Emily Hurley You know, some fake plants are so realistic that you can barely tell unless you look really close. I think my only problem with fake plants is remembering to dust them. :)
abbshel I don't have a problem with one ore two, carefully placed, top quality trees in a natural part of the home. For example, in a corner by a window.
As far as florals - the large arrangements feel so 80's to me. I do like the smaller ones in clear glass placed as an accent to an arrangement of books or candles, etc.
Carolyn Albert-Kincl Design I don't inflict them on my clients but I must admit that I have two preserved palms in our bedroom, by windows. Preserved palms, to me, look far better than most fakes. That's my only excuse!
Darzy I have an aversion to fake plants and "silk" ficus trees, etc. I'd rather do tall sticks in a vase, or something else more "natural". I do like real palms Carolyn! But, I have to admit, I recently bought a small fake "succulent" little thing for my kitchen window sill from Pier 1. My daughter touched it and STILL thought it was real. lol
Théa Morash Fake plants can be tempting to folks without a green thumb (like myself), but I do think they almost always come off as tacky. What about something living but super low-maintenance?
eztia One way to "pull it off" is to place live plants closest to the door, where people will be looking closely and possibly touching the plants. As you get farther back in the room, you might introduce a high quality artificial plant along with some live plants. At the very back of the room, you can use high quality artificial plants. People will assume that all of them are real, based on the few live ones they encountered on the way in.
I learned this from a hotel conference room arranger.
Sigrid I hate them. They get dusty and are impossible to clean. Real trees renew their leaves. The trick to indoor plants is to buy fast-growing, easy-care plants, paying attention to your conditions (heat, light) in smallish, cheap sizes. You'll have to repot every year or two, but in a few years, some will have died and but you'll have a few big plants that can put up with your treatment of them and people will remark on your green thumb.
When that happens, don't get deluded and think you actually have a green thumb and waste money on difficult plants like orchids or bonsai.
If underwatering is a problem, plant in generously sized pots and make sure the soil is pretty dense (some potting soils are very light and dry out very quickly). Dirt from your garden usually works. Water generously every time you clean the room.
ASVInteriors I have to confess that I use them only because I am such a disaster with indoor plants! I bought a Cymbidium orchid plant that looked beautiful .... and then it didn't! So pragmatic solution was to buy as realistic stems as I could and stick them in the orchid pot. Now people really don't know they are fake! Friends have even watered them! Smoke and mirrors!!!
Darzy I will buy live ferns and accept that it will look bad in a a couple of months and will toss it out. It does bring "life" into the room and lasts a lot longer than fresh flowers. But, to answer your question, generally speaking, fake plants are a "No-No".
mmbroso Thank you all so much for the advice! I decided to buy some real plants and see how I do. I have a couple fake flowers in clear vases that I am keeping...for now...
rebeccagmyers Sometimes "fake" can be ok.....only if you use the appropriate "fake" for the "season", etc.....really can help out if you are out of town a good bit and just want some "live" plant look without the hassle of watering, etc. Dusting a bit and changing out (as previously mentioned) to fit in with the season, etc. Then can work beautifully.
As far as florals - the large arrangements feel so 80's to me. I do like the smaller ones in clear glass placed as an accent to an arrangement of books or candles, etc.
I learned this from a hotel conference room arranger.
When that happens, don't get deluded and think you actually have a green thumb and waste money on difficult plants like orchids or bonsai.
If underwatering is a problem, plant in generously sized pots and make sure the soil is pretty dense (some potting soils are very light and dry out very quickly). Dirt from your garden usually works. Water generously every time you clean the room.