How to Shop for … Fake Houseplants
Follow these five steps to spruce up your space with faux botanicals.
Ignore the haters—there’s no shame in having a mixture of real and fake plants in your home. There are so many realistic-looking options these days that can enhance a space without being obvious to visitors. If you live in a home with limited or harsh light or lack a green thumb, fake house plants are an excellent decor option to get the look without the commitment.
While the selection of faux plants has certainly improved, you still need to choose carefully. If possible, shop in person with these tips in mind:
1. Choose your botanical type.
Take a good look at your space. Do you have a corner or shelf that could use a burst of color or an entire windowsill to fill? Like a piece of furniture, be sure to measure the area to make sure you buy a plant that fits and balances in terms of scale when compared to the other elements around it. I think green plants like palms and succulents are the easiest to find quality fakes, whereas flowers can be trickier.
2. Check the color.
Compare the color of the fake plant with its living counterpart to check for consistency and authenticity. Use photos or a real one if you can get your hands on it. Avoid oversaturated, bright colors, as they can stand out as artificial, and any plants that look too perfect. Real ones will have flaws and variations in the color and size of the blooms, leaves, etc.
3. Check the texture.
Another reason to shop for fake houseplants in person is so you can touch them. Everyone’s grandmother probably had a vase of silk flowers in their home, and as soon as you got within a foot of them, you could tell. The materials used have improved, giving the appearance and feel of waxy leaves and soft petals without looking frayed and dusty.
4. Pick the right vessel.
Your faux plants won’t need water, so how you display them takes some consideration. If you opt for a clear vase, fill it with stones to hide the ends of the stems. You can also use stones or faux moss to cover plastic “soil” inside a pot. Make sure potted plants are put in a basket or larger pot deep enough to hide the base.
5. Place them carefully.
Where you put faux plants in your house can give them away. I like to place faux plants up higher to help them blend into the room more and be less obvious. However, you should also keep in mind where a certain type of plant would normally thrive in terms of light. For example, a palm wouldn’t normally survive in a dark bathroom. On the other hand, some branches can make a creative centerpiece, or look great inside a floor vase in a corner or beside the fireplace.
Want more tips? Learn how to shop for a weekender bag here.
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