Thank you. I'm unsure what to use to fill the space. I will upload a photo tomorrow.

I have seen beautiful wood carved palms. Really detailed, great luster and easy to keep!

Some thinking says, Never use artificial plants, they are unacceptable. Others point out the practicality. An artificial plant is definitely preferable to a sick or scrawny real plant. Really good artificial plants look real but they are not cheap. I myself prefer no plants to artificial ones.

Let me preface this by saying that I loathe artificial plants. But your question is about period appropriateness. My understanding is that the 1960's were a bit of a low point for artificial plants because of the new use of (and enthusiasm for) plastics and foam products. So they were used, but they didn't look as (comparatively) nice or realistic as either earlier ones (from silks) or later ones (from synthetics that look like silks). I remember my mother turning her nose up at tacky plastic plants in the 1960's, but I saw them occasionally in other people's houses.

Please, no! Era appropriate or not, expensive or not, they're hideous dust catchers.

In our 1960s house, there were a few artificial plants. All were plastic, and looked it.
The "silk" artificial plants available these days did not exist then. Older real silk flowers were usually faded, dusty, and/or month eaten.
If you want plants, use real ones. Otherwise, consider some kind of sculpture.

Artificial Reeds would look great or a modern topiary. High quality artificial plants can look very real and require no maintenance. Don't go with cheap mass produced stuff from China. We make hand crafted trees and accent plants that don't look plasticy...but they will cost more than you will find at Michaels... they will last years and look great. In the 1960's they didn't have the same materials or technology to make quality artificials like are available now. You can also go with Preserved Natural stuff, like Boxwood.