The summer season is the time in Colorado when our gardens have never looked better—everything thriving despite nature’s best efforts to prove otherwise.
It’s worth paying attention to why it feels so good to be surrounded by all of that life. In fact, many homeowners are looking to include more plants and greenery in their interior and exterior design choices—this is called biophilic design, and it’s a growing trend.
At Speas Interior Design, we love plantings, flowers, and the nature that surrounds us. We think about plants not as decoration to fill an empty corner, but as something that shapes how our clients live in their space.
Why Greenery Matters More Than You Might Think
Before we get to the real-versus-faux talk, it’s worth understanding why plants earn their place in a well-designed home at all.
There’s a reason a room with greenery simply feels better to be in. The instinct to surround ourselves with nature has a name in the design world—biophilic design—and it describes something most of us feel intuitively: we are calmer, more grounded, and more at ease in spaces that connect us to the natural world.
Living plants are one of the most immediate ways to bring that feeling indoors. They soften hard architectural lines, add form movement and texture, and introduce a color palette that never goes out of style.
Silk Plants vs. Real Plants Indoors: Maintenance, Light, and Lifestyle
Indoors is where the real-versus-faux conversation gets most interesting. Recent environmental psychology reveals that your brain’s visual architecture is surprisingly easy to trick. When it comes to lower cortisol levels and cognitive restoration, a premium, hyper-realistic faux installation can deliver much of the same sense of calm and connection to nature as real plants.
Today’s best silk and faux botanicals are remarkably convincing. The decision usually comes down to light and sun access, maintenance, and occupancy.
Real plants make sense when:
- You have the natural, consistent light to support them.
- You genuinely enjoy the ritual of tending to plants—watering, pruning, repotting—as part of how you unwind.
- You’re home enough to keep up with their needs, or you have help who can.
- You want the air-purifying, living quality that only a real plant provides.
Silk and faux plants make sense when:
- You love the look of greenery in a spot that doesn’t get enough light—a windowless powder room, a dim entry, a high shelf.
- You travel often and don’t want to return to another row of wilted casualties.
- You want lush, dramatic greenery in a scale or variety that would be difficult to keep alive indoors in Colorado.
- You don’t have the “green thumb” and you’d rather invest your time elsewhere and never have to think about a watering schedule.
There’s no wrong answer here—in many of our projects, the most successful rooms use both: real plants where they’ll thrive and be enjoyed, and high-quality faux or silk botanicals where a living plant would struggle. The best part—often, no one can tell the difference.
Summer Patio Plant Ideas for Colorado Homes
Outdoors, it’s best to let living plants do what they do best. Annuals bring saturated, dependable color during their season, while perennials reward the patient gardener by returning year after year, each summer a little more established than the last.
When we help clients plan furnishings and finishes for their outdoor living and entertaining spaces, we think about:
- Container gardens that let you move color exactly where you want it and refresh a space without a full landscape project.
- Coordinated palettes so that your outdoor plantings tie back to the color story of the interior.
But be aware: in Colorado, a summer hailstorm can undo years of growth in fifteen minutes. Bad weather, storms, drought—these are realities worth planning around. We recommend adding to your garden a few well-made outdoor faux plants to carry through the in-between moments when living plants are growing or recovering.
Winter Greenery in Colorado Springs
When the seasonal cold sets in, the colorful plantings that filled your patio in July likely aren’t coming back until spring. Evergreens and holly only get you so far!
The best faux pieces are UV-stable, weather-rated, and selected to look like it could be growing there—whether you’re decorating inside the home or outside the home. High-quality faux botanicals genuinely shine outdoors during the cooler months. Faux succulent varieties and rubber-plant styles hold their form and look great through the cold months, keeping a porch, entry, or covered patio feeling cared for even when nothing is growing—plus, they’re better looking than a row of empty pots by the door.
How We Approach Real vs. Faux Plants in Colorado Interior Design
When we plan greenery as part of our design process, we consider:
- How you live in your space through the seasons.
- When you rely on living plants and when should faux pieces accent them.
- Scale and placement—so greenery feels architectural, not accidental.
Plants, real and faux alike, are one of the simplest ways to make a home feel more grounded, more alive, more connected to the natural world just outside—more like you.
Interested in Biophilic Design with Plants?
When your accessories and plantings are chosen with intention, they come together and create a design that feels just like your style.
Ready to bring more life into your home? Contact Speas Interior Design online or give us a call to schedule your consultation. Based out of our showroom in Colorado Springs, we serve the surrounding areas and select projects outside the state.