I Asked 6 Design Pros for Their Best Faux Plant Tip, and They All Basically Said the Same Thing
Mini indoor gardens or simply buying vases of flowers each week can add up. Besides cutting down on the amount of greenery I have in my home, I’ve started to acquire longer-lasting artificial plants. Hot take incoming: These statement pieces are equally striking, and depending on what you buy, the faux options can be the same price as live ones (or sometimes even cheaper). But if you’re still on the fence about artificial plants and how they look, read on! I polled six design experts who all agreed on the foolproof hack for styling these decorative replicas. Overall, their consensus is the following: More is more when it comes to faux plants and flowers.
You shouldn’t settle for just one imitation buy for the corner of a room — go all out with faux picks in different shapes, sizes, and textures. Even a handful of different artificial flowers, featuring all kinds of unique blooms, can create an eye-catching focal point in a room. “My goal is to achieve the most natural shape with the stems or florals,” says Studio McGee designer Shea McGee of faux flowers. “The key to a natural-looking arrangement is asymmetry — it shouldn’t be perfect — so I recommend bending the stems to vary the height and opening the leaves or blossoms to create an organic shape.”
Variation and spontaneity within a given bunch or single plant also gives artificial greenery a more authentic appearance, like what you’d see in nature. “It’s also fun to change it up,” McGee adds. “Try mixing two types of greenery for a muted look, or mixing greenery with florals for an arrangement that has a defined color palette.”
The same concept applies to larger accents, as well, including everything from a huge fake fiddle leaf fig to a towering look-alike olive tree. “Consider grouping,” adds Khalid El Wakil, owner of faux flower and plant company Flower Bar. “It depends on the size of the place, but generally, I recommend styling with odd numbers — so place three, five, or seven pieces together. Even if the space is symmetric, sometimes having a larger group on one side and a smaller one on the other makes them look more natural. When it’s identical, it feels less real.”
It’s safe to say you can never have too many mock branches and shrubs, but Sara Hamza — founder of lifestyle brand Nina June — says to specifically “look for items with textured and colored, wood-like twigs and leaves made of thick, dusty-colored materials, as perfectly manicured plants appear less lifelike.”
Similar to an artificial Christmas tree, you’ll want to go the extra mile to make sure all the stems look healthy and full. “Gently style and fluff the plant once it’s been unpacked because the more time you put into this, the more beautiful the plants will look,” explains Traci Reeves, Grandin Road’s senior director of merchandising. Designer Valerie Darden, founder of Brexton Cole Interiors, also recommends keeping faux plants dust-free at all times, as well as “incorporating more and more faux stem branches into a vase for each season, [which] helps give height to the room and create additional texture.”
Ready to make the switch to artificial greenery yourself? “Quality is everything,” notes designer Ariel Okin. “I love Diane James Home and Pottery Barn for really realistic-looking faux plants.”