Shhh… My Fiddle Leaf is FAKE


Remember this little cutie that I brought home last fall?Gorgeous fiddle leaf- on a dime!I scored it on sale at the hardware store for $14 and was excited to bring it home.ย This adorable little guy lasted a few months and I’m not gonna lie, I was VERY proud of my ability to keepย himย alive (and thriving!) for that time.

But then I went out-of-town and I left the fate of ourย fiddle in the hands of my very responsible and diligentย husband. Before I left I reminded him to water the fiddle while I was gone and he reassured me that he would take care of it.

My Bad

The lovely fiddle leaf at home in the family roomDid he water the plant while I was gone? OF COURSE, he did… as I said, he’s very responsible and thorough!ย He worked so hard to keep the plant alive while I was gone that he watered itย every. single. day. (instead of just watering it ONCE the entire time I was gone). Unfortunately, this consistent watering drowned our first fiddle leaf and I take full responsibility for that miscommunication. #oops

Shopping for a Replacement

I loved how the fiddle leaf looked in our family roomSo after the fiddle leaf died I set out to find a replacement and I couldn’t find them in stores… anywhere! Yes, I could have gone to a fancy nursery in downtown Chicago and paid upwards of $100 for one. But $100 on a leafy plant that may or may not survive the long haul was a little more than I was willing to gamble (especially knowing my track record with plants). I was convinced a new fiddle leaf just wasn’t in my future.

Introducing My New Fiddle Leaf

Brought the new fiddle leaf home- and added it to the officeThat was until I laid eyes on the beauty in the left hand corner of this picture during my office renovations. And you will NEVER believe where I found it.

I love how it looks in this spaceI picked her up at Michaels and thanks to that week’s coupon I brought this gorgeous girl home for under $50 and didn’t have to gamble at all because…well, she’s FAKE!ย I’m typically not into fake plants (actually not at all) but when I saw how REAL this one looked I didn’t mind bringing her home. After I fell in love with the look and price tag,ย I was super excitedย for this fake alternative because I knew it would look green, leafy, and gorgeous no matter how many times I forgotย about it.

Our Little Secret

I brought the new plant home from Michaels one night and showed Matt and he said he loved it, but he alsoย looked nervous about the fate of our new, much larger plant. I added it to a basket, put it inย the office, and we didn’t talk much about it after that. THREE WEEKS went by and Matt mentioned how good the plantย was looking.

Faux fiddle- detail shot, can you tell it's fake?I replied with something along the lines of, “Yeah, having a fake fiddle is so much easier and less stressful, isn’t it?!”.

He looked at me very puzzled, “Wait, what do you mean by fake?”

Matt had been working alongside our new fiddle for over 3 weeks and had NO IDEA it was fake. <— Right then I knew I made the right decision to go with this faux fiddle instead of gambling on a real one.

The office- complete with the new fiddle leafIf you’re in the game for a medium-sized faux fiddle leaf but can’t seem to find one (or at least an affordable one), you have to go check out Michaels’ plant selection and see for yourself. The bottom is a bit dinky, so I added mine to a basket from Ikea. I can honestly say that I haven’t regretted this purchase since the day I brought it home.

My Faux Fiddle Leaf

The home office is much warmer with greeneryI’m not telling you to go out and add lots of fake plants all over your home. But this one has totally won me over and has made me more open-minded about the idea of faux, as long as it looks real. I have a few other real plants surrounding this fake one, which has been a great way to make this fiddleย seem even more alive!

Home office- neat, tidy and accented with plantsYou guys have seen this space a lot lately, did you think the plant looked fake? Would you consider adding a faux plant into your home? Honestly, if you asked me 2 months ago, I probably would have confidently said “no” but now… I’m kinda digging it! And I’m REALLY digging my new watering schedule.

Bridget


The Year of Casey

Hey there!

Iโ€™m Casey Finn, the voice behind The DIY Playbook. I’m a Chicago gal teaching you how to design, DIY, and maintain your home…by yourself! Learn more about me right here.