Houseplants are living pieces of art.

A recent Wall Street Journal article stated that “Indoor greenery can make rooms appear bigger, function like art work, contribute character without adding clutter.” The article also cited a number of recent books about creating artful interiors using indoor greenery, such as “Greenteriors,” “Urban Jungle,” and “Rooted in Design.”

In home and work spaces, indoor plants add natural aesthetic statements, but also pull off other amazing feats such as cleansing indoor air. A recent study also indicated that adding plants to study or work areas helped improve attention spans of those working there.

But perhaps the most compelling reason for adding plants to your interiors is just this simple: they look cool.

If you think of plant leaves as brush strokes on the canvas of your home, you can decide how to use them in your own artful ways. Here are four ways to use houseplants as art.

1. Use their leaves as decorating motifs. Go frilly with ferns. Statuesque with snake plants. Or wild and whimsical with spiky-leaf dracaenas.

2. Choose painterly plants, such as calathea, above, whose wild patterned leaves look like something out of a Rousseau painting. 

3. Pair plants with artwork. A live plant picks up colors in paintings, prints, or wall hangings. 

4. Team houseplants with nature's artifacts. Create organic vignettes by pairing plants, such as the lemon button fern, at left, with collected objects such as shells, stones, bark, and branches.

Written by Karen Weir-Jimerson