CHIKA OSUJI
Flowers used to be special things years ago before they suddenly disappeared. But, the flower trend is back again.
It’s bigger and better if I may say, and much more innovative with artificial unique designs.
Flowers are beautiful and can be used in different areas of our homes and other areas outside the home.
Flowers and plants serve multiple functions. Aside from beautification, they can complement your home interior decor and bring your space to life; they even make people smile or convey some sort of emotion. That’s why people send flowers during Valentine’s Day, when offering an apology or a marriage proposal or expressing love.
Flowers or plants can come either live or in artificial/synthetic form, whichever way you love to have them, they both achieve the same purpose.
Flowers are used in so many areas and different functions as well. For wedding bouquets, for table dressing/event decor, photo background, outdoor garden, hallways, Living Room decor, bedroom, office desk, and office reception, the list goes on and on.
Live flowers and plants are usually much more appealing because of the freshness it brings to your space and the natural fragrance it diffuses.
Let’s quickly go to the gist, reasons you should add flowers to your space and I mean, any space, not just your home.
Five reasons to add flowers to your home interior decor
- Flowers Brightens/Cheers up your mood: Like earlier said, flowers convey some emotion, because of their colourful and naturalness. They lighten the atmosphere just like the feng shui design recommends adding a little bit of nature into your space using flowers (live plants). Seeing a beautiful pink flower or a colourful green plant or some happy yellow flower can brighten up your day. Just like colour psychology explains that colours can determine how you feel in a space, the same thing applies to flowers. they trigger happy emotions and heightens the feeling of satisfaction that positively affects your behaviour.
- Flowers are a natural air freshener: We had this plant outside our home while growing up. It was called Queen of the night. It smelled really great at night and we also had a lot of lemongrass planted and it had this refreshing smell every morning. So, aside from cheering you up, live plants naturally have sweet fragrances and you may not need diffusers or any form of air fresheners to keep your living room fresh. This works with live plants and may not be possible with synthetic plants but what I do with my artificial flowers is to drop block air fresheners in it so that it oozes good fragrance as live plants do.
- Flowers purify the air: It is scientifically proven that indoor plants remove pollutants from the air by absorbing these gases through their leaves and roots. While most leafy plants are adept at purifying indoor air, some of the plants that scientists have found most useful in removing VOCs include Japanese royal ferns, spider plants, Boston ferns, purple waffle plants, English ivy, areca palms, golden pothos, aloe vera, snake plants and peace lilies.
- Flowers make your space look luxurious: From our list of items that easily make your home look expensive, flowers and plants top the list. Whether it is synthetic or live plant, a little of it instantly screams luxury. A little plant on your office desk, by your bedside or even by your office reception, adds some sort of beauty. Less is always more, the simplest addition yields the most result.
- A welcoming effect: Adding some greenery to your home gives it more life. With proper lighting, the flowers offer some sort of serenity when you walk in, away from the stress and noise of the day. It is also said that they help reduce anxiety levels and make you feel relaxed. Lavender is especially known for its aromatherapy abilities. It can help promote calmness and wellness and even reduce mild pain.
If you didn’t know these reasons now you do. However the reasons are mostly applicable to natural live plants but synthetic plants also have some magical effects that live plants don’t.
If you are not sure what synthetic plants or artificial plants are, they are an imitation of natural flowers and plants for commercial and residential decorations.
They are what most people use a lot these days; these plastic or silk plants are designed, shaped and painted to look, smell and feel like the real thing.
Five advantages of using synthetic flowers
- No serious maintenance required: Synthetic plants are faux plastic plants and thus does not require the kind of care and attention that a live plant would require. That being said, you get to save a couple of bucks and time with faux plants because you don’t need to hire a gardener or water and trim regularly them or bother about hiring a florist. You can travel and not be bothered about who is gonna water your plant.
- Ever fresh like spring: Because it does not need seasonal changes to bloom or have shedding issues, synthetic plants will keep your space looking elegant all day and all year round. Unlike real plants that bloom and flourish seasonally.
- Longevity and durability: These faux plants don’t fade or change. They remain as beautiful as the first day you purchased them because you won’t need to deal with pest and water issues, the only maintenance required is dusting and cleaning when necessary.
- Appear as real: Some synthetic flowers and plants appear so real. if you have no prior knowledge that it is an artificial plant you won’t be able to tell if it’s real or not. This is one situation where you can actually eat your cake and still have it. Synthetic flowers are cheaper than live plants and can always come in handy. They are always available for your quick home designing or decor.
- Multiple choices for selection: When using real plants you are limited to one plant in a pot or vase at a time but with synthetic plants, you can have multiple pieces of plants and flowers right in the same pot or vase. You can use artificial creeping plants indoors and still keep your home clean without worrying about sweeping falling leaves daily. Under a normal circumstance, creeping plants grow naturally on walls outdoor and messes the ground with leaves.
Ok, guys, Pretend that you are an interior designer for a minute, let’s see how you can beautify your home with either a live plant or an artificial faux plant. I have a long list of where you can buy beautiful flowers and plants. Valentine’s Day is here, will you buy someone a bouquet?