Respectable Faux Flowers

Flipping through home decor magazines you would be surprised that many of the flower arrangements you see in high-end homes are made from artificial flowers. Fresh flower arrangements are a luxury most cannot afford every week, so for the rest of us, we can fake it. The stigma of faux flowers is largely because people are unaware of their newfound quality. Take a new look at these permanent decorations by high-end retailers like Gumps, Horchow, Neiman Marcus and Diane James. You can have a parade of faux flowers in your home throughout the year that will always look great and fool the most expert flower lover.

Horchow

All good flower arrangements have some greenery in them. The exception to this would be if it is only a single type of flower being used, like a dozen tulips or a dozen roses, in the arrangement. You have to be just as careful with the greenery that is used as the type of flowers. The best real flower arrangements actually use more than one type of greenery in them. They would use 3 so there are different textures. You can bring more texture by adding seashells, branches or faux fruits, like lemons and cranberries, for a new spin on your arrangements.

Gumps

You need to use colors and types of faux flowers carefully. There is a trend to make arrangements with many different colors of the same color pallet so you would use different shades of pink or white. This can be a very sophisticated look. If you want a more colorful arrangement make sure that your arrangement is not mixing hot pinks with rusts or any other unnatural combinations that will stand out in a bad way. Make sure branches are varying lengths and leaves are not flat to keep it looking natural.

Diane James

You also should think about the flowers themselves. Mixing daffodils, tulips and iris in an arrangement would make perfect sense as they are all spring flowers and would be growing at the same time of year. Use flowers for the season and ones that people can recognize, like lilies, tulips, irises, delphiniums and peonies. If it looks too weird and exotic then it will also look fake. Orchids are around all year, so they can easily pass for the real thing. Fed up with a withering orchid? Slip a faux bloom in with the real plant and moss.

Neiman Marcus

The cost of high-quality silk flowers may be prohibitive for some, but the flowers’ life span makes them a worthwhile investment when compared with fresh blooms, which must be replaced frequently. Never have a faux arrangement out for so long it gets old. It is when flower arrangements hang around so long that they get dusty that people really turn up their noses at them. If you have several different flower arrangements that you use through out the year you will enjoy them more. Store your faux flower arrangements with plastic over them so they will not get dusty. To prolong arrangements, dust them regularly and keep them out of direct sunlight. A blow-dryer on the cool setting is a quick and gentle way to keep your florals dust free.

Gumps 135 Post Street San Francisco, CA 94108. (415) 982-1616.

Horchow 877-944-9888.

Neiman Marcus 1.888.888.4757.

Diane James 877-4DIANEJ or 877-434-2635.