8 Rules For Decorating With Fake Plants When You’re An Interior Designer

Do you use fake plants for interior design – we do!

Home décor experts and interior design companies aren’t hesitant. Artificial plants make for a lovely addition to any room. They give you all the charm of real plants with full permission to neglect them as you see fit. A beautiful marriage.

If you’re just starting out with faux plants, we confess a few rules to keep in mind if you’re committed to tricking a gardener or plant-lover into believing they’re looking at the real thing.

What To Look For

In a fake plant, to ensure it’s as real as it can get, look at the trunk or stems. Scan the leaves. Display it in a pretty planter. Most artificial plants are made with bendable wire inside. You can shape it to your liking, trying to capture a naturally chaotic and organic feel.

Greenery V. Flowers

Some artificial plants just don’t look very good. This is a mistake a lot of fake plant makers made early on. They tried to duplicate the look of flowers and often came up short. This is why most interior designers and home decorators prefer the look of faux greenery over faux flowers.

Greenery, in most cases, is a more organic artificial look than a lot of flowers although this admittedly varies from brand to brand.

Alternate Their Look Seasonally

If you are decorating for a specific day or event, this doesn’t apply. If you want the most stylish plants to stay that way, update them occasionally. Seeing the same plant looking the same in perpetuity is a dead giveaway they aren’t real. 

Brighten Up Dark Rooms

A dark room, a la a basement, is not a whole lot of fun when it’s bare and on its own. Even if a dark room is properly lit, there’s still a certain warmth missing. Try a gorgeous artificial plant or artificial tree here propped in the corner.

The Right Size

Decorating with faux plants, all the same rules of interior design and home décor apply. The proportions have to be right. Treat your artificial plant as any other item of décor. Fortunately, plants are often sold in a variety of sizes, from very small to those exceeding 10” in height.

Make It Look Less Fake

Help your faux plant along by potting it in a container where it looks real. Use real dirt. Use moss, wood chips, or stones to craft a real decorative look from natural materials. Also, a self-watering device makes for excellent trickery and will fool most into thinking what they’re looking at is real.

Dust Kills Vibrancy

You don’t have to water them, make sure they get enough sunlight, or get them in the right soil but artificial plants’ realism gets killed when they end up covered in dust. This goes along with switching things up seasonally.

Every few weeks, give your plants a look over and help keep artificial plants vibrant by doing an occasion microfiber cloth wipe-down.

Buy Premium Faux Plants

Don’t go for cheap. If you’re going to use fake plants for interior design, invest in it. A premium brand will deliver to you the most realistic-looking plant possible, with brands like Artiplanto handcrafting their creations.