If your once modest houseplant collection has now turned into a small jungle that has taken over your home, that’s great! However, it’s now time to get more imaginative with the limited space you have.
…like using all that wasted window space for starters. Let’s get your creative juices flowing with the following 31 gorgeous ideas for a window plant shelf!
1. Extended Windowsill
To start with, you can simply expand on your existing windowsill. If you have curtain rails, for example, you could hang a small pot or two in hanging macramé planters.
As for your actual windowsill, install some brackets to the wall below the window, and attach an attractive board to extend the sill itself to give you more space for plants.
Also, utilize the space at the sides and underneath with a few well-placed stools, wooden crates, coffee tables, and narrow shelves to house differently sized plants.
2. Hanging Single Shelf
If you’re in need of something sturdier and more spacious than a macramé planter (perhaps you want to have multiple small plants or a couple of medium-sized plants in a row together?), then a suspended “floating” single shelf is a great option.
This is simply a solid wooden base attached securely at each corner with macramé cord or rope to be hung from the window frame or with a couple of heavy-duty ceiling hooks.
3. Fixed Single Shelf
Alternatively, you can install a fixed single shelf across your window using a sturdy section of plywood, two or three brackets (depending on window length), and some nails or screws.
this is great for regular indoor gardening as you can accommodate plenty of seedlings in one area and not have to worry about the weight or potential mess that may be caused by a swinging hanging shelf.
4. Hanging Single Shelf With Hanging Plants Below
To make maximum use of your window space, why not hang yet more plants from your existing hanging single plant shelf?
You’ll need a thicker section of wood for your single shelf, or fashion a single shelf from a shallow crate or box so there’s space to attach a few cup hooks to the sides.
Then you can create a home for a few mini hanging plants right below!
5. Fixed Single Shelf With Hanging Plants Below
This involves the same principle of utilizing the space under a hanging single shelf but this time with a fixed, installed window shelf – and having a sturdy, heavy-duty fixed shelf means you can house a lot more plants beneath!
Ensuring your fixed shelf is installed high up enough in the window for plenty of room below, you can mount a few ceiling hooks to the underside of the shelf to confidently hang an extra series of plants.
6. Hanging Tiered Shelves
Who doesn’t love a tiered plant display? The effect looks even more stunning with the backdrop of natural light pouring in.
You can hang floating shelves of varying heights and lengths directly from the ceiling or add a single bar mounted to the top of your window frame for support and stability.
You could even offset the smallest and middle-tier shelves to the side to accommodate a particularly tall plant below.
You could even take the easy route and buy premade tiered shelving to hang in the window.
7. Fixed Tiered Shelves
You can create an attractive tiered aesthetic with your fixed plant shelves too.
You can do this by installing the lowest and longest shelf across and beyond the length of your windowsill while fixing the upper tiers in the window frame itself so they fit snugly within each side of the wall recesses.
Depending on your window height, you might create a classic 3-tier shelf system or as many as you desire for your indoor jungle.
8. Multiple Hanging Shelves
Why stop at the single hanging shelf? Take several wooden planks of the same size, drill holes in the corners, thread some jute rope through each level, and you’ve got yourself a beautiful vertical garden.
With this shelf structure, you can fill up the whole width of your window space if you need to home a ton of direct-sun-loving plants or create a narrow, compact shelf to place in one half of your window.
9. Salvaged Wood Shelf
Go green for your greenery, and consider making a window plant shelf using a piece of reclaimed wood!
You can source cheap salvaged wood or find it for free online or at local lumber dealers and demolition sites.
Depending on where you get your scrap wood from, you could come across polished and treated wood or pieces with a lot of grit and weathering – which only adds to the charm if you like the back-to-nature look.
10. Bookcase Under the Window
Placing a small, low bookcase beneath your window is not only a great space-saver but a genius way to house a variety of plants together.
You can place your large sun-loving plants on the very top of the case and keep shade-happy plants on the shelves below.
(If you don’t want to buy a new bookcase outright for the sake of your indoor garden, use an existing bookcase and find other ways to display your books!)
11. Storage Cabinet Under Window
Do you have an old dresser, storage cabinet, or sideboard that serves more of a decorative purpose in your hall than a functional one? Then why not upcycle it for your plant family instead!
Place them directly beneath the window to expand on your current windowsill garden and get some much-needed sunlight to your collection.
You can also use the storage cubby holes/drawers beneath to keep your watering can, mister, and other supplies nearby.
12. Table Under Window
Sometimes, all that’s needed for a great plant shelf by the window is a simple table. Have a look on Craigslist or Facebook for a cheap console table to suit your window length.
This could be any slim, long table that may have been a TV stand, a slim computer desk, or an accent table for a hall or entryway – repurposed into the ideal plant display unit!
13. Fixed or Hanging Glass or Plexiglass Shelves
There are floating plant shelves, and then there are near-invisible plant shelves! Plexiglass/glass/acrylic shelving is a win-win for stability and for ensuring small rooms don’t feel boxed in by the lack of natural light.
As with regular shelves, you can opt for fixed or hanging plexiglass shelves, and let the sun favor both your plants and your tight apartment space!
14. Fixed Hoop Wall Hangers
For those plants of yours that prefer indirect sunlight, why have them all lined up along the floor when you can display them proudly on hoop wall hangers near your window?
These are fixed, sturdy metal brackets nailed to the wall with a basketball-style hoop design, allowing you to rest the plant pot rims snugly and securely snugly in the suspended hoops.
You could create a semi-circle of plants or have them dotted about – the choice is yours!
15. Box-Style Shelves
A cute and cool minimalist style of window plant shelving is to use wooden box shelf units.
These can be used either alone to house at least two houseplants or stacked on top of one another to fill up your entire window space.
Depending on your preference, you might stack many box units together in a tight TETRIS formation or nail two or three together to invite a better balance of plants and natural light.
16. Metal Shelves
Besides wood, acrylic, and glass, metal can also make ideal window shelving for your plants and provides much sturdier support for your heavier pots.
Simply take a steel mesh tray like this one, and attach some sturdy jute rope or macramé cord to a pair of wall hooks placed at either side of your window frame.
17. Stationary Pipe Shelves
If you’re a fan of industrial chic in your home décor, you’ll love the aesthetic that a single rail of pipe shelving brings to your corner window space.
These are essentially pipe supports – often constructed from black steel with cast iron joints – with wooden boards mounted on top of each pipe line, making them more than robust enough to provide several tiers of stylish plant shelving.
18. Hanging Shelves With Pot Inserts
A different kind of shelf aesthetic (and a way to keep your houseplants a little more secure than simply placing them on hanging shelves) is achieved by displaying them on a shelf built with pot inserts.
These are shelving units with holes/inserts cut out in the wood for appropriately sized pots and planters to snugly nestle in.
You can then make the most of the shelf space between the inserts for any mini succulents and other small plants needing a home!
19. Fixed Shelves With Pot Inserts
This is the same idea as the hanging shelves with pot inserts (see above) but with a stationary design.
Like the hanging shelf styles, fixed ones are available online or perhaps at your local garden center, but you could be better off making your own simple fixed pot-insert shelves, especially as commercial insert sizes may not always accommodate your favorite plants.
20. Hanging Shelves Made With Macramé
For a little more flair with your plant window shelf, why not make the most of what macramé has to offer by displaying something that’s part plant shelf and part window art?
You’ve seen them all over Instagram – macramé wall hangings are beautiful and intricate and add a touch of dreamy, new-age magic to any space.
So instead of simply using the macramé cord to hold up your window shelf, purchase a more decorative macramé holder, or teach yourself how!
21. Stationary Shelves Hung From Top of Window
When you live in a small home, you really value all the window space you have, especially as natural light creates the illusion of more space – which is why hanging shelves from the very top of your window makes a perfect apartment plant shelf.
Create stylish stationary shelves using wooden boards and copper pipe supports or some simple wall brackets.
22. Shelves Fixed To Cabinets or Wall Bordering Window
If the main bookshelf or décor cabinet in your home is situated right by your window, why not rearrange some stuff to dedicate one whole column to some of your plants?
You can install single floating shelves inside or outside your existing unit or fix some shelves to the wall space that borders your window.
Either way, try looking at the space by your window or any window-facing furniture and see how you might be able to house your plants.
23. Mini Hanging Shelves
Create a real plant oasis in your window by parading your minis on their own individual hanging shelves.
This adorable space-saving solution cuts down on the bulk of a large wooden plank by highlighting smaller plants on their own square platform.
Can’t you just picture your hanging succulent garden or your string of pearls draping gracefully down from these current yet classical-looking shelves?
24. Round Frame With Multiple Shelves
Make a bold, artistic statement by housing your plants in a contemporary round shelf unit.
The circular style of these large stand-alone frames creates a nice tier effect with the large central shelves and the smaller ones placed above and below, giving you plenty of room for all your sun-demanding (and shade-loving) plants.
25. Fixed Plant Shelf With Geometric Frames
To add a little more pizazz to the plants sitting on your fixed window shelves, why not call attention to some of the more beauteous ones in your collection by placing them in a stylish geometric frame?
These are seen across social media housing vases and books, but they also work wonders with certain plants.
The only snag is that many plants will soon outgrow these frames, but your trailing plants and succulents will never not look good in these!
26. Double Hoop Hanging Plant Shelf
We all have those plants that we love most in the group (shh, don’t tell the others!), so give them the “wow-factor” pedestal they deserve with a single statement hanging shelf like this one.
The two hoops attached to the square wooden base puts you in mind of a halo or pair of rings in a trapeze act.
These will look gorgeous either hung alone in your window or in a series at varying heights.
27. A-Frame Plant Shelf in Front of Window
A classic wooden A-frame shelf provides a homely aesthetic against the greenery, and the tier of small, medium, and large shelving is both pretty and practical when it comes to keeping your sunlight-hungry plants happy above the windowsill.
If you wanted to, you could even create a similar look by repurposing an old wooden step ladder!
28. Homemade Wooden Stand in Front of Window
If you have the tools, it’s fairly easy to make a simple wooden plant stand for your window using some 2×4 wooden planks to make the legs and shelf units.
You could also repurpose another wooden stand in the house – an old wine rack perhaps or a shoe storage tower?
29. Shelving Unit in Recessed Window
When you’re really low on space in a cramped home or apartment, it’s always good to make use of the recessed spaces, so if your window is set in a deep enough wall recess, you might want to consider placing a custom-fitted shelving unit to fill the space from top to sill.
Even the most shallow window recess should be able to accommodate some of your tiniest succulents and seedlings.
30. Large Shelving Unit in Front of Window
If you have any floor-to-ceiling windows, a large, open shelving unit will be the perfect shelf to make your houseplants sing.
These are the kind of units you’d normally find in offices and department stores displaying ornaments and files but with a wide variety of plants in all shapes, sizes, and pot colors on display – this is a match made in heaven, especially when the sunlight comes shining through!
31. Triangle-Style Hanging Shelf
Easy to hang inside your window or on the wall beside it, a sweet triangle plant shelf is hard to beat for simplicity and timeless style.
Take a small wooden plank or board, drill holes into the corners, and thread cord or jute rope through and up into a knot at the top before attaching it to a mounted wall hook or your window frame.
That’s a Wrap!
We hope these cool and creative plant shelf ideas have inspired you to look at your window space in a completely different way (perhaps you’ll be on the lookout for furniture to upcycle or a DIY shelving unit to tackle!).
Whether you prefer a minimalist display or a crowded exhibition of your plant gang, there’s a shelf style above to suit every taste and every window space.