Faux Plants for Indoors

Interior Redoux
by Interior Redoux
3 Materials
$10
10 Minutes
Easy

I love using plants in my decor.


They’re natural, organic, they clean the air we breathe,

and they bring so much life to a space.

But if you’ve been around here for more than a few minutes,

then you know that I struggle with keeping real plants alive.

(You can read about that HERE)


So lately I’ve been using just a few faux plants here and there in my decor.

And to be honest,

sometimes you can’t tell the difference between real and faux.

But not all fake plants are created equal,

so here are my best tips about

using faux plans for indoors:




CHOOSE REALISTIC LOOKING PLANTS


Let’s face it — there are just some bad looking fake plants out there.


BUT — there are also some really good ones out there too!

So, to begin with, get the best looking artificial plant you can find.


Look for foliage with some variation in color, size and shape.

It also helps if there are some leaves that look more mature and some that look ‘just sprouted’.


This is just an inexpensive stem I found at Hobby Lobby but it looks surprisingly real.


‘PLANT’ YOUR STEM


Stick your stem into an old pot of dried dirt (you know I have lots of those around from some of my less fortunate house plants!)

Make sure to push it all the way down to where the branches come out of the stem.

If the stem is too long, you can cut some off of the bottom with wire cutters.



PUT THE POT INTO A DECORATIVE CONTAINER


I’m using my vintage soup tureen

but you could use any type of planter or pot.



COVER THE PLASTIC POT WITH SPANISH MOSS


Stuff Spanish moss around the edges of the plastic pot to hide it

I like to leave a little of the dirt showing to add to the realistic effect.


FLUFF THE FOLIAGE


Gently pull the branches apart and arrange them so they look the way a live plant would grow.

Darker, more mature leaves are going to be at the center and the base of the plant while the smaller, lighter ‘new’ leaves will be more out on the ends of the branches.



MIX FAUX WITH REAL PLANTS


I think faux plants look more believable when they’re placed next to live indoor plants.

Mix your artificial plant in with different varieties of real plants. (You don’t want to place them next to a real version of the same variety as the faux plant — it’ll just make it obvious that the fake is a fake.)



KEEP ‘EM CLEAN


Faux plants definitely look their worst when they’re dusty. So clean them regularly.

Blow them off with an air compressor or compressed air in a can. Or take them out of the pot and rinse them with water.


ENJOY THEM FROM A DISTANCE


Sometimes faux plants don’t look so good close up but when you step a few feet away — they become believable.

Put your fakes up on high shelves

Or on a table across the room

And they look very convincing!

(See how I made this table lamp HERE)


The best thing about faux plants for indoors is


they never need watering,


or any attention at all


and they ‘live’ forever


which is great


because my house is usually the place


where plants go to die…

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  • Gail Seckel Wells Gail Seckel Wells on Jun 20, 2022

    Love it! On a different note, did you build the shelves & cabinets? On my to do list :)

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  • Mic82983013 Mic82983013 on Jun 19, 2023

    My cat pulled all the olives off a 'very convincing ($$$)' faux olive tree. That rascal doesn't leave the live stuff alone for certain. I agree with Patty. Our deep shade front window boxes have very convincing faux geraniums in them. Looks great from the street, no watering, no dead-from-oppressive-heat plants all through the summer.

    • Interior Redoux Interior Redoux on Jun 19, 2023

      Great idea about the geraniums in the window boxes, Mic!

      Too bad about your olives -- hope the tree still looks okay without them 😊

  • Mic82983013 Mic82983013 on Jun 20, 2023

    I had to buy stems to replace the ones he chewed. He also chewed the leaves...he's like a dog....

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