This time of year when we are eager for the departure of winter, adding colorful fresh flowers around our homes is one way to welcome spring into our lives.
If you like the colorful look of flowers in your home, but hesitate when it comes to using silk flower arrangements, faux flowers or faux greenery when decorating your home for fear they will look cheap or not realistic, fear no more. This is old school thinking as the best fake florals and stems made and sold nowadays are made to look and feel like the real thing.
By learning my “must do” faux flowers decorating tips and tricks I have outlined in this post you will be creating realistic, flower arrangements to fit your decor style in no time.
Fake Flower Decorating Tips
I love fresh flowers and try to use them most of the time, but sometimes it is just not possible.
When I can’t find flowers or greenery in my yard or from the grocery store when desiring the visual joy of the color pops that flowers provide in my house, I don’t mind using fake flowers to create artificial floral arrangements.
Not just any fake flowers will do though, I am very picky about the faux flowers I buy and use in my home.
Learning these fake flower decorating tips and tricks will make a difference when it comes to making silk flowers or any faux floral arrangement look as realistic as possible.
Research Fresh Flowers
Before you can buy good-looking fake flowers you need to know what real ones truly look like. Visit a florist or look at images of real flowers online. Pinterest will have many so that is a good place to start researching.
Be sure to check out the leaves and their colors. Each flower has its own leaf shape, veining and texture and sometimes with faux flowers the blooms may look right, but the leaves are too dark or not the correct shape.
The reason these tulips look realistic is that their stems are thick and really resembles that of a real tulip. Many fake flowers come on thin wire stems and have cookie cutter dark green foliage.
The petals on these tulips have texture to them and the leaves have realistic looking veins which helps give a more realistic feel.
Don’t Use Fake Flowers in the Same Way Year After Year
To make artificial flower arrangements, faux greenery stems and wreaths look realistic when decorating, change how and where you use them in your home.
To ensure faux florals look real, change up where you place them so they don’t become static. Real flowers fade and dry up so you change what is in vases every few weeks. When using faux flowers you don’t have to change them weekly, but try to arrange them differently every season.
I have owned and use the same faux forsythia branches every spring. I have had them over 15 years. One spring I may place them in a vase on a sofa table, the next spring I will place them into a basket to help brighten up the firebox in my living room.
A few years ago I painted a vase with craft paint to place behind my sofa. In it I put the fake forsythia. I loved the way it came out, the vase and the flowers looked fresh and vibrant in my living room. When summer came the forsythia went into a bag and into storage.
The following spring, I placed the forsythia stems in a large basket. By moving faux florals from room to room you get lots of mileage out of your purchase.
Here is another way to change up the look of faux flowers. See the hydrangeas in the glass bottles on the mantel in the photo above? When I first decorated the mantel for spring, I placed real flowers in the bottles. They eventually died…
…so I went to my fake flower storage stash and plucked out a few faux purple hydrangea stems that I use to display on top of a cabinet in the kitchen of my previous house.
Presto-chango by doing this I added a totally new look and color pop for my living room at no cost.
Bend the Stems
A real flower does not stand perfectly straight on it’s stem, they droop to the sides of a vase. Using your hands, bend the wire stems slightly so they will stand more like a real flower.
Cut Your Flower Stems Apart
Just because fake flowers are sometimes sold in a bunch doesn’t mean they have to stay that way. Separate the bouquet/bunch into individual stems. If the stems are too long for the vase you want to use, cut the stems shorter.
All it takes is a few snips using an inexpensive pair of wire cutters and you’ve got a bunch of individual flower stems to arrange in no time. Don’t use scissors as you will ruin the blades.
Once cut, you can arrange and place the flowers just as you would fresh flowers. If using a glass vase this in even more important since you don’t want to see the stems being held together as a bush through the glass.
Handy Tip:
Bnd the stems to to the height you need to fit the height of the vase. This way if you want to use the stems in another size vase you can simply unbend them to their original height.
Use Only the Petals
Create faux blooming branches by removing the petals from artificial flowers and hot glue them to cut branches from your yard.
Add Filler Into Vases, Planters and Containers
To help space faux flowers when arranging them in a container or to make a small amount look like they are filling up a large container place a few bunched-up plastic grocery bags into the basket and around the stems so they would fall evenly around the basket.
I also bent the stems so they would be at a better visual height for the basket. If I didn’t add do these two things, the stems would not have filled the basket.
Don’t Aim for Perfection
Real flowers, their stems and leaves are not perfect. Fake flowers look better when they are not perfectly arranged or placed perfectly symmetrical.
Here is another way to use the same flowers in different ways as I mentioned earlier in this post. These are the same flowers that I used in the vase shown above, but for a table, I removed the flowers heads from the stems and placed them in a wood bowl around the candle. When the summer ends, I will put the flower heads back on their stems.
Add Water Into a Clear Glass Vase
When using glass vases to display fake flowers, make sure to add water to the vase. This tip alone will make fake florals look more realistic. If metal ends of stems are visible, cut them off with wire cutters and then place in water.
Handy Tip:
To prevent the wire in faux stems from reacting with water, apply clear nail polish to the bottom of the stem and let dry. Then place in the water. Doing this will keep rust marks from forming on the glass.
Go Monochromatic
One thing I don’t like about grocery store flowers is that many are sold in mixed bouquets. I prefer to decorate enmasse or with flowers that are all one color and type. Find one fake flower in the color you like and fill the vase or container with them.
Allow a Few Buds or Petals to Drop
Natural things are always changing, real flowers have petals that drop. Cut a few petals from the blossoms and place on the table right under where the flowers hang over the vase.
Use Odd Numbers of Stems
When arranging flowers real or fake, use odd numbers of stems or branches. Odd numbers just look better. Buy enough to fill the vase. Buy more than you think you will need. If I get too many, I can always return them. You can’t do this with real flowers.
Use Flowers That Are in Season
An old-school rule about decorating with fake flowers was that you should only use fake flowers that are in season so they seem more realistic.
I agree with this, but don’t let it influence my decision if I see pretty pink tulips in the middle of winter for sale at the grocery store. Nowadays you can buy any season of flower any time of year at the grocery store or florist.
How to Store Faux Flowers and Faux Greenery
Fake or silk flowers will last a long time when you take care of them and store them so they don’t get damaged. Here are a few tips:
- Select Proper Storage Space: To keep faux flowers looking their best, choose a cool, dry storage area away from direct sunlight and humidity.
- Store in plastic bags. Store faux flowers in vases with plastic bags over them. This will keep them from dust, dirt, and pests. Choose a container that provides enough space for the flowers without compressing them too tightly. To do this I place the flowers upright in a container that is not in use. Depending on the size I cover with a dry cleaner or grocery bag.
How to Clean Faux Flowers
Just like any other home decor item, faux flowers require cleaning every once in awhile. To keep them looking their best, give them a dusting with a feather duster or cloth to wipe away accumulated dust.
Some faux flowers can be gently washed. Test a small leaf or petal with a mixture of cool water and a little bit of dish detergent before attempting to wash the entire bunch. After washing, air-dry them in a large vase where they are standing up with lots of room for airflow.
Regularly cleaning your faux flowers will help them stay beautiful and realistic for years.
Use Craft Store Coupons to Save Money
When buying artificial flowers from the craft store, I always wait until they are on sale or I have a 40% – 50% off coupon. I can get double the amount of flowers.
Make Your Own Faux Flowers
Did you know you can make your own DIY fake flowers. I made these with tissue paper.
Mix Faux Flowers With Other Natural Blooms
In the fall, I use a mass of fake fall flowers in a basket mixed with dried grass stalks on my mantel.
How to Add a Floral Scent
The only thing fake flowers will never have is that fresh flower smell. If you really want them to have fragrance, here are two ways I add fragrance to the blooms, but I test first
- Spritz Perfume – You hold the faux flower stem at a distance and lightly spray it all over.
- Use Essential Oils – Add one drop of essential oil directly to the center of a flower. Just be careful as the oil may stain the blooms.
In Conclusion
The next time you buy a bunch of fake flowers home, order stems online from Amazon or buy at a craft store keep an eye out for the best colors and most realistic looking flowers.
If you shop around and are choosey you will be surprised at just how nice faux flowers found at stores like Hobby Lobby, Pottery Barn and Crate & Barrel.
Know that no matter where you find faux flowers they are all always going to require a little tweaking to have them looking realistic. And best of all, unlike real flowers, the best artificial flowers will last for a long time so your purchase will be well worth it.
