The Best Faux Plants For Insta-Worthy Restaurant Interiors
It sometimes seems that everything has to be Instagram-worthy. The trend of photographing everything we come into contact with and posting it online may seem odd, but when it comes to promoting your business, it’s an important tool.
Whether the business is creating visual content or clientele is doing so to create a memory album, ensuring that your establishment has an Instagramable design is important to buoy reputation. Once the hardware and decor are in place, what better way to accessorise than with plants? Adding a touch of greenery or a colour pop with natural finishes can breathe life into spaces, making them more inviting and relaxing.
If the space allows for it, opting for statuesque plants or trees in corners, against walls, and in nooks can draw the room together. With smaller restaurants, there may not be enough room for these kinds of plants, so adapting the planting to fit the space is essential or it could become overwhelming for diners. Opting for trailing plants or foliage placed at height via hanging baskets or sconces can keep them out of the customer’s way whilst retaining the natural look. If there is space on window sills, choose pot plants that can cope with bright light and temperature changes - or go for faux with UV resistance. The Yucca below may need to be moved away from the window if the temperature drops, or if the sunlight becomes too bright.
Choosing Instagrammable Plants For Different Types Of Restaurants
Choosing the right plants for social media marketing within a restaurant will depend on a variety of factors. Let’s run through a few options for different kinds of establishments.
Indoor Plants For High-End And Luxury Restaurants
Fine dining should be accompanied by fine décor. If plants are to be part of this, then they should harmonise with the surroundings to project class and style. Diners who will pay a lot of money for Michelin Star quality food and vintage wines do not want to be overwhelmed with plants on their table, or in their way as they move around the restaurant. To add class and opulence to the space, choose plants that complement the décor and be able to cope with their environment. Subtlety may be more appropriate than a statement depending on your aesthetic, but whatever you choose, ensure quality products that have no disease or parts that are dying off. For live plants, it’s essential to prune and deadhead where appropriate to maintain the look of the plant.
If you believe that your restaurant’s environment may not be suitable to accommodate live plants, or that you will be able to supply the right level of maintenance to keep them looking great, then it’s always worth considering high-quality faux products. With the enhanced technologies and materials now available to manufacturers, the quality of premium artificial flowers, plants, shrubs, and trees is excellent. There is no reason why clientele would be able to spot that these products are not real without very close inspection. They will certainly always be ready for Instagram! To maintain their good looks and impress your customers, ensure you keep them clean.
Notice how the plants in this restaurant have been carefully positioned so they don’t interfere with the seating arrangement. Diners will not have to navigate pots and containers to find their seats. These plants are carefully situated on walls, suspended from ceilings, and in non-obtrusive, are-dividing planters. Options here include trailing grapevines, geraniums, and box (or buxus). This is only a small selection of potentially good choices for a high-end, fine-dining restaurant.
Plants For Mid-Range And Family Venues
There is no hard and fast rule for how a restaurant is decorated with plants but when there’s likely to be frequent footfall and small people running about, plant choices should suit the customer demographic. To avoid accidents, placement will be key. Avoiding large pots and containers at floor level can prevent children from interfering with the plant or knocking it over. Plants and flowers suspended from ceilings or in hanging baskets or wall sconces allow plants to remain out of reach is a more sensible way to decorate a space - especially important if plant toxicity is a concern. Family-friendly environments are better suited to bolder colours rather than plain greenery as they can enhance the mood, and make it more visually interesting for children. A good mix of greenery within this can offer a calming influence, so don’t avoid it altogether. To entice families and mid-range customers with visually pleasing floral accents, ensure that there is a cohesive theme going through the plant choices, that offer good looks that reflect the ethos of the venue.
As you can see above, this restaurant has cleverly trailed artificial golden pothos plants around a decorative wall feature. This not only adds interest and colour to an otherwise relatively dull backdrop, but it also keeps it well out of the way of customers (and their children!).
Dressing counters can be a good way to place plants at height too. If placing products on these surfaces, be careful that they won’t contaminate food by shedding or being knocked into. The rubber plant shown above is a nice example of countertop decoration. It’s worth checking with your local environmental health department to ensure there are no rules surrounding plants near food preparation or serving areas. To avoid the worry, you could use a good-quality, premium artificial plant.
Faux Plants And Foliage That Trend Year-Round On Instagram
For all-year-round plant perfection, we have collated a few top picks that will help you take perfectly Instagramable pictures.
Areca Palms
Adding these beautiful palms to your restaurant decor can only up the exotic ante. They come in a variety of heights depending on maturity and make a nice feature in windows or corners with their long, slender stems and elegant fronds. If you don’t want to worry about maintenance or don’t have the time to think about watering and whether the plant is in the right conditions to thrive, why not try an artificial Areca? They are fantastic products that will fool even the keenest plantsperson.
The Calathea is an attractive plant that displays green, variegated leaves with burgundy undersides and stems. It’s relatively compact and won’t be out of place on dining or coffee tables. It is a bit of a tricky customer to look after however, so ensure it’s placed in a consistently warm spot and bright but indirect light - they do not like direct sunshine. The soil needs to be moist from spring to autumn, and misting the leaves daily or standing on a tray of moist pebbles will help it thrive. Faux options are available and look very realistic.
Large Monstera
Monstera are a popular plant and quite easy to look after. Their large leaves add some drama to your restaurant’s decor, creating shade, contrast, and interest in photographs. They need very little water, although humidity is appreciated, and can tolerate darker spaces well.
Hanging Plants
Adding variation and interest with hanging plants is an excellent way to lift the decor into different levels of a space instead of concentrating it purely on table height. Several plants work well in this situation, including Boston ferns, Tillandsia, Hedera, and Woodwardia.
Mix these trailing, tumbling plants for a swathe of greenery to offer a relaxing and natural environment for your diners. If it’s feasible, suspending plants from the ceiling can disguise ugly fittings, and harsh lighting, and draw the room in for a cosier, more intimate vibe.
Tips To Remember When Beautifying Restaurant Interiors With Plants
- Don’t overwhelm tables to the detriment of the customer.
- Choose plants that can cope with the environment, or opt for faux.
- Opt for plants that fit with your customers’ demographic - small children do not mix with toxic plants for example.
- Sometimes less is more, you need your customers to be comfortable, not having to compete with decor elements.
- Think about potential allergens - highly scented plants could irritate some customers.
- Don’t dismiss artificial plants - premium quality plants look incredibly realistic, and they withstand less-than-ideal conditions.
- Make use of height to vary the look and create a more cohesive design.
- Have fun with the design but stay true to your aesthetic.
Faux Plants For Insta-Worthy Restaurant Interiors F.A.Q.
- How do I beautify my restaurant?
Accessorising your restaurant's interior to make it as beautiful as possible can only add to the appeal of it's ambiance. Using plants is a great way to relax customers and bring some natural elements into play. Why not read more about why choosing artificial flowers and plants can be a good option.
- How do I make my restaurant look fancy? / What makes a restaurant look luxurious?
Luxurious restaurants often have swathes of greenery adorning ceilings and surfaces around the space. It's been scientifically studied and suggested that plant-life within an environment relaxes and calms people and add to the aesthetic appeal of the space. With the food and drink flowing, being surrounded by opulent decor and plants, your restaurant will look very fancy! If you are opting for artificial plants, it's important to style and dress them to make them look as realistic as possible, so read our guide to get some top tips on how to do this.
- What helps the mood and ambiance of a restaurant?
An holistic approach to decor mean that the best way to achieve a good ambiance and mood for your clientele is to combine colour, texture, sound, and smell. Offsetting the harder fixtures and fittings with plants can soften the overall look and feel, making your customers feel welcome and relaxed.
Get your Instagram channel working for you by decorating your restaurant to the max, and using plants to dress it up. If you either don’t want to use real plants or don’t think you have the time or skills to maintain them, consider premium quality artificial products. They can do the heavy lifting whilst being easy to look after, hard-wearing, cost-effective, and overall, beautiful to look at.
Atlas has a range of such products that can help you create a full or partial faux section to your decor to give your restaurant a relaxing, cosy feel. If you can’t see what you’re looking for within our e-commerce offering, please get in touch and we will do our best to source products for you.