Hidden Secrets Decorating with Beautiful Fake Plants
Moving into your new home is usually a stressful, time consuming and a costly exercise. We’ve all been there and it’s never something we look forward to. Most of you reading this have moved at some stage into a new residence either outgrowing the old one due to a new baby or hairy friend, that needs a bigger backyard to run around in. Either way, at times the new home can feel bare, lifeless and without any real character. This is a common problem, however, there are ways to add vibrant colour and vivacity, without having to spend a fortune on new rugs, mirrors, lamps, or painting the walls in outlandish hues! The answer is artificial plants.
What are artificial plants?
For those of us who haven’t heard of artificial plants, simply they are imitations of natural plants made from polyester(plastic), sitting inside pots with fake soil or textured soil plastics.
Why you should use artificial plants instead of real plants?
They provide the appearance of a real plant without the on-going watering, pruning or extensive maintenance to keep them looking healthy, warm and alive.
Here are 5 main advantages of using artificial plants over the real:
- Not limited to flower by season: The majority of real plants bloom for two weeks a year or for as long as three months, due to the changing seasons, weather conditions and sunlight. The benefit of ‘fake plants’ is that you can choose a variety that has flowers or foliage to suit your home style all year round.
- Less maintenance: The recognisable disadvantages are the on-going maintenance, costs and effort to maintain the plant only for it to bloom for a short season. Not ideal for a growing family where time is precious, changing nappies or trying to keep up with housework.
- Longer lasting: Choosing man-made plants to decorate your home resolves these issues with the longevity of a real plant. Plants are prone to insect damage, fungal disease and or plant nutrition issues (generally watering too often or not enough). It’s a balancing act, and if you don’t get it right, it has the potential to perish.
- Natural light and conditions not required: Buying artificial plants online removes the headache that comes with the right indoor or outdoor conditions for your plants at home. Plants require sunlight to thrive and flourish - something you won’t have to worry about with fake plants.
- Less expensive: Most buying decisions are based on emotions. For most of us, we don’t always take the time to consider long-term costs. If only we paused to consider the on-going costs accompanying our impulsive purchases. Evidently the same applies here. The list of maintenance costs includes soil treatments, spraying for insects, hiring a professional pruner, and buying larger pots as your plant out-grows the present one.
Are fake plants tacky?
From a style perspective, can fake plants appear to be cheap or tacky? The answer is a bit of both. To summarise, you can make anything appear gaudy if it’s not positioned correctly next to surrounding objects. Similarly, opting for a sub-standard alternative can give the same effect.
The best way to avoid tedious trial and error is to research your preferred décor ideas before reaching into your pocket. Allowing you to select your desired look and feel of your room, giving you a greater sense of how it would fit and work together to lift the vibe in the room.
Here is a list of indoor home plant style inspiration, we found online:
How to use artificial plants in your home
Selectively style plants in areas of your home where you feel they require an added punch of colour or vibrancy.
Consider adding fake plants to these common home spaces:
- Windowsills: Keep them guessing. Consider hanging fake plants with long foliage. The most common location to find indoor plants requiring sun throughout the year is the windowsill. This prime location is much-loved by our fake plant decorators as it provides the most realistic location to where you might place a living plant. A hidden benefit is that windowsill plants are never in the way.
- Corners: Room corners are empty spaces. Optimise this ideal location by introducing large potted fake plants, without compromising the size of the room, providing a feeling of depth.
- Stairs: Using plants on your stairs, leading to another level or room, is ideal only if your stairs are wide enough to avoid obstruction when walking up and down. Exercise common sense when it comes to adding anything in a path of an exit or entrance in your home.
- Hallways: another great location to add some colour and warmth to a dark and unused space in your home is the hallway. You can weave and meander foliage up to the ceiling or down the hall using pins or small lengths of rope to support long vines.
- Entry Points: To another space, or your front door. Leave a lasting impression on your guests as they enter your home with an inviting plant next to the front door. This provides a smooth transition from the outdoor to the indoor
- Room dividers: Using plants to divide a space is common amongst home stylists who don’t want to disturb the flow of energy with folding room dividers. Adding a selection plants to signify the beginning and end of a space allows you to create separation without disturbing the open plan feel of a home.
How to protect artificial plants with exposure to sunlight?
Maintaining the look for longer:
After some digging around online (insert digging joke here), we found that adding a layer of protective coating to artificial flowers or plants provides superior protection against harsh sun exposure or rain, extending the ‘life’ of what’s already fake! Go figure…
A forum post by Laura, provided the answer we were looking for - WD-40. She recommends spraying a couple of coats of WD-40 to help resist rain and loss of colour from the sun. This makes you wonder... if there is anything WD-40 can’t help with?
What if your fake plants never see the light of day?
Dust! It’s the only downside in achieving long-term satisfaction with plants both living and fake. Regardless, dusting is required frequently throughout the home, so is it is really a mood swinger? An answer only you can decide.
It’s clear
It’s clear that the benefits of indoor plants will add appeal and style to any home. A vibrant feel, a splash of colour or soothing transition between outside and inside. They provide a solution to homes that might otherwise feel bare or lifeless at an incredibly low cost and maintenance. Browse our range and add a welcoming charm to your home today!
Featured Image credit: pinterest.com.au