Indoor plants: bring the urban jungle look into your home!

Why is the jungle style invading our interiors?

Since the mid-2010s, interiors bursting with greenery have become a genuine social phenomenon. In 2013, the blog “Urban Jungle Bloggers” was launched, founded by two plant enthusiasts. In a few years, it brought together a large community on Instagram, with over 900,000 followers, a testament to the enthusiasm for this green lifestyle. In its wake, hashtags such as #plantstagram, #urbanjungle, or #plantsmakepeoplehappy exploded, accompanying thousands of posts showing lush, inspiring interiors.

This green wave has taken root in millennial culture (these urban thirty-somethings) as a plant-based response to a digitised, fast-paced urban lifestyle, a way to slow down, to beautify life and the home… while scrolling through beautiful photos on Instagram. Social media propels ‘plant parenting’ (the art of tending to your plants as you would to a pet) as a way of life, with stylised green ambiences that we want to imitate. Influencers and home décor blogs have democratised this accessible lifestyle, even in flats.

Today, indoor plants tell a lifestyle story. They have become objects of desire, for collection and sharing. Personalised and highly photogenic, “Urban Jungle” or urban jungle, reaches a broad audience, but resonates particularly with Generation Y, always on the lookout for stylish, healthy and unique interiors.

How to create a tropical jungle-inspired interior?

In an indoor jungle, foliage is the absolute star. Large, lobed, veined, satin-finished or velvety… It is what sets the tone, shapes the space, and catches the light. These expressive, exuberant leaves are what we’ll be seeking.

To recreate a jungle vibe at home, we opt for houseplants with generously sized, graphic forms and tropical looks. The idea is to create a living, lush display. Leaves with broad, veined or lobed shapes add volume and texture, while climbing or trailing varieties bring movement to the upper part of the space. Mix erect habits, trailing foliage, shades of green and contrasts of shapes to create a balanced plant display. This style calls for the art of accumulation: we layer, we pile from floor to ceiling. The key is to vary the sizes, while taking into account the light available in the room.

To create a jungle effect, the ideal is to occupy vertical space and vary plant shapes, notably by incorporating lianas and indoor plants with a trailing habit, grown in suspension.

Some plant families are indispensable. The Monstera, with their large, lobed leaves and wild look, have become icons of the style. The Philodendrons, climbing or trailing, add rhythm and adapt easily to different spaces. The Ficus elastica, more structured, anchor the display with their dense and glossy foliage.

And Calathea, tiny jewels of foliage, tuck in to add a touch of refinement with their graphic veins and their shades of green, cream or pink.

With its large leaves, Monstera is perfect for creating a jungle vibe. Here, the variegated variety ‘Thai Constellation’.

A Jungle for which room?

Each room has its own constraints, but also its advantages for accommodating plants. But, let’s be pragmatic, the living room remains the ideal playground for a truly bold plant display. With its generous light, the space available and the volumes to work with, this room offers real freedom of display. You can place large plants, increase the foliage, vary heights, hang lianas… In short, create an immersive décor, and fully realised.

Discover our range of houseplants for the living room. Also check our buying guide “The best houseplants to brighten up a living room”.

Which plants create a jungle vibe indoors?

Creating a jungle vibe at home is, above all, about choosing plants with spectacular, lush foliage that evokes the richness of tropical forests. Here is a selection of essential plants to help you compose a dense, immersive green display.

Graphic foliage

These plants stand out for the unique shape of their leaves: pronounced veins, distinctive cut-outs, glossy textures…

• Monstera obliqua: with its finely perforated leaves and its elegant silhouette, it thrives in a bright room such as a living room, a conservatory or even an office.
• Philodendron minima (Monstera minima): leaves cut into strap-like lobes, compact, climbing habit, perfect for a graphic touch.
• Fatsia japonica ‘Spider’s Web’: large palmate leaves dark green splashed with cream. Lush foliage that is decidedly exotic!
• Nephrolepis ‘Artic Jungle’: a fern with upright, airy fronds in a very vivid green, perfect in a bathroom that is not well heated.
• Pilea peperomioides: striking with its perfectly round leaves!

Monstera obliqua and Pilea peperomioides

Colorful foliage

Ideal for adding an original or sophisticated touch, these plants rely on colour, patterns and textures.

• Calathea ‘Peacock’: oval, highly decorative foliage with shifting reflections reminiscent of a peacock’s feathers.
• Calathea orbifolia: large round leaves, striped with pale green and silvery tones, for a soft and very graphic ambience.
• Alocasia ‘Black Velvet’: compact but striking, with dark velvety leaves silver-veined.
• Philodendron ‘Paraiso Verde’: elongated, marbled and speckled with light and dark greens, elegant and luminous.

Calathea ‘Peacock’ and Alocasia ‘Black Velvet’

Climbing or trailing plants

These plants add lightness to the composition. They are perfect for playing with height or dressing a wall, a shelf.

• Epipremnum aureum (Pothos) : easy to care for, fast-growing, it trails in cascades or climbs with a support. A classic of the indoor jungle.
• Ficus pumila ‘Bellus’ : compact plant ideal for hanging or climbing.

Epipremnum aureum (Pothos) and Ficus pumila ‘Bellus’

Plants with an erect habit

These plants with thick or slender leaves and an erect habit form a solid base for the display, and add verticality to the whole.

• Ficus elastica ‘Abidjan’ (rubber plant) : thick, glossy leaves with a deep purple hue, ideal for expressing the charm of the Tropics.
• Sansevieria: a graphic plant, low-maintenance, tolerates dry air well and has the advantage of releasing a little oxygen at night.
• Ensete ventricosum ‘Maurelii’: spectacular with its enormous leaves tinged with red!

Discover our complete selection of indoor jungle plants!

Ficus elastica ‘Abidjan’ and Sansevieria