Can’t Fail Tips for Decorating with Cactus in the Home

It’s been a few years and the cactus is still having a moment. Living in southern Arizona (Tucson to be exact! Where the “T” in “Tucson” is a cactus!), I feel that I have some knowledge to share with the internet about what it’s like to live surrounded by cacti and how to incorporate them into your home in a fun and natural way. 

 

Choose different heights – Cacti come in many different shapes and sizes. We have tall Saguaros (pronounced suh-wah-ro) in our front yard, and a few itty bitty ones throughout our home. Our centerpiece on the dining table consists of a miniature Prickly Pear and a small sampler vase filled with 3 different kinds. To keep things cohesive here, I chose to use only concrete vases. 

Create an arrangement – Follow suit from the photo above and fill a large bowl with wood chips and an assortment of mini cacti. It’s the perfect addition to your coffee table. Choose a copper bowl to really complement the colors of the cacti!

 

Save money and buy at big box home improvement stores – While I am ALL for supporting small and local businesses, if I need a lot of plants, I just can’t afford to spend a large chunk of money on only a few small plants. Large home improvement stores like The Home Depot & Lowe’s carry huge assortments of cacti ranging in price from $2 – $200! 

Line shelves or mantels – Our house is filled to the brim with plants. Everywhere you look – greenery! Cactus and succulents are great for styling shelves or mantels. Keep things minimal by using only 1 or 2, or go crazy and line the entire shelf with a selection!

Water every other week – Cactus are tough to kill. They are made to thrive in the desert where there is a lack of water. If you don’t happen to water the plant one week, don’t sweat it! It’ll survive. They need to be watered around once every 2 weeks. More if your cactus is looking a bit sad. I’ve actually gone almost a month without watering a few of ours, and they’re still growing!

 

Choose smooth edges for little fingers – We have a toddler running around our house at any given moment. When we first moved into our home, I chose to decorate with the Christmas Cactus as those have smooth edges. I didn’t have to worry about her getting pricked or falling down into the cactus. Now that she’s older, we’ve explained to her how painful it can be to touch these plants and that “they’re just to look at.” We’ve had zero accidents in the last year, so I’m feeling pretty safe. Be sure to teach your children about the safety rules when cactus are around! 

Fill a faux fireplace – This might be my favorite part of our house. We built our own faux fireplace and tiled a small section where the firebox would be. Instead of decorating with logs, we decorated with cactus! I change these plants out once every few months to give the room a facelift, but it adds so much character to our home! 

Decorate with faux cacti – If you’re afraid of killing these sturdy plants (it CAN happen), try decorating with faux cacti! Paperweights, framed art, cookie jars, vases, etc. The sky is the limit and you won’t have to worry about watering! Try making this fun clay cactus bud vase by A Beautiful Mess!