Close Banner

This ad is displayed using third party content and we do not control its accessibility features.

With This IKEA Hack, You Can Build An At-Home Green Wall In Minutes

Author:

Emma Loewe

July 08, 2021

By Emma Loewe

mbg Contributor

Emma Loewe is the former Sustainability and Health Director at mindbodygreen. She is the author of "Return to Nature: The New Science of How Natural Landscapes Restore Us" and the co-author of "The Spirit Almanac: A Modern Guide To Ancient Self Care." Emma received her B.A. in Environmental Science & Policy with a specialty in environmental communications from Duke University. In addition to penning over 1,500 mbg articles on topics from the water crisis in California to the rise of urban beekeeping, her work has appeared on Grist, Bloomberg News, Bustle, and Forbes.

Image by Irina Polonina / Stocksy

July 08, 2021

We carefully vet all products and services featured on mindbodygreen using our commerce guidelines. Our selections are never influenced by the commissions earned from our links.

Now that houseplants have taken over our floors and shelves, it only makes sense they'd migrate up our walls next. Green walls can add a fancifully feel-good element to any room, and beyond being aesthetically pleasing, recent research has found that vertical greenery can also help buffer stress 1.

Luckily, whimsy and relaxing green walls aren't too hard to grow at home—if you have this one trick up your sleeve.

How to DIY your own plant wall.

Starting and tending to a living green wall at home is a big commitment, and artificial ones can cost hundreds of dollars. If you follow this crafty TikTok idea from @belaclavaa that reimagines a $6 shadowbox picture frame from IKEA, you can make your wall-hanging in a fraction of the time and for a fraction of the cost. Here's how it's done:

Remove the glass and paper mat from your frame. Reattach the back panel.
Cut an artificial plant mat (also from IKEA) so it fits snug within your frame.
Apply a layer of super glue to the inside of the frame's back panel, and attach your faux greenery.
Decorate with more artificial plants (just stick their bottom tips directly into the back panel) until you're happy with the look.
Hang your finished piece on the wall for a picture-perfect greenery display (that won't die on you).

This smart technique can easily be scaled up or down: You can place faux plants in a smaller frame for a funky desk addition or a shadowbox headboard for a lush green dream scene. Hang a row of green frames next to each other for a gallery feel, or keep them solo for a statement piece. Fans of fresh blooms can achieve something similar by pressing flowers and leaves on framed paper. (This how-to from homesteader Sian Tucker will show you how it's done.)

Other unexpected places to display greens real or faux include terrariums, dried herb hangings, and homemade bouquet arrangements. For more nature-inspired design inspiration, get lost in our Holistic Home Tour series archives: Emily Sanchez's colorful flower wall, Summer Rayne Oakes' tea tin succulent garden, and Kimberly Wynn's bathroom forest are great places to start.

The bottom line.

Plants can add a grounding touch to our homes—but that doesn't mean we need to keep them on the ground. If you want to free your plants from their pots, try out TikTok's five-minute IKEA hack or any of these other crafty projects that redefine the word "greenhouse."