How to Make Fake Plants Look Real: Tips for a Natural-Looking Interior

Artificial plants have been in the public eye since ancient times when the Chinese upper crust used them as hair accessories. At that time though, people didn’t concern themselves with how realistic these flowers looked.

Nowadays, one of the biggest considerations when buying artificial plants is whether they can trick the eye into thinking they’re real. Today, we’re over the flimsy, shiny, neon-green faux plants.

We need realism.

But sometimes, as the owner, you’re the one who can help the case. You just need to learn how to make fake plants look real.

In this guide, we’ll walk you through why realistic faux plants are a must and share 6 essential steps to help your fake plants blend seamlessly into your decor.

Why Do You Need Realistic Artificial Plants?

Because you don’t want to look like you’re decorating your home with toys.

Realism is key.

Just like you wouldn’t want a painting that looks flat hanging on your wall, you shouldn’t make do with a fake plant that looks blatantly artificial.

Not only will it detract from the aesthetic of your space but it will also look downright ugly. We don’t know about you but, we don’t want that in our homes.

Realistic artificial plants bring nature into your home without maintenance. This means appearance is one of the key aspects to look for when choosing your faux plant decor.

We can’t understate the impact fake plants that look real can have. They can make your home more comfortable, contribute to biophilic design and even incite many of the benefits you get from real plants.

It’s especially important in areas where you can’t maintain real plants, like dimly lit rooms or busy environments. In such spaces, fake plants are the pop of life (without actually being alive).

Plus, if you tend to connect with the flora you care for and enjoy maintaining your plants (instead of using them only as décor), you may feel upset every time a plant dies. If you want to avoid such feelings in the future, it’s good we have other options in mind, like real-looking artificial plants thatneverdie.

The key here is to select artificial plants that closely mimic their live counterparts in texture, colour, and detail.

How to Make Fake Plants Look Real in 6 Steps

So how can you achieve realism with an artificial plant?

For starters, you can follow our list of tips for making any artificial plant look more real. Some tips will ask you to think about various aspects before purchasing a faux plant, while others help you work with what you’ve already got.

Here’s what you can do:

1. Choose High-Quality Fake Plants

If you’re at the beginning stage of your decorating journey, you’ve got the upper hand in that you get to choose the best fake plant around.

When picking your faux plant, rate your contenders on realism – one of the telltale signs of high-quality faux plants.

Look for plants with lifelike details—such as natural variations in colour and texture, stems with a little give, and leaves that aren’t overly shiny. Real plants have imperfections, so a perfect, uniform fake plant will give itself away. Don’t look for perfection – it doesn’t exist in nature, so it should exist in decor inspired by nature.

Aside from this, consider how real plants look in terms of size, so you don’t be deceived by a faux plant that looks nice but its proportions are all wrong.

2. Clean the Plants Regularly

Dust is one of the biggest giveaways that your plants are fake.

Since artificial plants don’t grow or change, dust settles on the leaves and causes the plant to lose its lustre. This is a one-way ticket to a dull and lifeless-looking faux plant.

Luckily, there’s an easy way to avoid this. All you have to do is give your faux plants regular wipe-downs to remove all the debris.

Of course, this won’t mean you’re spending the same amount of time tending to them as you would to real plants. ‘Regular’ simply means you wipe the dust whenever you see it accumulating on the leaves, which can be as often as once a week or once in 2 months, depending on foot traffic.

If you’re unsure of how to clean your artificial plants, check out our cleaning guide.

3. Add Soil to the Planters

For potted plants, adding real soil or decorative moss can further enhance the realistic look. If you’re using a styrofoam, cardboard or plastic base, you can easily hide it under a few layers of soil.

This way, you’re contributing to your plants’ realism while also making your entire display look more natural. When you display a faux plant potted in soil, it’s much harder to detect artificiality.

Plus, adding soil to your planters is as easy as your ABCs. If you need a few tips, you can check out our potting guide to ensure you don’t compromise your plant’s appearance.

4. Get a Faux Vertical Garden Set

If you’re looking to install an artificial green wall that mimics living plants growing out of your wall, you’ve got options. Instead of buying the same panel with repetitive foliage in the same parts of the panel, consider getting a full set like the Luxury Triptych Garden.

The thing that makes this set more realistic is its natural variation in foliage. The set comes with 3 panels that have the same type of plant types but are packed differently.

That way, the leaves aren’t repetitive, which means they can mimic the natural growth of greenery. This is a key factor in ensuring that your faux green wall doesn’t look manufactured (even though it is!).

5. Fluff the Leaves

When we send our artificial plants and faux vertical gardens to your home, you’ll notice they come tightly packed. This is not how your plant should look.

The reason why we do this is to ensure safe delivery and to minimise the risk of branches and leaves tearing or breaking off. While we pay very close attention to how we handle our fauxliege in our warehouse, we can’t oversee plant handling during transport because we use third-party delivery.

Upon arrival, it’s up to you to fluff and adjust the leaves and branches so they assume their ‘natural’ position. Gently manipulate the stems and foliage to give them that spread-out appearance, which will make them look fuller and more realistic.

6. Mix With Real Greenery

Last but not least, don’t forget to incorporate your real plants into the display. Even if you’re keen on artificial foliage, you should still have real greenery in your home. This not only adds to the benefits of a nature-inspired space but also ensures your faux plants look real.

Combining artificial greenery with a few real plants breaks up the uniformity and further enhances the illusion of realism. This technique works especially well for indoor spaces where you can incorporate a few hardy live plants like succulents or ferns alongside your faux greenery.

Finishing Thoughts

Knowing how to make fake plants look real is a game-changer for your space.

Try out a few of these tips so you can blend your artificial plant decor into your interior and fool your friends into thinking you suddenly grew a green thumb. If you want bespoke tips for a seamless transition to artificial plants, contact our team and we’ll be on the case in no time.