Adding green to your everyday design
We are getting the green itch and not just because it’s St. Patrick’s Day, but we can feel that Spring is on its way! Call it luck of the Irish if you have been wanting to add some green into your everyday design, as you have hit gold with this blog. Whether you go faux or the real deal, adding green to your everyday design changes the tone both physically and mentally. Let’s dig into adding green to your everyday design!
Go with the real deal greens in your design...
If you have a sunny room that can get a bit toasty when the sun is shining, real plants are the way to go. Of course, there is the fact that you have to remember to water, trim and keep them alive and away from small children, but the health benefits will be worth it.
Here is the cliff notes of what really happens …. By using the energy of sunlight, plants can convert carbon dioxide and water into carbohydrates and oxygen in a process called photosynthesis. As photosynthesis requires sunlight, this process only happens during the day. We often like to think of this as plants `breathing in carbon dioxide and `breathing out oxygen.
If you have a green thumb and find it therapeutic this is the way to go! Us twiners have some of our most favorite memories of our mom taking us to our favorite local greenhouse. We would get lost in there and spend hours pulling it all together, and we never left there empty handed. It was time with her and time to just take in the deep breaths and for some reason when we were there, the world seemed to fade away outside. You can find us wondering the isles of our local greenery shops like Two Seasons Greenhouse (located in Belding, MI), Flowerland (in Grand Rapids) and other miscellaneous shops.
Caring for real plants is also a bit easier as you can wipe, wash and spray them down quickly. Cleaning up their droppings and making sure you are trimming accordingly to the species can be a bit of a work, but we love that it gives us something mindless to do.
And why do we like to get dirty when potting? We love the thought of our own personal greenhouse at our home to step away and into in the winter months. It is also a really good thing for kiddos to do with you. As mommas of all boys, they love to play in dirt so asking for help to plant and get dirty, you bet your bottom dollar we have some serious takers. Now if you are not digging (pun intended) any of this real deal biz, read on!
Keeping it simple with faux greens...
Let’s be real, it can be hard to keep kids and plants alive at the same time, am I right? Somethings gotta give and it surely is not the kids, ha! If you ask us design duo, do we wish we had real plants in our homes…. the answer is yes, but the reality is it’s not happening until everyone needs less of mom in the daily grind. However, we do not want to sacrifice the look and feel it gives us in our spaces.
Here are some winners we had to share from Amazon, World Market and Wayfair, and HomeGoods and more! Be sure to read all of the specs on size, potted in a plastic or decorative planter, etc. when ordering as you might be expecting to get a tree and end up with a mantel size cutie!
Our favorite of tree's and larger plants:
1. Fiddle fig leaf tree
2. Snake plants
3. Agave plant
4. Nandina tree
5. Olive tree
6. Cactus
Moving onto walls and small decorative spaces with a few more of our favorite finds.
7. Ivy
8. String of pearls
9. · Fiddle leaf fig plant
10. · Tradescantia houseplant
Caring for those faux babies, can be easy too! Using microfiber cloth or brushes (tooth or soft tipped paint brush) or Swiffers can help get built up dust away in a flash.
We do have a few no-no’s of faux plants to be aware of.
1- Fake rain drops, uh no thank you! Steer clear of this look as it looks cheap and your home is not a rain forest so that just not realistic.
2- Say nay to the fake hay! Your filler should be more natural like moss or dirt looking to really blend in with the real beauties.
3- Fake berries in with greenery. We are not saying we don’t like a good old fake berry bunch but mixing the two just doesn’t do it for us as they tend to look very plastic-y.
Don’t forget the pots, baskets, and decorative doo-dads to put those plants in. Tone it down with offset colors like a neutral basket, box or bin, or make it wild with fun ceramic pots in rad colors. We see another post coming soon for this point!
Whichever way you choose to doll up your spaces with these greenies, it will be a sure win and add a level of design interest. On that note, from this design duo who graduated from MSU, it would be silly not to end with … GO GREEN (GO WHITE!)!