I think there are better choices than fake ficus. How about a floor vase?

lol, mtnrd, I was also going to confess to a faux topiary but I thought it might dilute my anti ficus argument.

Your secret is safe with me, d. Worse yet, I looked at all those fancy Diane James ones, and ended going with one from Wayfair. : )

Have they ever been "in style"?? Real is always better than fake.

I have a floor vase that I got from an antique store. I change out the branches I put in it.

Have no objection to using faux, but with one caveat...get the very best/most realistic you can afford.

I'd rather have the best fake any day over a plant clinging to life with few leaves/dropping leaves and elongated stems reaching for light

They're dust catchers ... but so were the live plants that I killed with my very own little brown thumbs. I have several faux orchids around the house, and a little faux topiary on my coffee table. Apparently the cats think it looks real enough. They bite it.

It's not that they are out of style so much as sometimes they are just more in than out.

Remember when dried flowers were popular?

I like the idea of a large tall vase fill with flowering branches.

Our local art store has a department for silk flowers. They are expensive and many look very close to real. That said, there used to be a huge store that carried artificial flowers, and it went out of business.

I've always had a couple of large live plants in a corner of my living room, next to a window and kind of out of the way, but a nice backdrop in the room. I can't remember why, but a few years ago, something must have happened to one of them and I replaced it with a decent looking faux plant from Michael's. No one noticed. So eventually I replaced the other with faux and I love the ease. They are dust catchers, but I can either vacuum or dust without destroying the leaves like I would with the live plants. No leaf litter. No watering. No allergies. No bugs.

I think with careful selection you can get them so they look real enough to fool most everyone. I hate trying to dust real dried flowers or branches.

I don't like them, but do have a fake fern in an antique brass wine cooler, on top of a tall antique corner cupboard in a very dark corner. It needs dome green up there, but a live plant was difficult to water and did not do well in a corner of a northeast room, facing north. My compromise.

I'm not a fan either. I like the idea of a floor vase and branches -- that could be changed out seasonally.

Get a pedestal and put some art or sculpture on it. I have two pedestals - one wood and one glass. The glass one is in the dining room and has Mesoamerican sculptures on it, and the wood one is in the living room, and it has an African fan on it now that I can easily remove when I want to put a blooming plant on it, such as a bromeliad. Bromeliads keep their blooms for a very long time. I grow them outdoors and bring them inside in the evening when they bloom, but you can buy them already in bloom. If the space is between two windows, there should be enough light to keep a bromeliad alive, or you could buy an orchid in bloom. They have them for cheap at Trader Joe's. Otherwise, check Home Depot or Lowe's.

Timely post. For the last 20+ years I have had real plants. The idea of faux just seemed so wrong. Well for 20 years my live plants usually looked half dead. I have researched and followed care recommendations, with no real success. Just the other day I decided enough, I am going to look for some decent fakes. They have to be better than current situation.

Ida, may I ask where you purchased your orchids? I currently am looking for one and am dissatisfied with what I am finding :( Store or brand ? Thanks!

There are nice artificial plants out there, pricey but they don't die. I love this palace for faux. Rolling Greens Faux

I don't worry about whether what I like is "in" or "out". I have a huge garden but I almost always prefer to keep them in the garden. They last longer uncut and it gives not only me but my neighbors pleasure, all year long (ours is a Mediterranean climate).

When I bring flowers inside it's a mess within a few days. Plants take regular watering which I'm terrible at - we have periodic droughts so the garden is watered as seldom as possible. So I just don't remember to water indoors in various odd corners.

We just finished a remodel of half our home. My DH wanted to have some nice plants and flowers inside, but agreed with me that the mess and lack of light pointed us toward using silk plants instead.

It isn't easy to find realistic and well-done silk plants/flowers. I've had my best luck with Gumps and Smithsonian Museum. I've gotten some from Officescapes but they're not as good.

Thank you for your responses. They all helped a lot, and the tall vase w/ flowery branches was just what I was looking for, but had a mental block for some reason. First time I ever asked a question & appreciate the thoughtful comments.

Anything is better than my DMIL's plastic bamboo! She loved it, and kept it even long after it faded.

Donna

Beagles - I got a couple from Home Goods and at least one from Tuesday Morning. I wouldn't say they're the most realistic-looking faux orchids I've ever seen, but they didn't cost me an arm and a leg either. I think if I removed some of the blossoms, they might resemble a bit better the live one I tried to grow (but together my cat and I killed it).

As long as you keep them to a minimum. I still like my silk flower areangements I've put together, and really don't care what anyone thinks and if they're 'in style' or not. Also have a faux palm of some sort which fills a space very nicely, and don't see it going away any time soon. Decorators/designers don't dictate *your* style, they only make suggestions. ;)

Thanks Ida. I think we have a Tuesday Morning. I know we have a Home Goods. I'll visit :)

I think there are better choices than fake ficus. How about a floor vase?

*****

I love this floor vase and would think about adding lighted branches in the mix.

Silk plants were out of style for me as soon as I discovered anything about having a sense of style. About 20 years ago I remember being entirely disappointed and discouraged visiting a relative who had all the rooms decorated in silk faux flowers. Well before I discovered HGTV and any of those channels. I said nothing, but... to myself... uhh.

I guess I should be glad they weren't plastic!

"I guess I should be glad they weren't plastic!"

Yep, not at all attractive indoors and even worse outside!! And, yes, I DO see plastic flowers here and there used to "decorate" an outdoor plant bed. As a gardener myself (and a landscape designer), I find that rather abhorrent!!

The only faux plants I can tolerate are the lighted stems that are really more of a light feature to me than a plant - no leaves, just bare 'twigs' that end with a tiny LED light. Lots of times you can find just bare branches for sale at craft stores or nurseries - contorted willow branches are common and look beautiful indefinitely.

I have a large collection of living houseplants I use and there are some that require only minimal care and tolerate low lighting. And they are good for air purification in the house. I also always have fresh cut flowers in the house - it is my one big indulgence and they get replaced weekly. Not all that pricey either.......$5-10 I would otherwise spend on a coffee or two or something else equally as unnecessary. And they are such a huge enjoyment. I also think that blooming orchids are a great decorative touch and dead easy to grow as well. Most don't require strong light or frequent watering and the blooms last for months. Trader Joe's always has a large, inexpensive assortment, as does my local Safeway, and I consider them to be just a very long lasting bouquet of (un)cut flowers :-) I don't care if I can't keep them alive forever - 3-4 months and often longer of enjoyment for $20 bucks or less is to me more than worth it.

From the great ID David Eastin on using faux:

Beagles, Kirklands used to have very good orchids. The ones they get now aren't nearly as plausible (just as the ones at Homegoods aren't, either) but it's worth checking them from time to time. Occasionally a decent one slips through.

I see nothing wrong with silks, but the ones available these days are mostly pretty sad, the 21st-century version of plastic. I don't know where all the good ones went, but they sure are hard to find now.

I can't keep anything alive! These are gorgeous , but pricey!

Silk florals

Wow, as an avid gardener I can't on principle have fake plants indoors. I buy live orchids for $10-12 at Krogers and the blooms last 3 months, it fits my budget. One of my neighbors has a fake cacti arrangement that is absolutely stunning. It can be done, just not for me.

What a timely post. I have large Asian vases with large pothos plants growing in them. All the plants are on pedestals in my living/dining room. I was just wondering if live plants are out of style.

Beagles,

I picked up this orchid today at my Home Goods, it's not bad from a distance :) It was $25.

Count me in for faux!

The orchid on the coffee table was on clearance at Home Goods ($15) and the potted palm was from Old Time Pottery. The key to me is the actual pot. It has to look classy. The palm was in a tacky pot, but I found this larger, white glazed one from TJ Maxx for $30. It took a little work to get it stacked up in there correctly, but I think the final look is really nice and upscale.

And I love the fact that I don't have to water or worry about spillage. :)

Has anyone bought the faux orchids at Costco? They are on special thru 2/14 for $20, normally $30. They are large and have nice pots but I can't tell in the warehouse lighting if they will look remotely good at home. Guess there is only one way to find out!

Bluebell66 -- and Costco has such a good return policy!