How to style artificial plants

Style artificial plants as if they were real: put them where a real plant could grow, choose a size that suits the furniture around them, and group them in varied heights rather than scattering single plants around the room. The rules below cover placement, scale, grouping, shape and light, and the final section links to our guides for particular rooms and situations.

The five placement rules

1. Put plants where real ones could grow. A tree beside a window or a fern on a bathroom shelf looks natural because that is where you would expect to find one. In darker spots, choose plants that grow in shade in nature, such as ferns; our guide to artificial plants for dark rooms has more ideas.
2. Anchor each plant to something. A plant looks placed, rather than parked, when it relates to a piece of furniture or a feature: the end of a sofa, the corner beside a sideboard, the foot of a staircase or either side of a console table. See how to frame furniture with artificial plants.
3. Use corners and edges. Empty corners, the space beside a window and the end of a run of units are natural homes for floor plants. The middle of the floor rarely is.
4. Keep routes clear. Wide canopies in walkways get knocked and make a room feel cramped. Leave room to walk past comfortably and to open doors, drawers and cupboards.
5. Style from the main viewpoint. Decide where the plant will be seen from most, such as the sofa, the doorway or the desk, and turn it so its fullest side faces that way.

Scale and height

The most common styling problem is a plant that is too small for its spot. A single small plant on the floor of a large room looks lost; a floor plant that is a little taller than the furniture beside it looks intentional.

• Under 50cm: shelves, desks, windowsills and bedside tables. See our plants under 50cm.
• 50–90cm: side tables, sideboards and low spots on the floor. See plants from 50 to 90cm.
• 90–150cm: beside a sofa or armchair, in a hallway corner or at the end of a kitchen island. As a rule of thumb, a plant beside a sofa looks balanced when it is at least as tall as the sofa's back.
• Over 150cm: empty corners and rooms with high ceilings. See plants over 150cm.

For tall trees, measure from the floor to the ceiling first. As a rule of thumb, leave around 30–40cm of clear space above the foliage, and remember that a taller decorative planter adds to the overall height. The heights and spreads on our product pages are as arranged in our photos, and many of our plants and trees have wired stems or branches, so you can shape them narrower or wider to suit the space. Our artificial plant size guide goes into the measurements in detail.

Grouping

Groups look more natural than single plants dotted around a room, because that is how plants grow. A few rules of thumb:

• Vary the height. Combine a tall, a medium and a low plant, for example a 150cm tree, a 90cm floor plant and a 50cm plant on a side table, so the eye moves from one to the next.
• Odd numbers usually look more relaxed. Three plants arranged in a loose triangle look less formal than two or four in a row.
• Let them overlap. Place plants close enough that their leaves touch or overlap slightly, so the group reads as one display.
• Repeat one element. Using the same planter finish, or repeating one leaf type, ties different plants together.
• Use pairs for symmetry. Matching plants either side of a doorway, a bed, a sideboard or a window give a formal, balanced look. Clipped topiary works well here.

Our articles on grouping artificial plants for natural displays and creating symmetry with artificial plants show more examples.

Shape and texture

Plant shape does as much work as size. Think about the space the plant has to fill before you think about the species.

• Upright and narrow: bamboo, sansevieria and spiral topiary suit tight corners, narrow hallways and the gap beside a door.
• Wide and spreading: palms and monstera need width, so give them an open corner or the end of a sofa where the leaves won't be brushed.
• Bushy and rounded: ficus, bay balls and shrubs fill a corner or sit well on the floor beside a chair.
• Trailing: hanging and trailing plants soften the edge of a shelf, the top of a bookcase or kitchen units, and suit spaces with no floor room.

Mix leaf sizes within a group: a large-leaved plant beside a fine-leaved one makes both look more detailed. Mix greens as well, pairing a dark green with a lighter or variegated leaf. Flowering plants and orchids work best as an accent within the greenery rather than as the whole display.

Planters

The planter is part of the look. Metal, ceramic and fibreglass composite planters, including styles with wooden legs, suit different rooms, and a planter in the same finish as nearby lamps or handles helps a plant look as if it belongs. Browse all our planters, and hide the starter pot by standing it inside a planter with an opening a few centimetres wider and covering the top with gravel, bark or moss.

Shelves, tables and other surfaces

Surfaces need a lighter touch than floors, because plants share them with books, lamps and everyday objects.

• Shelves: mix a trailing plant, which hangs over the edge, with an upright one further along. Leave some shelves without plants so the display doesn't look crowded.
• Coffee tables: keep plants low enough to see over from the sofa, and set them to one side so there is still room for cups and books.
• Sideboards and console tables: a pair of matching plants, one at each end, gives a formal look; a single taller plant at one end with a lamp at the other gives a relaxed one.
• Windowsills: a row of small plants in matching pots suits a wide sill. Keep them out of strong sun unless they are UV-stabilised.

Light

Artificial plants don't need light, but they look more convincing when they are lit the way a real plant would be.

• Daylight: a plant near a window looks natural. If it isn't UV-stabilised, keep it out of direct sun, including sun through glass, because strong sunlight gradually fades foliage and flowers that aren't UV-stabilised.
• Lamps: a floor lamp or uplighter a short distance from a tree, with the bulb well clear of the leaves, throws leaf shadows onto the wall and ceiling in the evening, which adds depth.
• Dark corners: a plant in a dark corner can look flat. A small lamp nearby, or a lighter or variegated leaf, stops it disappearing.

Our article on how lighting changes the look of artificial plants goes further, and our artificial plant care guide explains how to keep plants in bright rooms from fading.

A simple method for styling any room

When you are starting from an empty room, or a room where the plants don't look right, work through these steps in order.

1. Stand in the doorway and note the spots your eye goes to first: usually a corner, the space beside a window and the main piece of furniture.
2. Place one larger floor plant in the most visible of those spots. This sets the scale for everything else.
3. Add a medium plant on the opposite side of the room, or on a sideboard, so the greenery isn't all at one end.
4. Add small plants to shelves, tables and windowsills, grouping them rather than putting one on every surface.
5. Check the heights. From the doorway, the plants should step up and down rather than all sitting at the same level.
6. Shape and finish. Shape every stem, hide every starter pot and turn each plant so its fullest side faces the room.

Styling small spaces

In a small room, one well-chosen plant usually looks better than several small ones. Choose upright shapes that take little floor space, use the walls and the tops of furniture for trailing plants, and keep the floor as clear as possible so the room still feels open. A mirror beside a plant doubles the greenery without taking more space. Our article on styling artificial plants in small rooms has more ideas.

Changing the look through the seasons

With artificial plants, you can change a display without waiting for anything to grow. Keep the main floor plants in place all year and change the smaller pieces around them:

• Spring and summer: add flowering stems and lighter greens. Browse our flower and foliage stems.
• Autumn: bring in warmer colours, such as our artificial maple trees.
• Winter: add garlands, wreaths and other seasonal pieces, then pack them away carefully in the new year.

Details that make artificial plants look real

• Shape every stem. Plants are packed tightly for delivery. Bend wired stems outwards and turn the leaves to face different directions.
• Hide the plastic pot. A visible starter pot is the quickest giveaway. Use a planter and a top layer of gravel, bark or moss.
• Keep them dusted. Dust dulls the colour of the leaves and makes them look artificial.
• Choose the right species for the setting. A tropical palm near a bright window looks more plausible than one in a dark hallway.

Our guide to the most realistic artificial plants explains which details matter most up close.

Common mistakes

• Buying too small. A plant that looked big in its box can look small in a room. Measure the spot first.
• Scattering single plants. Several small plants spread around a room look cluttered. Group them instead.
• Lining plants up at the same height. A row of identical heights looks like a shop display. Vary the heights.
• Leaving the starter pot on show. Stand it inside a planter.
• Skipping the shaping. Leaves that all point upwards, just as they came out of the box, look artificial.
• Putting non-UV plants in full sun. Choose UV-stabilised plants for sunny windows, conservatories and anywhere outside.
• Blocking walkways and doors. Plants in the way get knocked and bent out of shape.

See seven mistakes people make when styling artificial plants for more.

Styling guides for particular rooms and situations

For advice on specific rooms, start with our guide to artificial plants by room. For particular spots and situations, these articles go into more detail.

Spaces and surfaces

• Styling artificial plants on shelves and bookcases
• Styling artificial plants on coffee tables and dining tables
• Styling artificial plants in empty corners
• Styling artificial plants in hallways and corridors
• Using tall artificial plants in rooms with high ceilings
• Defining zones in open-plan homes
• Breaking up blank walls
• Styling ideas for hanging artificial plants

Situations and techniques

• Styling basics for beginners
• A styling checklist for arranging artificial plants
• Layering plants with lighting and textiles
• Decorating rental homes with artificial plants
• Using artificial plants when staging a home for sale