• Expert Plant Designs

    For commercial & residential projects

  • Indoor and Outdoor

    Creating beautiful environments with artificial plants

  • Boxwood

    Features privacy
    Low maintenance

  • Restaurants and Hospitality

  • Hanging Baskets

    Adding style and warmth without hassle of live plants

  • We design and custom make

    One of a kind faux floral arrangements that best suits your space

  • All year long

    Artificial plants don’t need water or light and will always look beautiful

  • From Little Touches...

    to major interior design projects

  • @ RPM Steak Chicago

  • @ ROOF on theWit Hotel

  • Cherry Blossom Tree

    @ MILA-2 Omakasa room in South Beach Miami

  • Lounge

    @ MILA-2 South Beach Miami

  • Summer House Santa Monica @ Chicago

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Creating interior and exterior plant designs for commercial and residential projects nationwide.

We are a 100% woman owned, faux floral & plant design studio.

Julie Brugioni, owner of The Silk Thumb, brings over 25 years of industry experience to the art of designing stunning, lifelike faux plant installations for both commercial and residential spaces. Recognized as a trusted plant expert, Julie works closely with you or your team to bring your visual and design direction to life—from initial concept through final installation. With a meticulous eye for detail and a commitment to excellence, The Silk Thumb uses only the highest quality replica plants on the market, creating sophisticated, enduring designs that elevate every space.

Services include:

  • Greenery design for home and business 
  • Exterior landscape design – UV protected boxwoods, topiaries, agaves, etc. 
  • Out of state large commercial projects
  • Consulting for architects, property managers & interior designers
  • Commercial design
  • Custom boxwood privacy hedges- CAD Designs
  • Faux living walls & succulent wall Art
  • Artisan floral design

Sourcing our products from the highest quality vendors:

  • Soft touch & Natural touch plants and flowers
  • Fire Retardant ASTM-NFPA CLASS A products
  • UV Outdoor Weather Rated
  • Artificial trees, plants and succulents

Making ordinary spaces, look & feel extraordinary

The Silk Thumb opened its doors in January of 1980. For the past 4 decades we have specialized in creating unique interior & exterior design utilizing the world’s finest artificial flowers, plants and trees for our business and residential clients. 

Silk/faux/permanent flowers and plants are a great solution for cutting costs, windowless rooms, creating spaces, barriers, hiding wires, second homes, adding color and warmth to your home or business.  

Universal Epic Universe™

UNIVERSAL ORLANDO
On May 22, 2025, Universal Epic UniverseTM officially opened its portals to the world- The Silk Thumb, LTD. is proud to have played a role in opening Universal Orlando Resort’s fourth Theme Park for Guests, who can now immerse themselves in Epic Universe’s five worlds and enjoy its three new hotels.

Hotel Lobby

When florals become architecture.
Our custom bougainvillea ceiling installation spans 60 feet, with organic variations in width that bring movement and drama to this Luxury Orlando hotel lobby. Created in our Highwood studio and installed on site in Florida, this piece was designed to do more than decorate—it sets the tone, defines the space, and creates an atmosphere guests won’t forget..

Restaurants

Artistry, scale, and consistency—this is The Silk Thumb standard.
These custom 14-foot-tall olive trees, each with a 14-foot canopy, are meticulously hand-sculpted and finished with individually hand-painted bark, capturing the character, movement, and texture of mature, living olive trees. Every detail is intentional, designed to feel authentic from every angle and at every distance.

Rooftop Bar

Our custom faux palm trees are the ideal choice for rooftop bars, rooftop restaurants, pools, and hospitality spaces where traditional landscaping simply isn’t practical. Designed to withstand higher elevations and exposure while maintaining a flawless appearance, these palms create a lush, tropical atmosphere—without maintenance.

Chicago O’Hare International Airport

6 foot x 30 foot Boxwood Wall
Commercial grade, fire retardant, UV protected faux Boxwood Wall.
Modern, clean and trending look for commercial spaces.

Lake Forest Ferrari Dealership

See our work featured on HGTV’s Smart Home
We worked with Chicago’s Interior Designer and HGTV Host, Tiffany Brooks to create the silk plant designs for the 1.2 million dollar smart home in Raleigh, North Carolina. See our everlasting beautiful plants & trees throughout the most advanced home in HGTV history.

Read More

Our portfolio

From stylish offices and calming healthcare environments to vibrant hotels —our plant designs bring life, warmth, and beauty to every space.

Explore some of our recent work below, grouped by the industries and spaces we serve. Each project is custom-designed to match the client’s needs, space, and style.

Link to: Restaurants

Restaurants

Link to: Hotels

Hotels

Link to: UV Protected Artificial Foliage, Plants & Trees

Outdoor

Link to: Corporate & Commercial Spaces

Commercial

Link to: Car Dealerships

Car Dealerships

Link to: Residential

Residential

Link to: Pool

Indoor Pools

Link to: Faux Trees & Plants

Artificial Trees

Link to: Boxwoods

Boxwood Walls

Link to: Centerpieces

Centerpieces

‘The planters we created with the Silk Thumb turned out even better than we had imagined they would! While it was challenging to envision the plants creating a lifelike installation, Julie expertly selected convincing plants and materials that achieved the look we were hoping to attain. Overall, she did a tremendous job sourcing, organizing and installing what was by no means an easy project. Thank you”

“I love working with Julie because she’s passionate about her craft,” says Brooks. “Whenever I use silk plants in my design work, I call on Julie. Her product is so regal and the quality of her work is unmatched.”

Claire’s made the business decision to move from live plants to silk plants with the help of The Silk Thumb. We chose them as our silk plant vendor due to their outstanding quality, responsiveness, and affordability…

Julie did an excellent job recommending and providing beautiful silk plants to accentuate the decor of Chicago’s First Lady, a private party charter yacht located in downtown Chicago. She was a super sales person to keep me on track for a purchase I really wanted to make but lost my enthusiasm for when the economy tightened up. She offered an easy payment plan that did the trick and I am a happy client.

I am so pleased to see your great floral arrangements now in our lobbies!! They all look great and add so much to the lobby environment. My favorite is in the lobby of Feinberg. I am delighted for you and for us. I am sure they will appeal to many of the thousands of people each day who see them. I hope that some will follow through and end up becoming your long term clients. Best wishes and congratulations!

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The Silk Thumb, LTD.

Monday-Friday – By Appointment Only
847.687.3253

6 Walker Avenue
Highwood, IL 60040

[email protected] 

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