Oh Faux Fabulous! In Praise of Faux Flowers That Look Real…

I’ve written about my love of faux flowers that look real before.

From my glorious hydranges from HomeSense to the fabulous faux florals from Jane Packer, I’ve had a thing about everlasting flowers for as long as I can remember.

Once upon a time they were considered a bit ‘naff’.

After all, plastic and silk is no patch on the real deal, is it?

Or is it?

Faux flowers that look real mixed with fresh flowers are a great way of creating large, inexpensive, floral arrangements
Real? Or faux flowers that look real? You decide.
Photo Credit: The Listed Home.

Fake It ‘Til You Make It

Once upon a time, silk flowers in gaudy colours were definitely no match for real blooms.

I remember my nan had a little arrangement in her front room. They were oh so clearly fake — and always covered in a layer of dust. No matter how much you tried to clean it off.

At a young age, I formed a very negative opinion of faux flowers!

Then, shortly after we’d bought our first house, I treated myself to a bunch of fake tulips that had tiny fairy lights in the end of each bloom. They made a great nightlight but — just like my nan’s fake flowers — couldn’t have been mistaken for real ones.

Until one day, a little A5 catalogue dropped onto my doormat; for BLOOM artificial flowers. They were nothing short of amazing.

And over the past 25 years, faux flowers that look real are springing up all over the place.

And this is why I love them…

Fave cardigan from Boden — all my jewellery is from Ottoman Hands
Photo Credit: The Listed Home.

Faux Flowers Are a Great Money Saver

Large, fresh flower arrangements can be pretty expensive if you’re buying them on a regular basis.

Companies like Bloom and Wild — and Freddie’s Flowers — offer a subscription service; but even with the discounts, it’s still pretty eye watering.

But! If you invest in some really good quality faux flowers that look real, you can save yourself a small fortune in the long-run.

Here’s what I do with mine.

1. Buy some cheap-as-chips flowers from the supermarket — or forage some out of the garden or hedgerow*.

* Cow Parsley season is great as you can fill your vases with fantastic foliage for free!

Photo Credit: The Listed Home.

2. Fill up one of your favourite large vases with water.

Photo Credit: The Listed Home.
Photo Credit: The Listed Home.

3. Separate out your fresh flowers and real touch flowers into two piles.

Photo Credit: The Listed Home.
Photo Credit: The Listed Home.

My current favourite faux flowers that look real are from Sophie Allport.

A couple of Delphinium sprays and Wax Flower stems; an Agapanthus bloom and — my favourite — a Eucalyptus spray branch.

It may seem like a relatively costly investment initially; but if you consider that they can be reused again and again, I think it’s a great money saver in the long-run.

Faux flowers that look real mixed with fresh flowers are a great way of creating large, inexpensive, floral arrangements
Photo Credit: The Listed Home.

4. Arrange your real flowers with the fake ones.

Faux flowers that look real mixed with fresh flowers are a great way of creating large, inexpensive, floral arrangements
My favourite ring from Ottoman Hands
Photo Credit: The Listed Home.
Faux flowers that look real mixed with fresh flowers are a great way of creating large, inexpensive, floral arrangements
Arranging my artificial flowers in vase
Photo Credit: The Listed Home.
Photo Credit: The Listed Home.
Photo Credit: The Listed Home.

5. Then stand back and admire your handy work!

Faux flowers that look real mixed with fresh flowers are a great way of creating large, inexpensive, floral arrangements
Photo Credit: The Listed Home.

The Great Pretender

Even if you don’t include any fresh flowers in your arrangement, if you put water in the vase first, your faux flowers will trick the eye.

But mixing fresh and faux up together is a brilliant way of creating large, impressive floral arrangements; that will last and last

Photo Credit: The Listed Home.
Photo Credit: The Listed Home.

So, you see.

Faux flowers that look real are definitely worth investing in!

A one time payment that’s similar to the cost of a florist bought bouquet; is all that’s needed to ensure you’ll have a vase full of beautiful blooms, that will last a lifetime.

Which means you can spend your hard earned cash on something else instead (in my case, jewellery!)!

Jewellery all from Ottoman Hands — I love their layering necklaces.
Photo Credit: The Listed Home.
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Caro Davies is a former art-director turned writer and content-creator, and editor behind UK lifestyle blog The Listed Home. She writes about home-related topics, from interiors and DIY to food and craft. The Listed Home has been featured in various publications, including Ideal Home, Grazia, and Homes & Antiques magazines.

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2 thoughts on “Oh Faux Fabulous! In Praise of Faux Flowers That Look Real…”

    • Thanks ever so much!! I love them — all the faux florals have saved me a small fortune. I’d love to buy subscription flowers but they’re so blooming expensive! If you’ll parson the pun ;)

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