Artificial plants for dark rooms and windowless spaces

Artificial plants need no light at all, so any of them can go in a dark room, a hallway or a space with no windows. What low light changes is how believable they look, so choose species that grow naturally in shade, such as ferns, pothos, snake plants and aglaonema. The table below compares our picks for dim spaces, with live prices and stock.

Compare our picks for dark rooms

Sort by height or price, or show only plants in stock.

In stock only Sort by Height: low to high Height: high to low Price: low to high Price: high to low

Image	Tree	Height	Spread	Price	Buy
	60cm Artificial Devil's Ivy (Scindapsus Aureus) Plant	60cm	60cm	£24.99	View
	100cm Large Fox's Aglaonema (Spotted Evergreen) Tree Artificial Plant	100cm	70cm	£44.99	View
	60cm Artificial Japanese Aralia Plant Evergreen	60cm	60cm	£24.99	View
	100cm Artificial Hanging Maidenhair Fern Plant Trailing Plants	100cm	30cm	£4.99£5.99	View
	75cm Artificial Zanzibar Green Gem Zamioculcas Succulent Indoor Plant	75cm	30cm	£34.99	View
	90cm (3ft) Artificial Sansevieria Yellow Green Indoor Plant - Large	90cm	15cm	£47.99	View
	Artificial Boston Fern Plant - 60cm	60cm	50cm	£24.99	View
	60cm Artificial Calathea Evergreen Plant	60cm	60cm	£39.99	View
	120cm Kentia Palm Artificial Tree	120cm	90cm	£42.99£49.99	View
	125cm Dragon Tree Dracaena Plant Natural Look Artificial	125cm	70cm	£55.99£64.99	View
	100cm Artificial Hanging Trailing Philodendron Small Leaf Plant	100cm	30cm	£16.99£18.99	View

Live prices and stock. Heights are overall, from the bottom of the pot (or of the stem, for stem flowers and ferns) to the top of the leaves. Spreads are as arranged in our photos, and wired stems can be shaped wider or narrower.

Why artificial plants suit dark rooms

Most real houseplants struggle without daylight, and even shade-tolerant ones grow slowly and drop leaves in a room with no window. That is why dark bathrooms, internal offices and hallways are so often left bare. Artificial plants have none of those needs: no light, no watering and no feeding, just an occasional dust. The only question is how good they look.

Why believability matters in low light

Most people have a rough idea of which plants cope with shade. A sun-loving olive tree or cactus in a windowless bathroom can look out of place, however realistic it is, because a real one wouldn't be there. A fern or a snake plant in the same spot looks natural, because that is where you would expect to find one.

Low light also changes how foliage reads. Deep greens can look almost black in a dim corner, and fine detail is harder to see. Plants with a strong outline, or with variegated or patterned leaves, stand out better than dense, dark foliage. A little well-placed lighting helps too (see below).

Species that grow in shade naturally

These are the plants that grow under trees in the wild or have long been grown in shady rooms, so they look at home in a dim space.

Ferns

Ferns grow on shady woodland floors, so they suit a dark bathroom or a north-facing room better than almost anything else. Our 60cm Boston fern sits on a floor or a side table, and our 100cm hanging maidenhair fern, one of our bestsellers, trails from a hanging planter or a high shelf. Browse all our artificial ferns.

Pothos and philodendron

Both are climbing plants from tropical forests, where they grow in the shade of larger trees. Our 60cm devil's ivy (pothos) and our 100cm trailing philodendron look natural on a bookcase or a kitchen shelf.

Snake plants and ZZ plants

They are known as two of the toughest houseplants for dim corners, which makes them a believable choice for a windowless room. Our artificial snake plants are slim and upright: the 90cm sansevieria is 15cm wide as arranged in our photos, which suits a narrow hallway. Our 75cm Zanzibar Green Gem is a ZZ plant with wired stems, so you can arrange it to fit the space.

Aglaonema and calathea

Both grow on the forest floor, and their patterned leaves show up well in low light. Our 100cm Fox's aglaonema has spotted leaves, and our calatheas, including variegated versions, add broad leaves to a group.

Dracaena, Japanese aralia and kentia palm

For a floor plant or a small tree in a darker room, these three all tolerate shade. Our 125cm Natural Look dragon tree dracaena has a twisted trunk, our 60cm Japanese aralia (fatsia) has large, hand-shaped leaves, and our 120cm kentia palm is a wide tree for a bigger space. See more in our artificial dracaena plants.

Plants to keep for brighter rooms

Olive trees, cacti, most succulents and lavender read as sun-lovers. They still work in a dark room if you like the look, but they are more convincing where there is some daylight.

By room

Bathrooms

Many bathrooms are small, with frosted glass or no window at all. A fern or a trailing pothos on a high shelf takes up no floor space, and a snake plant fits beside a bath or a basin. Keep plants out of the direct spray of the shower. Browse our bathroom artificial plants.

Hallways and landings

Hallways are often the darkest part of a home and the narrowest. A slim snake plant, a trailing plant on a console table or a single fern leaves room to walk past. Save wider plants such as the kentia palm for a broad hall or a landing. See our hallway artificial plants.

Windowless offices and meeting rooms

Aglaonema, dracaena and ZZ plants suit a desk or a corner in an internal office. In commercial buildings, check whether your fire risk assessment asks for fire-retardant decorations. Our 80cm aglaonema bush and 75cm Boston fern are both shade species that our manufacturer supplies as fire-retardant (FR) grade; our guide to fire-retardant artificial plants explains what that means. Browse our office artificial plants.

North-facing rooms, basements and under the stairs

These spaces get some light but little sun. Larger shade plants such as the Japanese aralia, a dracaena or the kentia palm fill a dim corner, and a fern softens a shelf. Our guide to artificial plants by room covers every other room in the house.

Styling plants in a dim space

• Group them. Two or three plants of different heights look fuller and more natural than one plant on its own.
• Mix leaf shapes. Pair a trailing plant with an upright one, such as a pothos on a shelf above a snake plant.
• Use mirrors. A plant placed near a mirror is seen twice and picks up any light in the room.
• Put plants where the eye goes. The end of a hallway, the corner you see from the door and the wall behind a bath are the places that make the most difference.
• Choose lighter greens for the darkest spots. Variegated leaves and brighter greens read more clearly in shadow than very dark foliage.

Lighting a faux plant

An artificial plant doesn't need light, but the people looking at it do. Lighting is the easiest way to make a plant in a dark room look its best.

• Warm white bulbs: warm white light, around 2700–3000K, keeps greens looking natural. Cool white light can make foliage look grey or slightly blue.
• Uplighting: a small floor spotlight angled up through a tree throws leaf shadows onto the wall and ceiling, which gives a dark corner depth.
• Shelf and picture lights: an LED strip under a shelf, or a picture light above a console, lights trailing plants from above.
• Pale planters: a white, cream or metallic planter reflects light and lifts the plant out of the shadows.
• A safe gap: keep foliage away from hot bulbs, lampshades and heaters.

Our article on how lighting changes the look of artificial plants goes into more detail. For grouping and placement, see our guide to styling artificial plants, and for what makes a plant look real up close, see the most realistic artificial plants.