2021’s Hottest Houseplant Trend, According to a Pro Stylist
Multicoloured. Antiplain. The buzziest indoor greenery is vividly variegated. Plus: How they work with your décor.
Multicoloured. Antiplain. The buzziest indoor greenery is vividly variegated. Plus: How they work with your décor.
BALTIMORE-BASED plant and interiors stylist Hilton Carter believes that even the most unfashionable plant can deeply gratify a doting minder. But Mr. Carter, whose eponymous collection of plant and garden accessories for Target launched in May, conceded that “variegated plants are having a moment.” Most are a blend of greens, creams and whites, he said, “and how that mixture comes together can be breathtaking.” At right, the author of the recently published “Wild Creations” (CICO Books) lists four patterned plants he sees trending, and the once-popular species they’re pushing off social media.
In the context of your décor, such splashy greenery pops but calls for a bit of extra consideration. Interior designer Kirsten Krason cautions against placing a striated Watermelon Peperomia next to a wall covered by, for example, Schumacher’s fruit-tree-filled Citrus Garden wallpaper. A busy plant against a hectic pattern gives your eye nowhere to rest, said Ms. Krason, co-owner of design firm House of Jade, in Riverton, Utah. Instead, play a more exhibitionist plant off neutrals like a ship-lapped wall or a linen drape. Layering pattern on pattern can work if you pay attention to scale, she said. “Pair a tiny-leafed plant with a large-patterned wallpaper or large-leafed tree with a smaller pattern.” And apply colour theory: “A very bright green next to a hot-pink pillow will electrify a room, while the same plant next to a dusky blue will tone down both the green of the plant and the vibe of the room.” Below, four flamboyantly patterned houseplants that are wooing early adopters.
The banded leaves of what Mr. Carter calls a designer plant resemble the lustrous sleeve of a Renaissance courtier, and they can grow to over a foot in width. Hailing from Bolivia, the species is happiest in high humidity and medium light, and can fill that naked corner with drama.
Despite glamorous pink, red, white and green foliage, this plant is passe. Too many variations of the Stromanthe Triostar were made available in plant shops, noted Mr. Carter. “It just hasn’t appeared in as many homes in 2021 as in 2017 to 2019.”
This petite stunner’s fleshy leaves radiate silver from a centrally fixed stem, giving the variety its namesake pattern. Despite topping out at 12 inches, this easy-to-grow plant with contrasting red stems “has a presence among other plants in your collection,” said Mr. Carter.
The darling of millennial houseplant fans—second only to succulents—the Pilea hogged the limelight from 2016-2019, perhaps due to its easy propagation. Watermelon Peperomia shares this quality, so don’t clone too many or it could suffer the same fate.
Playfully mottled rather than elegantly striped, this variegated version trails like other Pothos, making it similarly ideal for hanging planters. Bonus: It thrives in medium light and can stoically weather neglect.
Appealing for all the easy-care reasons of the Marble Queen Pothos, “it’s one of those plants we’ve all seen in our grandparents’ homes, and just feels like a throwback,” Mr. Carter said.
This native-Brazilian philodendron not only produces gracefully pointed leaves with feathery striations of lime green and white but also grows quickly—with bright indirect light and high humidity—and as large as 3 feet tall.
Once coveted for its photogenic, exotically gapped leaves, the Monstera Deliciosa has become overexposed and mass-marketed. “And just like anything, the more available something is, the less it’s desired,” said Mr. Carter.
Reprinted by permission of The Wall Street Journal, Copyright 2021 Dow Jones & Company. Inc. All Rights Reserved Worldwide. Original date of publication: June 9, 2021.
Consumers are going to gravitate toward applications powered by the buzzy new technology, analyst Michael Wolf predicts
Chris Dixon, a partner who led the charge, says he has a ‘very long-term horizon’
New research tackles the source of financial conflict and what we can do about it
When couples argue over money, the real source of the conflict usually isn’t on their bank statement.
Financial disagreements tend to be stand-ins for deeper issues in our relationships, researchers and couples counsellors said, since the way we use money is a reflection of our values, character and beliefs. Persistent fights over spending and saving often doom romantic partnerships: Even if you fix the money problem, the underlying issues remain.
To understand what the fights are really about, new research from social scientists at Carleton University in Ottawa began with a unique data set: more than 1,000 posts culled from a relationship forum on the social-media platform Reddit. Money was a major thread in the posts, which largely broke down into complaints about one-sided decision-making, uneven contributions, a lack of shared values and perceived unfairness or irresponsibility.
By analysing and categorising the candid messages, then interviewing hundreds of couples, the researchers said they have isolated some of the recurring patterns behind financial conflicts.
The research found that when partners disagree about mundane expenses, such as grocery bills and shop receipts, they tend to have better relationships. Fights about fair contributions to household finances and perceived financial irresponsibility are particularly detrimental, however.
While there is no cure-all to resolve the disputes, the antidote in many cases is to talk about money more, not less, said Johanna Peetz, a professor of psychology at Carleton who co-authored the study.
“You should discuss finances more in relationships, because then small things won’t escalate into bigger problems,” she said.
A partner might insist on taking a vacation the other can’t afford. Another married couple might want to separate their previously combined finances. Couples might also realize they no longer share values they originally brought to the relationship.
Differentiating between your own viewpoint on the money fight from that of your partner is no easy feat, said Thomas Faupl, a marriage and family psychotherapist in San Francisco. Where one person sees an easily solvable problem—overspending on groceries—the other might see an irrevocable rift in the relationship.
Faupl, who specialises in helping couples work through financial difficulties, said many partners succeed in finding common ground that can keep them connected amid heated discussions. Identifying recurring themes in the most frequent conflicts also helps.
“There is something very visceral about money, and for a lot of people, it has to do with security and power,” he said. “There’s permutations on the theme, and that could be around responsibility, it could be around control, it could be around power, it could be around fairness.”
Barbara Krenzer and John Stone first began their relationship more than three decades ago. Early on in their conversations, the Syracuse, N.Y.-based couple opened up about what they both felt to be most important in life: spending quality time with family and investing in lifelong memories.
“We didn’t buy into the big lifestyle,” Krenzer said. “Time is so important and we both valued that.”
For Krenzer and Stone, committing to that shared value meant making sacrifices. Krenzer, a physician, reduced her work hours while raising their three children. Stone trained as an attorney, but once Krenzer went back to full-time work, he looked for a job that let him spend the mornings with the children.
“Compromise: That’s a word they don’t say enough with marriage,” Krenzer said. “You have to get beyond the love and say, ‘Do I want to compromise for them and find that middle ground?’”
Talking about numbers behind a behaviour can help bring a couple out of a fight and back to earth, Faupl said. One partner might rue the other’s tightfistedness, but a discussion of the numbers reveals the supposed tightwad is diligently saving money for the couple’s shared future.
“I get under the hood with people so we can get black-and-white numbers on the table,” he said. “Are these conversations accurate, or are they somehow emotionally based?”
Couples might follow tenets of good financial management and build wealth together, but conflict is bound to arise if one partner feels the other isn’t honouring that shared commitment, Faupl said.
“If your partner helps with your savings goals, then that feels instrumental to your own goals, and that is a powerful drive for feeling close to the partner and valuing that relationship,” he said.
When it comes to sticking out the hard times, “sharing values is important, even more so than sharing personality traits,” Peetz said. In her own research, Peetz found that romantic partners who disagreed about shared values could one day split up as a result.
“That is the crux of the conflict often: They each have a different definition,” she said of themes such as fairness and responsibility.
And sometimes, it is worth it to really dig into the potentially difficult conversations around big money decisions. When things are working well, coming together to achieve these common goals—such as saving for your own retirement or preparing for your children’s financial future—will create intimacy, not money strife.
“That is a powerful drive for feeling close to the partner and valuing that relationship,” she said.
Consumers are going to gravitate toward applications powered by the buzzy new technology, analyst Michael Wolf predicts
Chris Dixon, a partner who led the charge, says he has a ‘very long-term horizon’