The Best Plants for your Coffee Table

• Written by Holly Hughes on December 06, 2021

The humble coffee table. One of the most versatile and useful pieces of furniture in any home.  Yet its potential as an altar for show-stopping beauty and unbounded creativity is often overlooked. As coffee tables are usually placed in the center of a room, they are a great place to put a plant or flower arrangement, turning your living space from ordinary to extraordinary.

While we’ve already looked at the best plants for your office desk or dining room table, now is the time to ask – what are the best coffee table plants and how do you find them?

Know your environment

The first step in choosing the right indoor plant for your coffee table is looking at the environment it will need to survive in.

Is your coffee table exposed to a lot of sunlight? Is it in the path of a draught or placed against a window? Does your living room have a lot of humidity or does it use a lot of air conditioning or central heating in different seasons?

All of these are important factors in choosing the perfect plant for your living area.

According to Real Simple, plants, much like humans, will have a favourite room in a house according to their own specific tastes. More tropical shrubs will thrive in the bathroom, herbs do best on kitchen windowsills, resilient snake plants will thrive in a dark office.

Before you decide on the kind of plant you want to complete your coffee table, you need to know what plants can survive on it.

Finding the perfect plant for your coffee table

Now you know what plants are suited to the room, you can look at good coffee table plants. Consider the size, shape, and material of your table to help you choose the perfect plant.

For example, a larger table can accommodate much bigger plants. Round tables are nicely juxtaposed by the straightness of something like a sansevieria while a square ottoman might be contemplated by the dramatic ebullience of a monstera.

Some of the best all-rounder coffee table plants

The lucky bamboo plant is a great all-rounder – elegant and inexpensive, it can grow on pebbles and water making it an interesting and unusual centerpiece. It also can grow in any light, making it a good indoor plant for your coffee table.

If you’re looking for a wow factor from your coffee table plant décor, consider an interestingly-shaped begonia. The perfect shrub for beginning plant parents, begonias can be a showstopper by themselves, particularly if you choose a B Rex or Little Brother Montgomery variety.

Small table plants

Succulents are always a great example of small coffee table plants that can work in almost any setting. For small tables, one potted succulent can add a subtle lift while for larger stands, a variety of succulents in different sizes, shapes and pots can create drama and dynamism, without blocking a view of the TV.

Philodendrons, with their large, glossy, emerald leaves, are another example of good coffee table plants. Requiring little maintenance and attention, they are perfect for adding charm but not hassle to your cosy living space.

Large table plants

Whether you have a big coffee table you are looking to decorate or rather want your plant to be the crowning centerpiece of your table, large indoor plants can transform a coffee table from a TV remote station to a form of entertainment to rival the TV itself.

Sculptural succulents like pencil cactuses serve to anchor and complement bigger tables.

Even branches, like cherry blossoms or eucalyptus, give height and a sense of unexpected excitement to a table. Best of all, these can be kept year-round and used as added Christmas décor by ornamenting the branches with some baubles, ribbon, or even fairy lights.

Now you know the best indoor plants for your coffee table, why not have one delivered to your door today? Find everything you need at Plants.com.

Can I put a plant on the coffee table?

Putting plants on any surface in your home – a coffee table, dining table, sideboard – is a fantastic way to add vitality, vibrancy, and a sense of drama to your home. Acting as a natural centerpiece, a plant on a coffee table can transform your living space, taking it from the ordinary to the extraordinary.

Should you have a plant in every room?

Indoor plants have many healing and invigorating qualities. Not only do they look fantastic, they purify the air, reduce stress, increase focus and can even improve your sleep quality. Even having just one plant in a room is enough to feel these benefits. However, the more plants you have, the bigger the benefits!

Not only this, there are even plants particularly suited to the energy and temperatures of each room, meaning you can fully feel the purifying and pleasurable benefits of living amongst greenery. You can and should have a plant in every room. Choose the right plant for your home with these amazing plant delivery services:

• Plants.com
• Fromyouflowers.com

Can you put a tall vase on a coffee table?

A tall vase can be the perfect item to liven up your coffee table. This is because large objects, particularly when complemented with smaller items, bring focus and boldness to a coffee table.

To complete the look, add some bright blooms to that vase for a truly mesmerising effect. From You Flowers has everything you need here.

What else can I use a coffee table for?

Use your table as extra storage space for reading material, a stand for holding drinks and snacks when relaxing or entertaining and as a place to prop up your feet at the end of a long day. More than this, a coffee table can be used as an ornament in itself – you can use it to add a fresh design element into your living space or decorate it to bring added colour and drama into a room.