compositions in interior design projects from Amsterdam, in which the process of creating a planter of tropical plants is seen behind the glass walls of a shower.

Halfway between the two proposals, more decorative-inspired platforms show how plants take over and green the bathroom space. An example is the Hippie Tribe Instagram profile—with nearly 900,000 followers—which has become a digital blog that brings inspiration from other users home. In this, you can find two examples of the presence of plants next to the shower or bathtub.

But is this place suitable for plant growth? What plant species are suitable for this type of space?

There is no doubt now that plants are an important common denominator in the decorating trends of our time. Its presence already crosses all the rooms of the house, and its points of sale are ubiquitous, from online commerce to large stores (although green is not always synonymous with sustainable) ubiquitous, from online commerce to large stores (although green is not always synonymous with sustainable). The interior design bet, like many others, gained momentum and relevance, first with conscription and then with teleworking, which extended the hours we spend at home.

Elena Page founded Planthe, a shop and botanical cabinet located at 3 Calle de Santa Ana in Madrid. She can trace the historical roots of the decorative obsession with plants to the 19th century. In particular, in Victorian England, tropical plants were brought down from the colonies to green the homes of collectors. Page believes that even today, these tropical species are kept in homes.

Are the conditions in the bathroom suitable for plants?

“Inside the houses, we usually find a temperature between 15 and 28 degrees, which is good for tropical species,” explained Page. Although he has that qualification, these plants need to ensure a range of conditions to survive indoors. The first of these is natural light. We feel that when you open a book in a room, there is enough natural light and you can read without a problem “It is better if it is indirect light, because the sunlight entering through the window can have a magnifying glass effect on the plant,” he pointed out.

Regarding humidity, some doubts are also likely to arise. Is its location in the bathroom good or bad for plant development? “The contribution of humidity to the bathroom when you take a shower makes it one of the most convenient places to locate,” says the founder of Plante.

Which species live the best?

“For the bathroom, calatheas and ferns work very well because they need a lot of water,” says Elena Page, meanwhile, listing other suitable plants such as philodendrons, crotons, and ficuses. As long as there are the natural light conditions mentioned above, the best species to have in the bathroom is

In the case of calatheas, the patterning of their leaves—sometimes pink—brings unique colour and texture to a room. It is a delicate watering plant; it benefits especially from humid climates and frequent sprinkling. The water vapour emitted during bathing is well suited to it. The same happens with different species of ferns. The way their leaves grow, curling downwards, makes them perfect inhabitants of suspended or hanging planters. In both cases, it is convenient to estimate the moisture level of the earth because it should not dry out completely.

But not all types of plants we can keep indoors benefit from a humid place like a bathroom. Page believes that some, such as Crassulaceae, should be in very bright and dry places. Following these tips, it is not difficult to turn the bathroom into another small garden.