A good flower arrangement brightens the room, adding charm and colour to the environment. Because of their natural shapes and hues, flowers are very good at breaking monotony. They can also communicate certain themes or suggestions.
Sunflowers, for example, carry hints of summer and good cheer. Pale lilies hint at placidity and contemplation, great for bedrooms and studies. The right flower arrangement to the room enhances the designer or decorator’s intent.
Type Of Flowers
Flower arrangements can use fresh, silk (artificial), or dried flowers. Fresh flowers are the most desirable choice, but these don’t last. The cost of replacing them every day is prohibitive. Still, you might want to consider fresh flowers for special events, like a house party or birthday.
If you intend for a flower arrangement to be semi-permanent, you’ll want artificial flowers; a bit of dusting and they’re fine. Although they’re called silk flowers, artificial flowers aren’t always made of silk. For an exotic touch, artificial flowers can even be made from glass, soap, or coloured paper.
Dried flowers are another form of lasting arrangement. These are flowers that have been pressed and dried, in a manner that preserves their colour. Dried flowers are fragile, so don’t expect to dust them.
In order to pick the right assortment of flowers, consider the style of the room. For most traditional styles, use spring flowers in brass vases. For something distinctly Victorian, you could use orchids along with spring flowers, and arrange them in a fish bowl or urn. Also, use a colour wheel and ensure that the flowers complement the room’s colour scheme.
A flower arrangement can have several general designs. Vertical, horizontal, triangular, oval, and crescent forms are common. Then there’s the lazy “s”, or Hogarth’s Curve, and entire schools of Ikebana (Japanese floral arrangement). If you don’t have any training in floral arrangement, your best bet is to go for a freestanding arrangement.
Type Of Arrangement
A freestanding floral arrangement is visible from any angle, and adds a splash of colour to any room. It can be used as a focal point, or to enhance an existing focal point.
Use tall flowers to determine the shape of the overall arrangement. These are also called line flowers, and can be any flower in which the blossoms are close to the stem. Typical examples are delphiniums and snapdragons.
Vary the length of the line flowers based on their surroundings; if the arrangement will sit above a large fireplace, make them tall and proud. If they’re going to be next to a small photo frame, make them a little shorter and less overpowering.
Next, choose the focal flowers. These constitute the bulk of the arrangement. Try to ensure that there is a single, dominant colour in the whole arrangement; the others are just accent. The dominant colour should complement the room’s overall colour scheme. Insert the focal flowers all around the vase, turning it as you stick them in. Spread them evenly, as a freestanding arrangement will be seen from all angles.
Complete the arrangement by using filler flowers. These should be a different colour, or at least a different texture, from the focal flowers. Use them to fill the spaces between the focal flowers, again turning the vase as you do so.
And that’s all it takes! A basic freestanding floral arrangement.
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Cover photo courtesy of Jenny Steffens
