Flowers: Silk or Real

Dear Dr. Dave and Dr. Dee,

I have silk flowers and plants in my home. But, someone told me that fake flowers should be banned from the home, and only real flowers be displayed. I find this attitude snobby.

Signed,

Upset

Dear Upset,

The controversy over fake versus real flowers probably comes from HGTV's presentation, the "25 Biggest Decorating Mistakes" (www.HGTV.com). Number one on their list was fake flowers with the rationale that fake flowers gather dust and don't bring life into the home.

However, displaying only real flowers can be unreasonable and expensive. Unless the home is being shown to prospective buyers, artificial flowers are acceptable to have in the home.

High quality artificial flowers such as silk arrangements often look like real plants or flowers and do bring life into the home. In addition, silk flowers are durable and long lasting. The types of synthetic flowers that are too artificial to display are plastic ones.

Home decor can be enhanced by having both silk and real flower arrangements displayed.