Plant Stands

ENCHANT YOUR ROOMS WITH VINTAGE PLANT STANDS

Looking to elevate your variegated vines, lift your fiddle leaf fig, hoist your hothouse orchids, or give your bonsais a boost? Yes, a dresser or console could handle the job efficiently enough, but why not consider a piece crafted specifically for the task? Enter: the plant stand. An oft-overlooked, but never outmoded piece of design, the plant stand dates to the mid 19th century. The plant stand’s genesis can be directly linked to the Industrial Revolution. As mass manufacturing capabilities increased, the ability to create more specialized goods for the home also increased, leading to manufacturers creating specialized products like the plant stand.

Victorians, especially, known for their adoration of all things worldly, loved plants and used them in abundance to vivify their homes. The Victorians considered plants to be symbolic of moral values and emotions, and in turn, developed a comprehensive “language of flowers.” Guidebooks from the era designate various flora and fauna as symbols of devotion, love, sorrow, remembrance, or hope. Which is all to say, that Victorians revered the ability to give their plants prominence in their homes.

In the late 19th century, plant stands could be purchased in virtually any style desired, from the reigning Victorian style to revival styles like Neoclassical, Rococo, or even Baroque. Construction materials also varied, ranging from wicker to wire, which is why it’s common to find antique plant stands in such a wide array of materials today. Victorians maintained no limits on how and where plant stands could be used in the home. Window gardens were common in the era, as all that was required was a sunny aperture plus an army of verdant botanicals. Plant stands doubled the amount of plants that a single window could accommodate, thereby earning their keep as household must-haves.

Today, plant stands are more novelty than necessity, yet they remain a back-pocket design trick of many top designers who love to deploy them as an unexpected way to add height to a room. In an askew space, they can also provide balance when used in pairs. For beginners, consider them anywhere you’d naturally feel inclined to drop a fiddle leaf fig.

5 WAYS TO PERCH A PLANT

Folding Tiered Plant Stand

Those looking for the most bang for their buck will likely be endeared by vintage folding plant stands with multiple tiers. Operating similar to stage risers, these vintage stands unfold to reveal multiple levels prime for situating potted plants. Since these vintage plant stands tend to be larger in size than most other designs, use them outdoors on a porch, or in a sunroom. Pre-war urban apartments with no outdoor space but a sunny bay window to spare could also make use of a tiered plant stand. In a bay window situated off a kitchen, deck one out with culinary-friendly herbs like thyme, oregano, and basil. For a bedroom or living room-facing window, fill the tiers with leafy low-liers like bird’s nest ferns, prayer plants, and rubber plants. Not only will these specimens help to nurture a city dweller’s green thumb, but they'll also act a privacy screen.