Faux Plants for Indoors
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…
Enjoyed the project?
Resources for this project:
Comments
Join the conversation
-
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 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 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....
-
Interior Redoux on Jun 20, 2023
LOL
-
-
Frequently asked questions
Have a question about this project?
Love it! On a different note, did you build the shelves & cabinets? On my to do list :)