Martha Stewart rolls in her gardening bed (have you seen her recently? The woman looks incredibly visible). Most stylists are pretty anti-pho plants, flowers, branches just because the actual thing is very pretty and more organic/subtle/specially good looking. And then there’s the whole problem with fake flower plastics. This is not great. Martha doesn’t approve, to say the least.
So why does it change? Why now?
Well, a few weeks after I styling/shooting my brother’s house for a big reveal (come soon!) I went to their house and all the real clean summer branches were dead or the vase was empty. The once clean vignette looked sad and I felt sad. But I knew my brother and Katie and I knew they needed my help. Not only do they don’t want pressure to make everything look perfect at the request of their sister, but also what to clip, what to buy, what type of vase looks good, and frankly, the bad real flower arrangement doesn’t show any flowers at all).
My general mind as a designer is to create a home that reduces stress for people. They said yes (with peace of mind). What we found blew us away (not the 90s anymore).
Listen, this is not me at my home, but I recognize that I have enough privileges to live on a property with lots of real flowers and trees just outside my door. moreoverI really love placing flowers and branches around the house. That’s very easy for me (lol… after 20 years of experience, when women are really skilled from decades of effort, they have to stop saying things are easy). But not everyone is in my position, and I can’t have sad, withered branches, empty vases, random flower arrangements from grocery stores, and even worse, I can’t have really ugly fake flowers. My brother’s new fake summer branch we bought and arranged looked incredibly realistic… Fall has come, and “Queen Anne’s Lace” and “Cherry Blossoms” have become obviously fake (to me) because there is no “key to the fake branch program – non-seasonal flower key) since there is no flower presence in September. So, make sure their homes are and make sure I’ve worked hard for four years and look beautiful all year round. Every season, I once again offered to switch summer “branches”! I think I just put my last nail on the co-worker who worked for Martha, but I’m off here.
Fake Extra Large Eucalyptus Branch | Fake Japanese Maple Stem | Fake Black Plum Leaf | Fake Sedum Stem | Fake seed eucalyptus stems | Fake Learning Aspen Branch | Fake Blue Sea Holly Stem | Fake Burgundy Cosmostem | Fake Meadow Sedge Stem (Similar)| Fake Siberia Elm branch | Fake autumn leaves branches
These were the best and absolute best (we bought a lot more). The keys to these works were the flower/leaf tone (i.e., not bright green, but not glossy) and stem shape (we placed so that all the stems were really organic and “random” like real plants). I tried to hide the underside of the green leaves (it gives it). Also, it doesn’t hurt that every vase is pretty good.
My Favorite Fake Flowers – What started this whole thing
Can you see the cute flowers plunging into the coffee table? They caused it all. They looked incredibly realistic and made me rethink the entire category (and my snobbery). We didn’t take full shots (we returned to portraits a few weeks after filming the release, but we didn’t reshoot the coffee table with a fake one).
Fake Burgundy Cosmostem | vase
But it’s here – And how they flop and style, helping them to make them look even more realistic. The deep, dark colors are really beautiful and subtle, with color variations, but not too many. I actually think these are suitable for all four seasons, and they are styled very easily in a vase.
Fake autumn leaves branches |Vase (not available)
these It was so pretty (and big), completely flops, and it became so realistic and dramatic. Perfect for entry tables and where height and volume are needed.
Fake autumn leaves branches |Vase (not available)
I went shopping at Target, World Market, Crate and Barrel, West Elm and CB2.
Fake Learning Aspen Branch | vase
We’ll put it these In their mudroom (sorry, I didn’t take a photo), they looked pretty realistic. Green turns the “turn” hint red.
Fake seed eucalyptus stems | vase
these It looks really realistic now, they are everywhere and the eucalyptus is really dry, so you can escape with them in such a cute vase for months while looking like it’s real.
Fake Sedum Stem |Vase (same)
In their powder bathroom, we will put it These sweet little dark red sedum. The powder bath is the only bathroom that makes sure I have consistently a fresh twig as people actually see it.
Fake Siberia Elm branch | vase
these Here, the more spindly branches work very well. Pick up the gold and burgundy from the painting (Oh, sneak peeks for dining room styling!!!). These are oddly expensive and require large bulbous vases to offset spindle properties (i.e. not tall, thin vases).
Fake Black Plum Leaf | vase (resemble)
These peopleexcellent from the target (screams to Joan Na Gaines). The most budget friendly and excellent group (10/10). The colors are perfect and nothing looks fake about them.
Fakes Mall Golden Leaf Branch | vase
Another great Autumn branches It looks very realistic. I think branches are easier to implement than FYI flowers in the Faux category. These work very well in most rooms.
Fake Japanese Maple Stem | vase (resemble)
these Wild Japanese maple It was really well executed. Again with changes in leaf color and organic shape of stems.
Fake Blue Sea Holly Stem | vase
Now I feel like I’ve been able to style these A little better (we were in a great hurry, TBH), these are up and down too straight, but I still think they are great and they will live there forever 🙂
Fake Extra Large Eucalyptus Branch | vase
these The huge oversized eucalyptus we thought we could work at home, but they need a credenza against a huge entrance table or wall (too big for a dining table). But they looked very realistic.
So you have it – never say 🙂 You always learn, right? Again, if cutting outside or shopping for seasonal greens brings joy, stick to the truth. But if you have a really good fake version, you will love your home more and make your life easier, then you are not alone. I hope some of these help 🙂
*photograph Caitlyn Green
Source: Emily Henderson – stylebyemilyhenderson.com
