Dim apartment dwellers have heard it before (or learned it first-hand): Bad lighting means bad news for many indoor plants. While some houseplants actually thrive in darker settings, it can be frustrating when your lighting situation determines which plants you can get. Certain popular indoor plants—like fiddle leaf fig trees and succulents—may never be satisfied without bright sunlight, but a few strategic design tweaks can make all the difference—transforming a dim, plant-less interior into a functional mini-jungle. We spoke with plant lovers Amber Dubois of the Etsy shop Mamakea Vintage and Vanessa Chinga-Haven from Brooklyn-based plant and coffee shop Homecoming, and they don’t want you to hand in your green-thumb badge just yet. Here are four tricks for sneaking natural, plant-loving light into an otherwise dark apartment.
Magic Mirrors
Aside from making a space feel bigger and adding aesthetic appeal, angling a mirror to reflect light helps brighten up dark corners that would otherwise be dim and gloomy. If you don't have room to hang or lean a mirror, several companies offer high-tech options: Solenica’s “Caia” is a sleek, solar-powered machine that rests on any flat surface to direct real sunlight wherever you need it.
A well-placed mirror reflects light while adding extra aesthetic appeal.
Rethink LED Lighting
Low-heat and energy efficient, LED lights can be extremely effective in helping your greenery thrive (use blue light for foliage and red for flowering plants). Chinga-Haven recommends letting your plants get overhead artificial light for 8–12 hours daily, keeping in mind there’s some trial and error involved: Weak stems and lighter leaves are a good indication that more exposure time is necessary. Dubois, who has customized LED lighting to fit naturally into her apartment, says “utility clip lamps with grow bulbs inside them are an easy way to provide your plants with more light if they need it.”
