Artificial plants for offices, Airbnb, real estate & commercial spaces
The faux olive tree is the most specified artificial plant for Australian offices, Airbnbs and real estate staging — zero maintenance, zero watering schedules, zero liability for dying plants between guest stays or property inspections.
Commercial and professional spaces have different requirements from residential interiors. A home owner who chooses a faux plant can touch it up, monitor it and style around it daily. An office manager, Airbnb host or real estate agent needs greenery that looks perfect on day one and still looks perfect on day one hundred — without anyone doing anything to it.
This guide covers exactly which artificial plants work best in each commercial context, what sizes and species suit different spaces, and how to source quality pieces that enhance rather than undermine a professional environment.
The four commercial contexts — different needs, different solutions
Offices need plants that look professional, survive air conditioning and fluorescent lighting, and don't require a maintenance schedule. Real office plants frequently die between weekends, holiday periods or when the person responsible for watering leaves the company. Premium faux office plants eliminate all of these problems permanently.
Shop office plants →Airbnb and short-term rental hosts need greenery that looks great in photos, survives between guest stays without anyone caring for it, and doesn't create a liability if a guest damages it. Premium faux plants are the only practical solution for Airbnb hosts who want the styling benefits of greenery without the operational overhead.
Shop Airbnb plants →Real estate agents and property stylists use faux plants for staging because they photograph beautifully, can be moved between properties, look perfect for every inspection and open home regardless of season, and represent a one-time investment rather than an ongoing cost. A quality faux olive tree staged in a living room corner can genuinely increase perceived property value.
Shop staging plants →Restaurants, cafes, hotels, retail stores and reception areas need plants that look consistently excellent in high-traffic environments where real plants would be constantly touched, moved and subjected to conditions no plant can thrive in. Premium artificial plants for commercial spaces deliver the visual warmth and organic softness of greenery without any of the maintenance complexity.
Shop commercial plants →Best artificial plants for office spaces
Office spaces have specific constraints that make certain artificial plants more appropriate than others. Scale matters — a single large statement tree at 180cm in a corner reads as a deliberate design decision. Six small desktop plants scattered across a floor reads as an afterthought. The professional approach is always one or two large, quality pieces rather than multiple small ones.
The most specified artificial tree for Australian office spaces. Its Mediterranean character suits contemporary and transitional office interiors equally well. At 180cm it fills a corner or reception area without overwhelming the space. Zero maintenance, zero watering, looks identical on day one and day five hundred.
Shop faux olive trees →Bold, architectural and unmistakably contemporary — the fiddle leaf fig is the statement tree for modern Australian office interiors. Particularly effective in open-plan offices behind workstations or beside glass partitions where the graphic leaf form creates visual interest without cluttering sightlines.
Shop faux fiddle leaf figs →Reception areas need a plant with presence — something that makes an immediate impression on anyone walking in. The birds of paradise at 160cm delivers exactly this with its dramatic tropical foliage. Pairs beautifully with a dark matte pot in reception areas that have good ambient light from front windows.
Shop birds of paradise →For large open-plan offices, hotel lobbies, restaurant interiors and retail spaces where a single 180cm tree would be lost in the space. The multi-branch spread at 180cm creates a presence that fills vertical and horizontal space — the go-to choice for commercial fit-outs requiring genuine visual impact.
Shop Giant Multi Branch →Artificial plants for Airbnb hosting
Airbnb and short-term rental hosting creates a specific set of plant-related challenges that no real plant can reliably solve. Guests stay for 2–7 nights on average. Between stays there may be 12–48 hours of gap time. Nobody is watering anything. Nobody is checking on anything. If a real plant starts dying between a Friday checkout and a Sunday check-in, there's no one to fix it before new guests arrive and photograph it for a negative review.
Premium faux plants solve this problem permanently. A quality faux olive tree in your Airbnb living room looks identical in the listing photos and in person, looks the same after the first stay and the fiftieth stay, and requires nothing from you or your cleaners between guests.
The Airbnb photography advantage: A 180cm faux olive tree in a styled corner dramatically improves Airbnb listing photos — it adds organic warmth, frames the space and signals to potential guests that the property is thoughtfully decorated. Properties with strong greenery in their photos consistently outperform bare equivalents in booking rates. The tree pays for itself in additional bookings within weeks.
Best species for Airbnb: The faux olive tree is the universal choice — it suits every interior aesthetic from coastal to contemporary to Hamptons. For coastal properties in beachside suburbs, a faux palm or birds of paradise adds tropical warmth that resonates with holiday guests. For urban apartments, a fiddle leaf fig or ficus creates the considered, design-forward feel that attracts premium guests.
Sizing for Airbnb: Size up from what feels comfortable. Your Airbnb photos are shot with wide-angle lenses that compress space — a 180cm tree that looks dominant in person appears perfectly proportioned in a wide-angle listing photo. Most Airbnb hosts who follow our recommendation to go larger than instinct suggests are immediately glad they did when they see the photos.
Fake plants for real estate staging
Real estate agents and property stylists have used faux plants for staging for years — long before the general market caught up. The reasons are purely practical: a staged property may sit on the market for 4–12 weeks, going through multiple open homes and inspections. Real plants need watering, positioning, replacement when they struggle in an unoccupied property. Faux plants need nothing.
The visual case is equally strong. A quality faux olive tree positioned in a living room corner for a property shoot adds organic warmth that empty corners simply don't have, makes rooms photograph larger and more inviting, and creates the lifestyle aspiration that sells properties faster.
| Consideration | Real plants for staging | Faux plants for staging |
|---|---|---|
| Maintenance during campaign | Requires weekly watering | Zero maintenance |
| Consistency across inspections | Variable — may decline | Identical every time |
| Reusable across properties | Difficult to transport | Move between properties easily |
| Photography performance | Natural variation | Consistent, photogenic |
| Cost over multiple campaigns | Recurring cost per campaign | One-time investment |
| Seasonal availability | Affected by season | Identical year-round |
Sizing guide for commercial spaces
- Small offices / home offices (under 30m²) — one 160–180cm statement tree in the corner behind or beside the desk. Avoid multiple small plants — one large quality piece reads as design, multiple small ones read as decoration
- Medium offices / open plan (30–100m²) — two or three 180cm trees positioned at corners, entry points and beside meeting rooms. The Giant Multi Branch 1.8M works well as a centrepiece in open plan spaces
- Large commercial / hospitality (100m²+) — scale up to 210cm–2.4M pieces for large lobbies, hotel receptions and restaurant interiors. Smaller trees get lost in large spaces
- Airbnb studios and 1-bedrooms — 160cm maximum to avoid overwhelming a compact space. Position in the living area corner for listing photos
- Airbnb 2–3 bedrooms — 180cm in the main living area, 120cm accent piece in the master bedroom if ceiling height allows
- Real estate staging — apartments — 160–180cm in the living room, smaller accent pieces in the dining area and master bedroom
- Real estate staging — houses — 180–210cm in open-plan living, entry hall pieces to create first impressions, outdoor-rated UV pieces for alfresco areas
As seen in Australian editorial publications
"One of the most realistic faux olive trees we've come across — a natural-looking trunk, irregular bendable branches and soft silvery-green foliage that closely mimics the real thing."
— Style Curator, June 2026 · Read the full feature →
Frequently asked questions
What are the best fake office plants in Australia?
The faux olive tree at 180cm is the most specified artificial office plant in Australia — it suits contemporary, transitional and traditional office interiors equally well, requires zero maintenance and looks professional rather than decorative. For modern offices, the faux fiddle leaf fig is the leading alternative. For reception areas needing immediate visual impact, the faux birds of paradise at 160cm is the strongest choice.
Are artificial plants good for offices?
Premium artificial plants are an excellent choice for offices for several reasons: they require no watering or maintenance schedule, look identical regardless of air conditioning or artificial lighting, don't create allergen concerns for staff, and represent a one-time cost rather than an ongoing plant maintenance expense. The constraint is quality — cheap artificial office plants with PVC foliage look obviously fake and undermine rather than enhance a professional environment. PE foliage pieces are the minimum quality threshold for commercial use.
What artificial plants are best for Airbnb?
The faux olive tree is the universal choice for Airbnb properties — it suits every interior aesthetic, photographs beautifully for listing photos and requires nothing between guest stays. For coastal properties, faux palms and birds of paradise add tropical warmth. For urban apartments, a fiddle leaf fig or ficus creates a considered, design-forward feel. Always size up — properties with larger, bolder greenery photograph better and attract higher-quality bookings.
Do real estate agents use fake plants for staging?
Yes — property stylists and real estate agents routinely use premium faux plants for staging because they look perfect for every inspection regardless of season, require no maintenance during a sales campaign, can be moved between properties and represent a one-time investment rather than an ongoing cost. A quality faux olive tree in a living room corner adds organic warmth that photographs significantly better than an empty corner, and can be reused across dozens of staging campaigns.
How much do artificial plants for commercial spaces cost in Australia?
Premium faux olive trees suitable for commercial use start from around $199 for 160cm pieces through to $749 for 2.4M statement pieces. For offices and commercial spaces, the 180cm range ($280–$499 depending on style) is the most practical investment — large enough to make an impact, proportional for most commercial ceiling heights, and durable enough to look excellent for 10–15 years of commercial use.
Can I use outdoor artificial plants for a cafe or restaurant terrace?
Yes — but you need specifically UV-resistant artificial plants rather than standard indoor pieces. Standard artificial plants will fade and degrade within 6–12 months of full outdoor sun exposure. UV-resistant versions use stabilised PE foliage that resists degradation significantly longer. For covered outdoor areas like verandahs, pergolas and undercover terraces, UV-resistant faux olive trees and topiary balls work particularly well for Australian hospitality spaces.
Premium artificial plants for every commercial context
Offices, Airbnb, real estate staging and hospitality — dispatched from Sydney within 4 business days. 14-day returns on every order. Styling consultations available for bulk orders.
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