Reading the light in your home, room by room

Plant labels talk about light as if we all lived in greenhouses. Here is how to translate the jargon into the rooms you actually have.

Bright, indirect

Within two metres of a large window, but out of the direct beam. If you can read comfortably without a lamp all afternoon, that’s it. Monsteras, fiddle leaf figs and rubber trees live here.

Medium light

Further into the room, or near a north window. Colours stay soft, shadows are diffuse. Calatheas and peace lilies are at their best in this register.

Low light

Hallways, bathrooms, that corner the sun forgets. Not darkness — you can still see clearly at midday. Snake plants and pothos genuinely tolerate this; most other plants merely endure it.

One test worth doing

• At noon, hold your hand 30 cm above where the plant would sit.
• Sharp shadow: bright. Soft shadow: medium. Barely a shadow: low.
• Match the plant to the shadow, not to the room’s name.