I just made myself a FAKE FLOWER arrangement and put it on top of my armoire in my living room!! Am I living on the edge or what?!! Is Martha McCully going to come to my house and arrest me now? I feel like such a rebel!

I think it looks great and IDGA(bleep) if that was the #1 thing to not have in your home

I probably won't be able to post on here anymore because I committed such a design don't.

I saw Constance make a fake flower arrangement on her show the other day (which doesn't say much, I know). The arrangement turned out nicely but the room -- not so much!! Sorry Rogue Phantom

quote:

saw Constance make a fake flower arrangement on her show the other day (which doesn't say much, I know). The arrangement turned out nicely but the room -- not so much!! Sorry Rogue Phantom

Latte: I say go for it. Design - is what you like. Silk Flower arranging will come into vogue again - everything does and fake flowers is a money maker (someone will bring it back)

The "Phantom" family (phantom and 2 sons -Rogue and Ghost) are still loyal to their Constance. After many of us joined our own message board - I get to talk to him every day! We are laughing at his wit every day. He still is enamored with Constance and her many talents in decorating.

Silk Flower arranging will make a come back. I am tired of designers telling me to go with fresh flowers.I cannot afford or have the time to get "fresh" flowers all the time. I never understand that concept and the "fruit" concept.
I have 2 people living here - the fruit would rot before we could consume all of it and would you date it and rotate it. Too much work for me.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: chrissyfrog,

My name is Andrea and I am a silkfloweraholic.

I also just made a silk flower arrangement. My husband sent me roses about four years ago in a very tall, but beautiful, red glass vase. We just redid the laundry room and I thought the vase with flowers would look really nice on top of the cabinets.

It DOES look very nice. Granted, a laundry room is hardly a decorating fashion statement, but when you live in Ohio, you get excited over little things...lol.

I also have three arragements around that were made by my dearest of all dear mothers before she passed away. I don't know of a single person that would be able to convince me to take those arrangements out of the rooms they are in.

Unless you are trying to sell your home and make it look more appealing to the masses, my mindset is you have around you the things you like, the things you like to look at, and the things that make you happy.

Latte....go for it......I know that fresh flowers are supposed to be the "only" thing that you can do if you want a "well-designed" house but that goes against the first rule of design: It has to work for the family who lives there. In all fairness I think the backlash against fake flowers is because of all those horrible plastic flowers you sometimes see that are dripping with dust. I've seen some lovely arrangements that I really had to go up to and touch to determine if they were real or not. Sure, fresh flowers are wonderful, look good and smell great but there is nothing worse than a bouquet of flowers with half the petals on the table and the vase half filled w/ stinky water. Do what makes you happy, just show some restraint and don't plaster them everywhere.

I'd love to have $300 or so to buy one of these arrangements Flowers

I use silk flowers all the time. I just keep them dusted off on a regular basis. I love real flowers and plants but I just can't seem to keep them alive so silk is "in" for me.

I live in a Southern California desert region.
Flowers out here last about one second or less. I have two floral arrangements I designed using phelanopsis(sp?) orchid. I used just a spray of them so it looks natural. Come to think of it, I have one arrangement that was purchased from Gumps in San Francisco.
So Phooey to all those who say that silk flowers are a no no. I can think of several designers that appear on this channel who are no no's as well. Any yet they are still here to annoy us all the time.

I think the key is....

"Everything in Moderation"

....meaning, a great silk arrangement is fine. 3 arrangements in every room of the house is...suffocating!

Enjoy your arrangement!

And luvpurple....those are FABULOUS looking arrangements....maybe it's true, you get what you pay for!

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Gail_D,

i'm not a fan of fake greenery but boy they sure do look "lush" and wouldn't die like real ones do in my house!
i do have some dried eucalyptus for the wonderful scent they give.

i think design trends and no-nos rules are to be broken!

I nearly bought a bouquet of fake sunflowers the other day.. i only held back as I'm trying to RID my house of excess. But frankly, buying new flowers to display and toss is a huge waste of cash. I tried to grow them this summer but they only got a foot high and the rabbits ate them.

I am so grateful photos aren't posted on this board because if they were and I saw one faux aka fake greenery or flowers on this board I sweah I'll pass out from the horror.



Seriously, one of my fondest memories is the day my sister and I put plastic flowers in vases on her new end tables. Fake flowers created many a smile on the faces of those of us who have allergies.

To hold those old flowers in my hands right now would almost be as good as holding a coffee, pistachio and black raspberry ice cream parfait with hot chocolate, pineapple, and strawberries in that order.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: yardbee,

Chalk me up as somebody who breaks the rules too! I have a few silk and dried arrangements. I keep them at a minimum and try to keep them dusted.

A really quick and easy way to clean artifical flowers is to put them in a paperbag with salt and shake. It doesn't hurt the flowers and they come out clean.

Just don't get carried away and start putting out fake plants outdoors, OK? .

My sweet but nutty neighbor not only put out fake pointsettias, but he insists on "watering" them so that the neighbors think his plants are for real.

I bet your neighbor is happy; he isn't trying to keep up with the jones!

This message has been edited. Last edited by: chrissyfrog,

My neighbor is not happy; he's just cuckoo.

When my sister died, I brought home some of her fake flower arrangements (2). They are not cheap "dime store" arrangements. She probably had them done to her specifications. Anyway, I keep them for sentimental reasons. She had a large ficus tree, too, but she had sprayed it with Febreeze and I had to get rid of it because I'm sensitive to perfumes. Sold it for $15.00.

I'm enough of a rebel to do whatever I think is right for me and not put too much stock in what the "decoraters" say.

Latte,
I've always thought good looking design is pointless if it doesn't function well...and for the top of an amoire, well, silk flowers seem pretty functional to me!

For two enthusiastically misguided years I purchased a fresh white Phalaenopsis every month to go in my MBath (walls are a fabulous deep, dark green-Ralph Lauren River Rock paint, Pacific Bluffs).

I won't even tell you how much **$ I spent on that folly.

Then one day, I wised up, bought a good quality (gasp) fake orchid, and no one is the wiser except my bank account. (I dust it with that Air in a Can stuff used to clean camera's and computers).

No one who knows me would ever, in a million years, think I would buy fake flowers...but, hey, they work!

This message has been edited. Last edited by: onaclearday,

quote:

Originally posted by onaclearday:
Latte,
I've always thought good looking design is pointless if it doesn't function well...and for the top of an amoire, well, silk flowers seem pretty functional to me!!

You're right on this one - the most beautiful room in the world is wasted if it doesn't function for the family.

You Go Girl

quote:

Originally posted by thelattefactor:
I just made myself a FAKE FLOWER arrangement and put it on top of my armoire in my living room!! Am I living on the edge or what?!! Is Martha McCully going to come to my house and arrest me now? I feel like such a rebel!

I think it looks great and IDGA(bleep) if that was the #1 thing to not have in your home

I probably won't be able to post on here anymore because I committed such a design don't.

I saw Constance make a fake flower arrangement on her show the other day (which doesn't say much, I know). The arrangement turned out nicely but the room -- not so much!! Sorry Rogue Phantom

Hey everyone I enjoyed reading all your posts. My sister-in-law was here the other day and she asked me if my flowers were real up there so I was so flattered and redeemed! Take that, Martha!!

And, I looked at the site that was recommended awhile back but of course isn't here anymore with the gorgeous synthetic arrangements (that are quite costly, I might add) and they were beautiful!! Thanks to whoever posted that.

BTW, I do love real flowers and I would love to grow a cutting garden in my yard but I can't seem to find any gardening shows on this channel to help me....

I would love to see some of these designers homes. I wonder what they really look like.