6 Budget-Friendly Ways to Turn Plants Into Decor

While adding plants to your home and caring for them can get expensive, there are a few ways to decorate your home with plants on a budget. From propagation to adding some faux plants in with your real ones to building and creating your own stands and plant hangers, here are some of the many ways you can affordably add pretty plants to your house. 

Where to Find Affordable Plants

There are a variety of places and ways to get affordable plants. The most obvious way would be to buy them. Your local nursery is a great place to start because you can speak with someone who works there about what plants will do best in your home by telling them a bit about your space. Big box stores like The Home Depot, Lowe's, and even IKEA are other options. They carry a lot of great plants at inexpensive prices. You can also buy plants online.

Besides buying plants, you can affordably get more plants by attending a plant swap, trading cuttings with a friend, or buying a cutting from a social media marketplace.

Propagate Your Plants

When you really care for a plant, it tends to grow bigger and/or grow new leaves. And what does that mean for you? Even more plants!

When your plant is outgrowing its space and you want to keep it in the same spot, a great thing to do is propagate your plant using stem cuttings. Plants like monsteras can get super super large, and if you don’t have the space for it, pruning is your best option. Place the pruned cuttings (make sure it has a node) in water so it can grow roots.

Choose a pretty vase and make it a part of your decor while you're waiting for it to grow roots. Once you've got sufficiently long roots and have planted the cutting, that's another plant you've added to your collection — and you didn’t have to spend a thing.

Sprinkle in Faux Plants With Your Real Ones

If you’re looking to create a really lush environment but only have the budget to purchase a couple of real plants, you can always supplement with some faux ones. These days, faux plants are looking really good. They’re made with better materials like silk and still look good even when sitting next to real plants.

You can even find gorgeous paper plants that look like the real thing. Plus, they’re not too expensive as it’s a one-off cost, and there are no maintenance costs. Just make sure you’re regularly dusting them as they can start to look fake when dust builds up.

DIY Your Own Plant Hanger

You can make a plant hanger with cotton cord or macrame cord. A very long roll of macrame and some wooden or metal hoops will be an affordable purchase that can turn into many plant hangers for you and all of your friends.

DIY Your Own Plant Stand

Displaying plants nicely can be pretty pricey, but there’s almost always a way to DIY a plant stand. Look online for IKEA hacks and watch as people make pretty plant stands out of bowls and cups. Or you can head to an antique shop or thrift store and find something cool and make it your own by painting it or crafting it to become a plant stand. Even a bar stool can become a plant stand.

Paint Your Pots

Pots are another thing that can be pricey, and when you have a lot of plants, it’s a cost that adds up. But you can buy simple pots and make them look nicer with a little crafty magic. Terracotta pots can be painted, and plastic pots can be covered in designs using washi tape or paint. There are so many things you can do to dress up your plants as long as you're willing to get a little creative.

Use Plant Cuttings to Create Foliage Arrangements 

If you know you don’t have space or money for any more large plants or pots, you can always use cuttings to create little foliage arrangements in pretty glass jars and vases filled with water. As long as your plant has a node or is able to be propagated from its stem, it should do fine in water. Try mixing together different plant cuttings to make a unique arrangement. As the cuttings get too big simply snip them back and add them back in to make it look even more full and lush.