Flowers are one of the most beautiful ways to decorate your home. With the approach of spring, there's no better time to add some flora to your apartment or home to beautify your living space and add a touch of color and joy to your surroundings. Here are some tips, tricks, do's and don'ts for decorating your house with floral arrangements.
Do Consider Placement and Color when Using Living Plants
If you are using live flowers to decorate your home, be sure to consider where in the space and the colors of the flowers you select. Live flowers are always a wonderful choice as according to the principles of feng shui, they bring a strong healing energy.
There are important principles to consider when decorating a room -- it could be as simple as picking subdued, soft blooms when decorating your bedroom to create a calming, relaxing space for sleep. However, there are deeper factors at work. Decorate the northwest corner, known as the “prosperity quadrant†of a space with flowers to encourage wealth to grow! This is especially potent if you use chrysanthemums.
If you're looking to spice up your love life, consider putting peonies in your bedroom or the top right corner of a room as they promote love and romance. Place orchids in your living room to promote good fortune in your entire household-- this is especially powerful if you're hoping for a raise or a career move. If you have a home office, you can use a lotus to assure knowledge and harmony, while a hydrangea will help the creative juices flow. Flowers can be linked to increasing energy and compassion when used in home decorating.
The exact type and placement of bloom is crucial, but don't forget the role of color. If you already have a distinct color scheme in your home or a particular room, select blooms that will complement the existing design, rather than ones that might clash.
Don't be afraid to go monochromatic (one color) or mono-botanic (one type of flower) if that's what works best in the space. Blues and greens are soothing, tranquil shades, while bright reds and oranges promote a more intense energy and a sensual environment. If you want a nurturing bloom, opt for shades of yellow and peach, while pinks and lavenders will lend a romantic vibe to any space.
Don't Buy Store-Bought Flowers if You Can Help It
Conventionally grown flowers that you might find at the grocery store are not only potentially expensive, but also a likely detriment to the environment. They may even be harmful to your health if the florist or the company who grew the flowers used dangerous pesticides or chemicals to keep the flowers fresh and safe from various insects, etc.
You can easily source locally-grown organic flowers or find an eco-friendly florist.
Do Take Into Account the Room You're Decorating
The space you choose to place flowers has a big impact on their efficacy. Be sure to place them in high traffic areas, like a foyer, so that everyone who enters your home can enjoy them. The kitchen and dining table are the centers of the home, so if you have to choose one spot for a floral arrangement, those are the perfect option. If you're in an expansive space such as an airy room or a large entryway, focus on big blooms like hydrangeas or lilies that can fill the space and draw the eye. Don't neglect unexpected areas like a bedroom or bathroom.
A bedside table can be a lovely place for a bouquet and a beautiful way to start and end your day -- tea roses, lilies, and freesias are all wonderfully fragrant choices to act as natural air fresheners in these living spaces. You may wish to stick to more tranquil, soothing tones in the bedroom and bathroom as these are often places in our home where we seek rest or prepare for sleep.
If you're decorating the dining room, don't limit yourself to a centerpiece -- you can line a table runner with smaller arrangements or decorate each place setting with a single flower. A bright and eye-catching bouquet is a great accent in an entryway, but be willing to shake this up -- place a basket with a fresh garden bouquet on a table or make a wreath for the front door from fresh flowers.
In the kitchen, you can get more practical, lining a windowsill with potted herbs and sun-hungry flowers. If you have a fireplace in your living room or family room, use seasonal floral arrangements to brighten up the hearth in the spring and summer when you're not using it. If you have a home office, you may want to shake things up and plan a “nature break†for yourself with a fern, potted plant, or some other greenery.
Don't Stick to Tradition
When choosing floral decor for your home, you don't have to stick to traditional bouquets and blooms. You can float blooms in bowls and glasses of water and include other decorative elements like floating candles to create a unique arrangement. More importantly, use all kinds of plant life.
Take the springtime cherry blossoms out of the garden and use them as a stunning rarely seen indoor bouquet -- it will look like you have a mini tree in bloom in your home. Surround or stuff a vase with freshly cut citrus -- lemons, limes, and oranges -- for a zest of freshness and an unexpected pop of color. If you really want to do something different, place single flowers in eggshells for a fresh take on arranging. Instead of filling a vase with stems or water only, fill the bottom with shells, pebbles, and colorful rocks -- this will add an eye-catching accent to your arrangements. Twigs, pebbles, and dried flowers make stunning additions to arrangements -- you don't need to rely on fresh blooms to do all the work.
Do Use Anything As a Vase
Do flowers look beautiful in a traditional glass or silver vase or a clay pot? Of course. But you can use the trappings of your home to create a vase from nearly anything that will result in a truly unique arrangement. If you're in the yard, repurpose a watering can, an old pair of rain boots, or a wheelbarrow for your planting purposes. In the kitchen, use a soup tureen for a large arrangement or a coffee cup or tea cup for something lovely and dainty.
Truly anything from an antique glass bottle to a basket to an empty tin can to a water pitcher can be the perfect vessel for your bouquet. The sky or the nearest empty jar, can, or bucket you have on hand is the limit when it comes to where to put your decorative flora!
When it comes to using flowers in your home decorating, there really are no rules. But these do's and dont's will help you maximize the beauty and special energy of the blooms you choose. Once you know the style and space you want to decorate, you can start shopping for flowers!
This article was created by Chad Kremp
