Greenery – real or fake – can add color, texture, and beauty to anyone’s home, making it look lively and beautiful. If you want to include some ornamental plants in your interiors, but you lack the green thumb or don’t have the patience to take care of any living thing, why not go for artificial plants? Decorating your home with artificial plants can be a viable option for adding life to your indoor space. After all, artificial plants do not require a lot of fuss compared to taking care of the real thing.
Faux plants appeal to homeowners who want to add some touches of “green” to their homes but cannot keep natural houseplants alive. While it is true that it’s easy for some people to tend indoor plants, some people just don’t have the natural talent for growing plants. Going for artificial greenery is an excellent way to introduce to bring some nature to your home, minus the stress and effort needed to keep them alive.
Back then, homeowners and interior decorators shied away from fake plants. But as they’re becoming look more realistic, these faux plants have been reappearing as a welcome feature in most homes today. They are also becoming more fashionable.
As mentioned earlier, artificial greenery doesn’t require a lot of fuss, as you don’t need to water it or do anything to keep it looking vibrant and healthy. Faux greenery won’t attract pests. It also doesn’t rot and wither even when left for a long time. You’ll only need to dust, wash, and keep them clean once in a while.
Faux greenery is also perfect for those who want to introduce some nature into their homes but suffer from certain allergies or health sensitivities. You don’t have to worry about allergies using artificial plants and flowers to beautify your home. Since these faux florals and foliage don’t have pollens or emit strong odors, they’re perfectly safe for anyone with such health conditions.
There are fake potted plants, hanging plants, grass, cacti, succulents, vines, crawlers, and creepers – just like the real thing.
Artificial plants, flowers, and trees are usually made of the following raw materials:
- Paper
- Polyester fabric
- Cotton
- Parchment
- Nylon
- Glass
- Rubber
- Latex
- Silk
- Satin
Thanks to the latest technological advancements and design developments in home decor, faux plants look incredibly natural, which you can’t tell apart from living plants. Some can even have reflective properties and molds of real leaves, branches, flowers, and buds. You may also get surprised that faux trees placed outdoors bear nests because birds are fooled into thinking they are real!
Silk “plants” – the ones that your grandma had – are faux plants that can look either incredibly real or super fake. Silk plants take a lot more time and effort to create. They are prone to wear and tear, unlike other simulated plant materials. They are also more prone to fraying and bleaching out by the sun.
Dried ornamental plants – an excellent alternative to live and faux plants
Despite how realistic they appear, you know that these plants are still fake. Some homeowners are still looking for natural and organic ornamental pieces but don’t want to bother taking care of live indoor plants.
Dried ornamental plants, flowers, grasses, etc., are natural plants, with real branches, leaves, flowers, buds, florets, fruits (like berries) etc., still intact. Unlike artificial plants, these dried plants are made from the real thing, so they are still authentic – only they’re not alive anymore. Like fake plants, dried natural plants and flowers are low-maintenance and add beauty to your interiors. But unlike fake plants, dried plants and flowers are 100% biodegradable, making them a sustainable home decor option.
If you have a flower garden outdoors, you can preserve the foliage and blooms by air-drying, microwave drying, book pressing, pressing by ironing, or using desiccants (usually silica gel) to dry the flowers out. You can set these dried plants and flowers in vases, create wreaths or garlands, or have them framed on the wall.
Check out some of the benefits of using dried plants and flowers to adorn your home:
- They’re long-lasting (usually 5 to 7 years).
- They don’t look and feel fake.
- They don’t have to be watered.
- They are low-maintenance.
- They are versatile.
- They are biodegradable.
- They are highly sustainable.
- You can use them for all seasons.
Artificial trees
Artificial trees are also available in the market. Getting an artificial tree is a good idea for both indoors and outdoors. One of the chief benefits of faux trees is that they improve the look of your living space and add a comforting and refreshing feel with little effort. But of course, it depends on the interior design and space that you have in your home. For instance, artificial trees will look odd in a small, modern apartment. If your home has rustic interiors, a fake palm tree will appear out of place. Before getting an artificial tree, consider first whether it will be tasteful and refreshing to look at if placed in your home.
How to decorate with artificial plants
Artificial plants, trees, and flowers can look great indoors. Still, it would be nice to be informed about them so that you can decorate your interiors with these fake plants beautifully. Every corner in your home can benefit from adding an artificial indoor plant. Check out the following tips to adorn your house using them:
- Buy only high-quality fake plants – If you’re going to buy artificial plants anyway, you have to commit to top-quality materials. Only the best and most realistic-looking fake plants can trick people into thinking you have a green thumb. You may need to shell out a little bit more upfront, but it will save you more money down the road than buying a live plant. And, of course, natural-looking fake plants will last longer than cheaper ones. You should check realistic-looking branches, stems, imperfect leaves, dissimilar leaves, and something that looks like natural spots or dirt – things that mimic live plants. Or, buy dried plants and flowers – they’re just as low-maintenance as fake ones.
- Place them in natural light – Real plants need sunlight to grow and thrive. An easy way to pass off your artificial plant as living plants is to put it in specific areas of your home where you would typically put a natural plant. Place your faux plants on the windowsill, near the window or doorway, or on the veranda, as these areas tend to get more sunlight.
- Make the fake plants look less… fake – To make your faux plants look less fake, the trick is to set them up in a variety of vases and containers to make them look like live plants.
- Mix faux plants with actual plants – You can try mixing fake stems, leaves, and flowers with real ones to introduce some texture to your arrangements. It will liven up your vase or container in a very real way, not to mention making the fake plants look real among the actual live plants.
- Dust often – Real plants don’t gather dust, dirt, and cobwebs, but fake ones can build them up over time. Dust your faux plants and flowers regularly to keep them looking “fresh” and “real.” You may also want to deep-clean your faux plants. Soak them in warm, soapy water. Next, gently brush them to get rid of the dirt, rinse them thoroughly, and shake them to remove the excess water before hanging them to air dry.
- Keep in mind that not every type of faux plant looks as good as the real ones – Yes, you’ve read it right. Some natural plants lend themselves to faux treatments, with succulents at the top of the list. Fake succulents constitute a significant plus: they’re trendy in modern home decor, and the real ones look plastic. Have you ever gone to a cacti and succulents plants store, greenhouse, or nursery and wondered whether what they were selling was real? That’s because some live plants already look like faux ones. When you buy artificial cacti or succulents, they automatically look natural, so it’s a win-win situation for you.
