African Violets have pretty flowers and are able to produce them throughout most of the year indoors. Additionally even when they are not flowering the foliage of African Violets is a lush tropical green and quite attractive. To grow African violets effectively you will need a good pot, well-draining soil, and adequate light. The first thing you need is a pot to grow your violet in; it should be fairly wide but does not need to be deep.

It is also important that your pot has a saucer to drain into, so you can water your African violet without making a mess and also so you leave some standing water in it to promote humidity. This is an example of a great pot; it is good because it has a wide mouth, and can easily drain into the saucer below to prevent a waterlogged African Violet. Your soil will also impact how well your pot will drain, and so it is important to have a loose relatively sterile potting soil. Many nurseries and even grocery stores sell an African Violet potting mix, this is great to use but not necessary as long as you provide a healthy base soil.

Lighting

African Violets do best in what I called full but filtered sunlight; African Violets need full sunlight to bloom but their leaves can also burn if they don't have adequate water or humidity and hot direct light. This is one of the things that makes African Violets perfect houseplants, they will thrive in a fully lit eastern facing window, or really any window that gets sunlight for more than 8 hours a day. African Violets will struggle to bloom if they don't get full sunlight and one common mistake when growing them indoors is not placing them near enough to a brightly lit window. You can also supplement your natural lightning with a small fluorescent bulb if you notice your African Violet has not bloomed in a long time.
Water & Humidity

African Violets are tropical
African Violets come from a tropical climate
African Violets typically prefer humidity because they are tropical, and do require regular watering before the soil dries completely out. In order to thrive it is a good idea to take measures to boost the humidity around your African violet, and this can be done simply by keeping some water in your pot's saucer all of the time. Depending on your pot you may even be able to water your African Violet through the bottom of the pot by keeping your saucer full of water. The soil will be able to wick up the water and provide a balanced level of moisture in your soil without the guesswork that comes with regular watering.

Be sure not to overwater your African Violets, the soil should not be soggy and if you follow the rest of the tips you should be on your way to having beautiful houseplants all year long.