Often, the most beautiful decorating quirks are rooted in history, from shores afar. Nothing epitomizes this quite like faux-bois, beautifully brought to life in Martha Stewart's Skyland home.
If you're a longtime follower of Martha Stewart, you may already be aware of her affection for faux-bois pieces. In the past, she's shared glimpses of this furniture around her Maine estate, many of which are the product of Texas-based artist Carlos Cortes. However, her collection extends beyond furniture. Recently, she shared her faux-bois containers, in which she has installed a mini forest display: A unique alternative to a conventional indoor plant.
Martha's faux-bois containers bring this technique into 2025, but such designs date back to the mid-19th century in France, with Joseph Monier developing the technique of sculpting concrete over a steel frame in the 1840s.
Today, these pieces feel just as intricate, and when filled with unique planting (such as a forest display), they make a statement that will resonate with all who pass through your home.
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This faux bois planter gives any tree or plant a cohesive appearance, with a rustic, tree bark facade. It's also fade, rust, and weather-resistant, making it the perfect option for both outdoor or indoor plants and flowers.
The perfect starting point for creating a mini forest display, just like Martha's: This moss is excellent for dressing orchids and ornamentals, covering soil, or for adding natural accents to any floral arrangement. It features a fresh, soft and spongy texture that's so easy to work with.
It's not faux-bois, but it's still Martha Stewart-inspired. Crafted from resin material, the rustic flower vase ensures long-lasting durability. Its distressed yet chic style adds a touch of French elegance to any space, especially when filled with a small forest like Martha's.
A delve into Martha's blog shows it's not the first time she's used faux-bois containers around her home, nor is it the first year she's created a mini forest.
'I love faux bois, which means “false wood” in French. Faux bois refers to the artistic imitation of wood or wood grains in various media. The craft has roots in the Renaissance with trompe-l’œil. I have many faux bois urns at Skylands. This year, we planted them with natural elements from the woodlands and created miniature forests that last all season long,' she shared back in 2021.
The mini forest uses moss (much like this one from Amazon) as a natural base for her taller plants to thrive. You can create something similar, but you need to choose your type of moss with caution, as Martha explains.
'Here’s another vessel filled with beautiful moss. Moss is a slow-growing wild plant that should never be harvested in large amounts – in fact, it is illegal to take any moss from national forests without permission. Once the season is over, we always make sure the moss we harvested is returned to the forest where it can regenerate and flourish,' she says.
'Some of the mosses that grow at Skylands include sphagnum moss, pincushion moss, Mountain Moss Leucobryum, plume moss, and bog moss. My gardener at Skylands, Mike Harding, created the woodland arrangements – I think they are very pretty.' We could be the first to agree.
Will you be following Martha's example, either with faux-bois or a mini moss forest? Let me know in the comments below.
