Best No and Low-Maintenance Greenery Solutions for Office, Corporate and Hospitality Settings

Best No and Low-Maintenance Greenery Solutions for Office, Corporate and Hospitality Settings

by Courtney Goldberg in News

While live plants are great, they aren’t the only option to improve indoor spaces with greenery. Whether you need something hypoallergenic or low-light friendly, or want to minimize maintenance costs, you can still have an impressive plant design while working within your limitations. 

Today, we’ll walk through three popular options for incorporating plants without high upkeep, and cover a case study where our clients installed a stunning plant design while keeping maintenance costs down. 

Artificial indoor plants: Not your mother’s faux

Many people have an outdated idea of what faux plants look like and can be hesitant about working with faux for aesthetic reasons. As plant designers who use both real and artificial plants, we can say with confidence: faux looks amazing in 2026. 

In fact, we often have people into our space to go over options and not realize they’ve been seeing faux plants throughout our studio. You can now get an enormous array of faux, from agave to hyperrealistic silk orchids, and even potted trees. 

But while there’s not a big gap in what faux vs real plants look like, there is a big difference in what solutions they bring to your space. Live plants need specific growing conditions, which means it may not be possible to use them throughout your office, hotel or restaurant. But faux can withstand conditions normal plants cannot, from very high traffic to no natural light. 

And while live plants require maintenance, including pruning, rotating, watering, and pest control, faux is the only true “no-maintenance” option. 

Faux mixed with real plants can also be a “best of both worlds” solution. Mixing can help you create a cohesive design across a space where some conditions may be favorable and some may not be, and can cut down on maintenance as well. 

Not sure how to approach mixing real and faux plants? Read on. 

Moss walls and moss art: Real plants, no maintenance

Moss walls are made from real moss that’s been harvested and preserved, so you get the benefits of having natural materials in your space without the upkeep. They also take up no square footage, making them ideal for smaller spaces. 

Moss walls and art can range from huge custom pieces that are fitted against an entire wall to smaller, framed works. And they can include far more than moss – preserved wood, faux succulents, and even corporate logos can be included in moss art. 

Best of all for those with maintenance concerns, moss walls only require gentle dusting, so you can enjoy real plants for many years with very little effort. 

While there are many upsides, moss isn’t right for every space. It needs to stay out of direct sunlight and direct blasts from heating or cooling vents. And it is delicate, so it will not fare well in high-traffic areas. 

Thinking about incorporating moss walls or moss art into your commercial interior? Read on.

Cut succulents: Beautiful designs that last for months

At Urban Spikes, our cut succulent designs are extremely popular for a reason. 

These displays are real plants with stones, preserved wood, sand, decorative crystals, and more. They are showstoppers that elevate any space as a centerpiece, as an accent in a lobby, on tables in conference rooms, and at reception desks. 

They are a different and interesting take on a plant design and offer a more sustainable and longer-lasting alternative to cut flowers. 

Cut succulents last for months due to the plants’ unique abilities to hold moisture. And just before they start to wilt, our team can either replace individual succulents, leaving you with a refreshed design, or we can swap out your entire centerpiece for a new display.

This process is quick and easy, and happens every couple of months, without any additional maintenance needs in-between. We can do custom designs, and also offer a limited number of premade pieces here in Dallas, both with cut succulents and faux. 

Explore our cut succulent designs. 

 

Case Study: Gilly’s Clubhouse

Gilly’s Clubhouse is an upscale sports bar with three floors - two stories for the clubhouse and the third for the agave bar. Gilly’s and their design firm had ambitious plans for adding plants throughout for a dynamic, cohesive look that offered guests something different than the usual. 

For this project, faux was essential. As we discussed Gilly’s needs, it was clear that the traffic they experience would be challenging for real plants. And, for the rooftop bar, the glass roof with direct sun would fry indoor plants in the summer, while Detroit winters would subsequently freeze outdoor plants. 

To give them a botanic touch for the first and second floors, we used Dracaenas in built-in planters to create subtle separation between booths, while being low enough not to block screens for sports viewing. 

The third-floor agave bar gave an opportunity for more creativity, bringing in a dessert inspiration through Saguaro cactus, Bunny Ear cactus and agave layered to highlight different areas within the bar and reinforce the theme. Faux was key here for our use or Pepperberry vines woven overhead to soften the glass ceiling, something that wouldn’t have been possible with real plants.

For continuity we introduced Cycas palms both to the entrance patio and to the outdoor section of the rooftop, giving privacy without obstructing the views of Detroit. Again, faux made for low-maintenance as Gilly’s do not have to worry about moving plants indoors for the winter.

One unexpected feature of Gilly’s is now the restroom in the agave bar, which we outfitted with faux foliage of Sword Ferns, Calathea, Sedum, Rubber Plants and Hoya woven through a custom steel grid. This gives the feeling that the plants are growing vertically towards the mirrors – an unexpected moment of delight for patrons.

Working with Urban Spikes

Whether you are looking for real plants, faux, moss, low-light options, low-maintenance varietals or a creative design that meets the needs of several different spaces while maintaining continuity, Urban Spikes would love to hear from you. 

We help clients in the Dallas - Ft Worth area and beyond find stylish solutions for their commercial and residential spaces through elevated plant design. We supply the highest quality faux and real plants, and through our maintenance programs and the strength of our relationships can be a long-term partner for your business. Contact us today to find out more. 

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Moss wall décor: The perfect punctuation for retail, offices, receptions, hotels and wellness spaces

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We work with the best moss available, from our professional suppliers. The moss you can find at craft stores or even premade moss pieces you may stumble across at homeware stores is mass-produced and not designed to last. Poor quality means you will have to replace sooner, wasting your budget.  You are investing in design, not a one-off accent piece. Working with a professional like Urban Spikes means you are adding plants in an intentional way. We have improved all kinds of commercial spaces and have ideas and expertise that will add depth, dimension and function to your space in the long run.  If you are a business owner, building or office manager interested in working with Urban Spikes for moss installations, we would love to hear from you. We offer personalized consultations and custom moss designs that will perfectly compliment your existing architecture and décor.If you are an architect or designer, we can work with you to add moss features to your projects so you can incorporate moss into your work without having to execute and install pieces yourself. Read more about our collaborative process here and let us know you are interested in adding biophilic design touches to your next space by contacting us today.  

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What architects, designers, and developers can expect from working with Urban Spikes

What architects, designers, and developers can expect from working with Urban Spikes

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At the end of this step, you will have: A concrete idea of what is possible within your client’s budget A ballpark timeline for how long interior plant design for your size and scope of project will take to procure and install An understanding of how Urban Spikes approaches clients and how we can help your project Step 2: Designing, Presenting and Educating Once we have completed consultation, it’s time for us to collaborate on designs to make sure all of the details work. With Urban Spikes, there are two ways we can collaborate. If you already have extensive renderings and design, we can let you take the lead. We will meticulously go over every detail of your plans and provide suggestions or modifications that preserve your design while making it actually feasible to execute. We can also provide full-service, site-specific design. 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We can tell you an olive tree won’t work indoors, or that there are luxury faux options you would never know aren’t real.” This means you can go back to your client and explain exactly why you’re offering certain design features or choices and not others. 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Ground has officially broken, and the project is underway… with a dozen or more vendors and thousands of details to execute.  To make things as easy as possible, Urban Spikes provides a seamless experience behind-the-scenes. “We work with you as a designer or architect, but also with all of your vendors,” explains Courtney. “We can take care of coordination and communication to eliminate any roadblocks or delays for you and your clients.” Especially for designs that need built-in features or special lighting considerations, this ensures things are done right the first time without you having to worry about collaboration or execution. We will provide all things plants, which includes not only the varieties themselves but dressing, additional elements like wood, crystals, sand, gems, and any freestanding containers. We work with specialist suppliers to get the highest-quality materials available for real, faux and all decorative touches, sourcing something from our partners around the US, Europe and beyond. When the space is ready for plants, we will load things in on your timeline to make sure that all of the finishing details are absolutely perfect by the conclusion of your project. At the end of this step you will have: A trusted partner keeping your project moving forward through collaboration and organization Peace of mind that your plans have been executed well A gorgeous design in your client’s new space Step 4: Seamless Maintenance While many architectural and design projects are fully finished once your work is done, plants are living things and they need constant care. Plant design is a long-term investment, and providing an easy transition into maintenance keeps your clients happy with your overall design.  “Your clients won’t need to find a new vendor for plant upkeep when you use us as plant designers. With Urban Spikes, they also get maintenance from a trusted partner who understands the totality of their design and why every choice was made,” explains Courtney. If you do not provide a maintenance option for your clients, they may end up working with an interior plant company you’ve never met. Unfortunately, they may not be able to upkeep your design to excellent conditions, or may even persuade a client to change their plant design down the line. Engaging Urban Spikes for upkeep also means you can create a design that fits the budget of your clients, not just in the initial instance but for the life of their space and their plants. “We can provide accurate costs for maintenance based on your design, so your clients know exactly how to prioritize their spending, rather than being surprised by maintenance quotes after the fact.” At the end of this step you will have: Provided a trusted partner to your clients to keep your design looking its best Ensured that your designs will stay as awe-inspiring as they are at the close of your architectural or design project Architects, designers, and developers: we would love to help you Building, remodeling and decorating are complicated processes with a lot of moving parts. Our aim is to provide exemplary services as an expert partner that makes executing plant designs easy, so your projects stand out in the best way possible.  We are always happy to hear from architects, designers, and developers and to explore professional connections whether or not there is a project you need immediate help with. Our team would love to connect and discuss all that we can do for you.  Contact us today if you are ready to explore our plant design services.  More information for designers Our commercial services Our gallery  

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