A few years back I would have definitely said sin, I am since converted !
Nowadays, indoor plants & trees are regularly used to accessorise modern interiors and although they've been a prominent part of interior design for centuries they seem to be growing ever more popular.
Plants add 'life' to your interior, some can be quite sculptural, they are great for styling your home and perfect for filling those awkward corners and a necessity in my mind for dressing open shelving.
Years ago on my own quest to have my home filled with luscious indoor foliage it felt like I needed to diarise my Ikea trips to replace the poor victims of my NOT so green fingers. I would carefully study the little care card that came with the plant each time and fiercely followed its advice. But alas, they mostly never made it !
I found, at the time, that the most cost effective place to purchase real indoor plants was Ikea and they do really have a good selection at quite affordable prices. The image below shows a couple of the living (real ;)) plants available at Ikea.
I soon realised that the cost implication and general annoyance at my lack of ability to keep my plants alive needed a solution. I invested in a couple of 'good' faux plants ! They were so good that I even spotted my mum go over to have a sneaky little touch before enquiring whether they were real.
THIS IS THE KEY - MIX IT UP !
Having real plants next to, amongst and mingled in with its synthetic counterparts.
Artificial plants really have evolved and some of the good ones can be quite deceiving. Generally, unfortunately I would say the more you pay the more lifelike they tend look.
Investing in one good realistic large artificial house plant and then mix smaller potted plants amongst its living fellows works well. Real succulents are great for this and even I manage to keep them alive.
I am not AT ALL suggesting you should ditch living plants.
Scientific evidence has suggested there are many benefits of living plants in both your home and working environments.
They clean indoor air by reducing toxins, increasing humidity and producing oxygen
Therapeutic, reduce stress & fatigue
Boost mood, concentration and creativity
Tips
Mix it up
Artificial medium sized plants are great for high shelves, no watering needed. Ferns look fab and they add a bit of drama.
Planters planters planters, these are like a piece of furniture in the home and can be quite a statement.
Cactuses should never be artificial, I have not managed to find a single artificial cactus that does not look plastic. Plus these guys are very low maintenance can survive in poor soil conditions and need very little water and are quite striking... which is why I have quite a few - although be careful where you place them, they are very prickly.
Go for the larger faux plants that have either long linear type leaves or lots of small leaves. The palms pictured above are perfect and available at www.smidhome.co.uk whilst stocks last.
Use real plants with large architectural leaves, my favourite is the fiddle leaf fig tree pictured below looking stunning in both contemporary and more traditional environments.
Also, be aware if you have animals or small children as some indoor plants are not only prickly but can be poisonous so do your research !
Kommentare