You Gotta Have a Zebra
Picture a large herd of brown and black horses.  Its a sea of dark shapes.  Suddenly, in the midst of the herd you spot, could it be, a zebra.  Its white and black stripes stand out like a beacon. 

Well, in the world of interiorscaping, we, too, have "horses" and zebras". For us the zebra may be an exotic plant or an unusually shaped or colored decorative container while the horses are the usual, most often specified plants or the simple containers in standard colors and finishes. 

For example, think ‘Janet Craig" Dracena in a light tan Roundz cylinder container.  Definitely a workhorse, definitely.  Now visualize a bromeliad in a Euro style container.  A zebra-definitely a zebra. 

Use Zebras Sparingly
Too many zebras can result in sensory overload so the trick is to use them with caution.  Let the intended use of the space and the existing surroundings be your guide. 

For example, offices demand lots and lots of workhorses while hotels and residential projects call out for a higher proportion of zebras.  In other words, where there are lots of the same,–same desks, same chairs, same cubicles, think workhorses.  And, if there are oriental rugs, elaborate window treatments, exotic woods—-think zebras.

Explain As You Go Along
And while you are going through this mental process, don’t hesitate to share your design reasoning with your client.  Explain why a particular plant is , from the design aspect, a zebra and how very "special" zebras are.  They are tempermental but, oh, beautiful and worth the extra effort and, usually, the additional cost. Explain why one decorative container is  fabricated differently and even though both are approximately the same size, one is more costly than the other. 

Sometimes Its Best to Compromize
When the budget is a factor consider adding a "zebra" plant in a "workhorse" container.  In this case you are geting the most bang for the buck and by using a simple planter you are letting the unusual and eyecatching plant be the "star".  Example:  Gorgeous Red Bromeliad in a simple, classic Black cylinder planter.  Dy-no-mite.

Your Client Wants to Know
And speaking of price differences, often your client doesn’t understand why one 6 foot plant is twice the price of another 6 foot plant.  I always found that they are always thinking this question even though they don’t voice it.  Take the bull by the horns and explain that not all 6 foot Palms are created equal or, even, created the same way and that’s why there are price differences.  For example, the Kentia Palm (a zebra) is grown from seed and not a cutting and that it takes many years to reach a certain height while the Massangeana Cane plant (a workhorse) is grown from cane cuttings and only takes a few months to grow to 6 feet.  In short, you are educating the client and as they "get it", watch their eyes light up.  Now they understand why one plant costs more than another and they are excited and pleased ’cause, "Hey, Dude, we’re getting a zebra".