17 years ago, Kamal Meattle developed an allergy to his city’s air. His lung capacity, the doctors said, had come down to about 70%. Speaking at TED, he tells us how, after some personal research, he discovered that it is possible to grow all the fresh air one needs right in the living room! He got three varieties of indoor plants and grew them in his home…eventually returning back to his complete lung capacity!

What’s the deal? Sounds unreal? In 1989 NASA conducted a clean air study, whose results suggested that certain commonly available indoor plants remove toxic chemicals from the air and replace them fresh with oxygen! This obviously has a massive impact on your health and mood. Imagine the leaves of your indoor plant as filters. If they filter out the toxins in the air for you, your lungs are left with lesser burden. This means more good air for your body, and hence more vitality!

Why do you need them? Our homes, usually, have a lot of invisible toxins lingering in the air. For instance, formaldehyde is a very toxic and cancer causing substance that is released by common household items like detergents, carpet glue and furniture paint. Other chemicals that often make their way to the air we breathe are benzene and carbon dioxide. The general pollution outside, cigarette smoke and a few varieties of insect repellants release these toxins. These are obviously harmful to your general health. They not only strain your lung and blood supply but cause you psychological stress due to a dip in the oxygen levels.

Growing plants is the easiest and very aesthetic way to save you from these troubles. They act as excellent purifiers that absorb these toxins and replenish the air with fresh oxygen. In fact, an article in TED website suggests how one can remain bottled in a glass cage full of indoor plants, and never need to go outside for fresh air! Research has shown visible decrease in asthma, depression, anxiety and a range of lung illnesses in people who arrange for indoor plants in their homes.

Where to keep our personal air supply! It is suggested for every 100 sq feet; you would need a 6 inch indoor plant. This would take care of your fresh air requirements every day. You could place these plants anywhere you want. But we prefer the bedroom and living room edges for aesthetic reasons.

Most of the indoor plants have no sunlight requirements so you need worry about keeping the plant close to the window. We have listed below three of the most effective plants for your home! These plants have large leaf sizes, tackle a range of toxins and are beautiful to look at. We’ve also added exclusive décor suggestions that we think go perfectly with these plants in your rooms.

A few plant ideas:

 1. Money Plant: This is a beautiful commonly available indoor plant that has wide leaves with occasional white patches on them. The Money plant easily grows indoors with very little nutritional requirements. If you just take care of cleaning the leaf surface once a week, and water the plant every day – this green semi-creeper will suck away all the carbon and formaldehyde from you home while leaving you with lush air. Use this plant with shades of light green and cream to match its visual chemistry. We recommend our off-white lined and Homecentric’s special Green Tree cushion cover to add a sense of serene to your living room.

2. Snake Plant: Another common variety, sometimes called the Bedroom plant, this one begins its work at night. It absorbs all the carbon in the air and breathes back oxygen to your room. This plant is also best for the beginner, who is forgetful about giving water sometimes! The side shelf of your bedroom or beneath the window pane is an excellent position for this plant.

Our décor suggestion would be to use some leafy linen and our exclusively deigned leaf cushion covers with this plant. The dull green of its leaves would contrast stunningly with the multi colored leaf embroidery on the cushions to give a subtle forest look.

3. English Ivy: The English Ivy is small yet gorgeous plant that is widely used as an ornamental variety. It occasionally sprouts tiny berries and flowers that add to its ornate look. The English Ivy is an excellent plant to filter out even the most toxic levels of formaldehyde from your room. These plants are best for your living room or the main hall not merely because they need an extra care, but also because you wouldn’t want your guests to miss the view. The English Ivy is sometimes a symbol of British interiors. Hence, it is ideally placed in white vases or white-painted earthenware. Our décor suggestion too, would be simple white! Use silky white cushion and sofa covers to enhance the royal appearance of this plant in your living room. The plants that we’ve suggested are all the most excellent ways to distress your house and your lungs! Using them with our exclusive décor suggestions will surely lighten up your home with green vibe of serenity and freshness!