Interior Design & Decor

Plant Life
I rarely use faux plants or flowers. There is no substitute for live plants. Not only do plants fill your home with oxygen, live plants give an authentic feeling to a room.
Keep in mind the whole room and what it might need to balance it out. Does your room need a large tray of orchids on the buffet to alleviate the stilted look of the mirror and candlesticks?
Or does your home need two large plants flanking an archway to an adjoining room to soften the entrance and make it more welcoming?
Or is a small plant in a unique woven leather basket trimmed in shells just what the coffee table needs to break up the flat surface?
Finding the right plant for the light level of your room is the key to keeping your plants alive, along with not over-watering. I buy a water meter for each of my clients so they can measure the moisture level of their plants before they water.
When choosing a plant, take into consideration the style of your home and the style discovery words. Ask yourself if the plant will fit your words and the architecture of your home. If your style discovery words are soft, round and romantic and you live in an old Victorian, potted palms and lacy asparagus and Boston ferns will be in keeping with you and your home.
A modern home may need a more scuptural plant such as a Dracaena or Rhaphidophora.
The use of live plants in your home will communicate genuine warmth and friendliness and will soften any rough edges you may have. Even if you have to replace a plant from time to time, the enjoyment you will get from plants is worth the money spent.

Designer Secret: If you have a spot that needs foliage, but light levels are too low to sustain a live plant, then go ahead and use a high-quality faux plant. If I have to use faux in one spot, that doesn’t keep me from using real plants in other spots. Often you can fool the eye into thinking they are all real.