Both residential and commercial projects frequently include art, accessories, and plants and florals as finishing details. Many clients prefer the ease and convenience of artificial plants, especially for their low maintenance. And designers like the continuity - the look will remain the same as originally intended.
The two biggest drawbacks for artificial plants are the dust factor and the fake factor. After a while, they can get really dusty but vacuuming or spritzing/washing are two care options. And if not well done, faux plants can seem downright tacky. Real plants provide a freshness and authenticity that is rarely duplicated, but there are some great faux plant / flower / arrangement suppliers out there.
A couple of my favorites are:
NDI - Beautiful, realistic plants that need to be examined closely to see if they're real or fake. Lovely floral arrangements, trees, greenery, holiday decorations, topiaries, grasses, etc. Plus great containers!
Forever Green Art - Real plants that have been preserved, including bonsai, topiary, florals, eucalyptus and palms. From my experience, these plants retain their color and beauty for the long term.
Containers make a big difference in the look, too. Baskets can seem a bit lightweight and insubstantial unless they're very well made, so I generally go with great looking ceramic or stoneware containers that complement the plants and add more visual interest. One of my favorite lines is
New England Pottery, which can be found at many distributors nationwide. They carry a huge array of beautiful plant containers.