A few weeks ago I got a question on what is my stance on faux plants vs. real plants. Here’s the exact question-
“I love plants and have many real ones but my house doesn’t get great light so none are really thriving. I went to interior design school and the instructor was so against them. I understand why but sometimes they look better and are way less maintenance and expense. Just curious what your thoughts are.” -Kallie
real plants
Here’s my answer- I love both. Real plants grow and change which makes them like living art. They clean the air and I love the ritual of watering them. My son helps me water and we tell the plants thank you for being pretty. I’m serious! Yes, you can make fun of me ;). I have a relationship with them and like to see them evolve with time.
But yeah, they can die and are expensive. And it’s stressful when you go out of town. I 100% think real plants are worth it. There is a time and a place for faux plants so let’s talk about that.
faux plants
I have faux plants where there isn’t much light and to add greenery which softens up spaces (even if it isn’t real). A big perk is that you can have something all year long (even when a plant is out of season)– that’s why I have a few faux peonies.
For me, if you’re going faux, it needs to look realistic though! And sometimes that means paying more money. But that’s the trade off for low maintenance!
faux plants in my house 
My porch has urn fillers that are absolutely stunning! It’s too early in the year to plant anything here now, so these are the perfect punch of life this space needs!
In my bathroom, I have peonies in a glass vase. These are huge and sooo beautiful! But they’re also expensive since they look realistic and the quantity of them. #worthit
On the shelves in my office, I have a little faux succulent. The one I got is no longer available, but this one is similar. What I love about little succulents is that they’re affordable and you can pop them anywhere and they look adorable.
These peonies in the marble vase are my favorite faux plants hands down. I’m sorry to say, they’re the most expensive too. They look gorgeous always though! They’re the perfect blush pink and I adore them.
Side note, if you need to dust your faux plants (especially if you do renovations like me), I suggest this spray.
My second favorite favorite faux plant (and its almost tied for first place), is this fiddle leaf fig. It’s $60 and looks beautiful. For a tree, that is an unheard of price!
Last up, is this little succulent. It’s similar to the other one, but has a cute face on the vase.
I thought I’d pull together a little round up of faux plants. I own most of these. The ones I don’t own, I’d buy in a second!
1 peonies / 2 snake plant / 3 hydrangea / 4 fiddle leaf fig / 5 peonies in glass / 6 fern / 7 magnolia / 8 succulent / 9 affordable peonies
affordable faux plants
Since a few of the plants in my house are more on the expensive size, I thought I’d share a few budget friendly options. Plus there’s containers to put them in for the perfect pairing.
1. Eucalyptus / 2. Pink Vase / 3. Forsythia / 4. White Vase / 5. Lemon Tree / 6. Hyacinth Basket / 7. Fiddle Leaf Fig / 8. Pink Basket
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I love real plants!! Once you spend time learning the light and water requirements, you can make any plant thrive. It’s also important not to try to force a plant in an area not conducive for it. We travel regularly and my plants are no worse off because I’ve trained them not to need water more than once a week. As beautiful as some of the fake ones are, I just can’t bring myself to do it.