4 Ways To Make Your Decorative Fake Flowers Seem Real
Using decorative flowers in your home is a great way to bring bright and colorful blooms from the outdoors inside, where you can enjoy them year-round without worrying about wilting or mess. Choosing which fake flowers to incorporate is half the fun of adorning each room with them, but it can also be tricky to determine if they look real enough that visitors and guests won't be suspicious. If you prefer your decorative petals to look real, there are a few ways to ensure no one notices they aren't.
Just like with real flowers, setting up your arrangement will help it look aesthetically pleasing to guests and others in the house. Whenever buying real flowers to put in a vase at home, you have to put in some prep work to get them situated. The same goes for faux flowers; making sure they're fluffed and trimmed are a just few steps you can take to get them settled. One of the perks of using fake blooms for decor is the fact they can be enjoyed year-round, for as long as you choose to display them.
1. Research the real flowers
One of the easiest ways to pass off faux flowers for authentic, outdoor versions is to study the real thing. Before purchasing craft store blooms, take the time to visit your garden, a local nursery, or anywhere that sells bouquets and flowers. Spend a few minutes noting how they fall or bend when in a vase or bushel, and inspect the petals. Nature can produce truly incredible species, but no flower is perfect. Identifying their faults is almost as important as picking out what makes them look so appealing because both contribute to a "real" aesthetic.
According to Stone Gable Blog, you can even look up photos of your potential blooms online to see how they sit, grow, and interact with sunlight or other plants. From there, you can begin to shape your faux flowers to replicate what the living version would do in your home. Capturing nature's imperfections and applying them to your "perfect" faux decor will help make them more lifelike and engaging.
2. Try and mimic real flowers
Once you've done some research, pick out your favorite options and get ready to decorate. Whenever real flowers are placed inside a vase or other vessel, they tend to fall away from one another or even bend outward. Sanctuary Home Decor recommends bending faux stems to make each individual piece look more lifelike. If you have a shorter vase, you can even bend the bottoms of the flowers to sit better within it.
Make sure to choose a container that is either a solid color or opaque, so people can't see the bent stems that might not look as realistic below the surface. Adjusting your faux flowers should be easy, and it's important not to overthink things when positioning them. Imagine how real species would sit if they lacked a little support as most do within a vase, then gently angle each stem outward or toward another to replicate that movement. Not every flower has to be bent or adjusted, just the ones that sit against the lip of the vessel.
3. Prep your faux flowers
Faux flowers can sometimes lack depth or animation when they come from the store. They might have been pressed up against a display case or flattened during delivery, but regardless they might require some TLC after purchase. Once you get home and start prepping them to be set out, take a few minutes to inspect the leaves, petals, and the inner section. Fluff those pieces that look flat or "wilted" and adjust sections that need it, per Balsam Hill.
Check the middle of your blooms to make sure they look lifelike and haven't collected dust or dirt. Even over time, you'll want to clean faux flowers to ensure they don't collect detritus and look lackluster. According to Afloral, the best way to maintain silk petals is to wipe them off with a duster or wet cloth. You can also employ a hairdryer in the coolest setting, using it to blow away pesky dirt particles.
4. Trim and shape your flowers
Shaping and structuring your fake flower heads is important, but trimming the ends to properly fit into a container helps create depth and better replicate the aesthetic quality of real flowers. While you can easily bend faux flowers that are slightly too tall, wire cutters can help remove too much height. It's also important to trim away excess leaves or those that sit too low and affect how the blooms stand in their vase.
Pick out the containers or vessels you plan to use ahead of time, then cut each stem to match your preference. Take time to shift the leaves around to keep them from clumping together, and don't be afraid to remove some completely if a flower looks too lush or fake.
According to Afloral, it's important to keep them away from direct sunlight so the petals and colors don't fade. Once you've trimmed and shaped your bouquet, place it in an area that receives some sunlight but won't bleach the fabric.