Materials
Are Artificial Plants Toxic and Which Materials to Avoid
You unbox a new faux palm, catch a sharp plastic smell, and suddenly wonder if you have just put something harmful in the room...
Materials and durability
Owen spent years around plastics and coatings before he wrote a word about decor, which is why he is difficult about the phrase UV rated. He runs the fade tests here and reports the ones that go badly as well as the ones that do not.
Materials
You unbox a new faux palm, catch a sharp plastic smell, and suddenly wonder if you have just put something harmful in the room...
Care and Cleaning
The fern by the south window used to be deep green. Now one side has gone a chalky blue grey, and the leaves nearest the glass...
Materials
You want greenery that needs no watering, and the shop offers two answers at very different prices: a "preserved" palm that was...
Care and Cleaning
You run a finger along a leaf and it drags, slightly tacky, with a grey film that dust seems to stick to the moment you clean...
Materials
You pay extra for a fiddle leaf fig labelled "hand painted," and when it arrives the leaves look exactly like the cheaper one...
Buying Guides
A faux boxwood ball that looked crisp and green in May can turn chalky blue by September if it sits on a sunny balcony.