Here’s an IKEA Hack Every Plant Parent Needs to Know

If your love for house plants seems to grow more and more each day, your plant collection may be growing, too. The more plants you have though, the harder it may be to find the perfect place to put them all. Where there’s a will, there’s a way, and this IKEA hack from a clever homeowner we recently profiled can help you save the day in your own home, if you’ve run out of spots for your plant babies.

Tiffany Schlittenhardt lives in her 1970s-style home with her husband, Matthew, their three dogs, eight reptiles, and plenty of houseplants to boot. The Schlittenhardts’ style is a mix of mid-century and eclectic, and flexibility and functionality play a big role in helping them decide on furnishings. One of the Schlittenhardts’ favorite buys is an IKEA headboard, which is mounted on the wall next to their bed and used as a plant display in their bedroom. Unfortunately, this particular style isn’t available in the US right now, but the NORDLI headboard, with its slatted design, could be used in a similar way.

The key to making a headboard turned plant wall work is looking for a slatted design (that you’ll mount to your wall studs) then using sturdy pieces of metal or wood as perches or shelves for your plants. Whatever you choose for your shelf material must be thin enough to slide in between your slats but thick enough to stay in place. Smaller, lighter plants will work best displayed on a piece like this.

Like any floating shelf, feel free to display whatever you like — not just plants! You could try pottery, books, art, or a mixture of all of these things. Transforming something as simple as a headboard into plant display shows what you can do when you don’t limit a readymade piece to its designated use. “Our goal was to create a space where we could showcase our passion for interior design,” says Schlittenhardt. “We’re looking forward to letting our creativity evolve the space over time.”