| Flowers are emerging as
the essential accessory for creating a warm, inviting home.
Contemporary or antique, relaxed or vibrant, adding fresh cut
flowers and floral arrangements brings exquisite individuality and
charm to any home decor. Don't worry if you're not a professional
interior designer. Anyone can decorate with flowers to create a
personal and picture perfect home interior.
Matching Flowers to Your Home Style
Just as people have their own personalities, so do their homes.
According to the Society of American Florists, popular home
decorating personalities tend to fall into five categories. The
guide below shows how flowers can complement and enhance these
styles.
Classic Traditional
This home has formal architecture with impressive front doors,
foyers and individually decorated rooms. Design elements include
classic furnishings and antiques with elegant fabrics of brocade,
silk and tapestry. Classic arrangements call for a mixture of
flowers (roses, gladiola, iris, carnations, lilies or snapdragons,
to name a few) and accents such as dried fruit and foliage. Crystal,
brass, silver or porcelain containers are ideal for the classic
floral centerpiece.
Modern Contemporary
Sleek and chic, the modern home calls for clean lines, smooth
surfaces and form. Elegant fabrics, colorful silks, gauze or leather
accent steel, glass and other man-made materials. Bold, exotic
flowers (anthuriums, heliconia, callas, orchids) with strong lines
work well to complement this home's clean, open spaces. To complete
the dramatic look, flowers are best displayed in frosted glass
vases, decorative pottery and metallic containers with pewter or
stainless steel finishes.
Victorian
Velvets, satins, chintz, lace and organza create a feeling of
softness and romance in the Victorian home. Pastel colors or soft
tone-on-tone prints are used to delight the senses. Fragrant flowers
(roses, spray roses, peonies, lavender, gardenias, freesia) in pale
peach, lavender, pink, yellow and cream conjure images of romance
and sensuality. All of these delicious colors glow in lovely,
romantic vases of clear glass, crystal and silver.
Casual Easy Living
Casual living lifestyles focus on the simple pleasures of life. The
decor includes furniture of light pine, natural woods, bleached oak
or a white-washed painted finish with fabrics of linen and cotton in
neutral tones. Because these homes are designed for "stress
busting," flowers provide nature's balancing formula. The right
match might include flowering and green plants (like cyclamen,
kalanchoe, pothos or ivy) casually grouped in a basket, or flowers
(such as sunflowers, daisies, hydrangea, delphinium or tulips)
placed in a clear glass vase, pitcher or piece of pottery.
Whether sitting in a kitchen, family
room or guest bedroom, a basket of flowering plants enhances the
uncomplicated casual easy living home decor.
American Country
Recognized as a style all it's own, American country has become a
phenomenon. Motifs include artifacts from the past - such as quilts,
galvanized metal bowls and wooden crates. The result is comfort that
is easy and inviting. Woven baskets or simple vases of mixed spring
flowers (yarrow, wild roses, scabiosa, heather) fit perfectly on a
coffee table or kitchen counter. Cut flowers, blooming plants,
herbs, wreaths and swags with that farm-fresh look are a natural
extension of this homespun decor.
For more advice on incorporating
floral elements into your home, talk with your local florist. He or
she will be able to capture just the style you're looking for - with
flowers. |