Why Astroturf felt the need to make strides into the world of home decor isn't clear, exactly, but whatever the motivation, faux-grassy accents seem to be sprouting up not just in "quirky" offices or on people's Brady Bunch-style lawns, but also inside quite stylish homes. Whether it replace traditional carpeting or grow on walls and furniture, the rooms below prove that the unlikely material—now so far from its once-humble spot on the soccer field—can indeed be styled to look pretty damn cool in the right surroundings. Take a look at the very best examples, ranked from the highly successful to the painfully bad (read: man caves and bunkers,) below:
(↑ and ↓) Grassy panels of plastic boxwood (and exactly one unicorn) line the walls in this Toronto mansion, setting the bar high for grass-as-art decorating endeavors. [link]
(↑) Another shot of the Toronto mansion.
(↑) Using a square of Astroturf in the place of a rug, like this beach house in Block Island, R.I., is also unexpectedly lovely. [link]
(↑) A blogger in Santa Catarina, Brazil wallpapers one section of her home office in fluffy fake grass. [link]
(↑ and ↓) A sitting room in Chicago's Randolph Tower apartment building throws down some indoor lawn and ends up with a very Wes Anderson-esque look. [link]
(↑) Another shot of the quirky Randolph Tower. [link]
(↑) Design firm Mabbott Seidel Architecture integrates a grassy carpet into an eclectic NYC apartment. [link]
(↑) A little touch of green brightens up a combination laundry room and office in Arizona. [link]
(↑ and ↓) Decorated by interior designer Lindsey Coral Harper, this showroom lounge sections off portions of the space with two faux-boxwood hedges, faux-living walls, and (faux) flamingos.[link]
(↑) Another shot of Lindsey Coral Harper's work.
(↑) This mid century-style dining room goes for a turf rug that matches the room's emerald decor. [link]
(↑) These (literal) lawn chairs on a Paris patio look cute but highly scratchy. [link]
(↑) Paired with all-white interiors, the green grass rug in this sleek home serves as a room focal point the The Dude would abide. [link]
(↑) Designed by Robson Rak Architects and interior design practice Made by Cohen, this Melbourne home features a thin turf carpeting in the retro-chic playroom. [link]
(↑) At the inaugural Designer Showhouse of New York, Baltimore Design Group filled the dining room with cute, if not exactly practical (not that that's ever the goal of a showhouse) table settings. [link]
(↑) A living room designed by Azovskiy & Pahomova Architects in Dnepropetrovsk, Ukraine also opts for Astroturf over a carpet. [link]
(↑) Interior designer Charlotte Moss tacked up a wall of plastic boxwood (basically Astroturf's rich cousin) in the master bedroom of NYC's 2012 Kips Bay Decorator Show House. [link]
(↑) Astroturf carpeting in the bathroom sounds like it could go either way, but in this little faux-forest nook it looks quite sweet. [link]
(↑) Spotted in a Texas home, a wall of rick-rack trim looks cutesy in a "I saw it on Pinterest" way. [link]
(↑) Faux-lawn in a vintage frame also seems to be having an unlikely moment on Pinterest. Sort of fun, maybe? Easier than sand or snow? [link]
(↑) The idea is there, but something about the execution doesn't quite work for this wannabe vertical garden in NYC. [link]
(↑) This "ultimate man cave" is atrocious, but utterly, completely fitting in the context of 'Git-R-Done' champion Larry the Cable Guy's Sanford, Fla. basement. [link]
(↑ and ↓) This fully subterranean landscape sits beneath the Las Vegas home of Avon cosmetics executive Girard Henderson. Needless to say, the lack of real grass is the least frightening part. [link]
Very Honorable Mention:
(↑ and ↓) Designed by local firm Weichlbauer Ortis Architects this entire house in Frohenleiten, Austria is covered in glorious, glorious Astroturf. [link]
· All Outdoors Week 2014 posts [Curbed National]