05. Lesson: space.
The first thing to consider is the size of your botanicals — for example, in a really large room, you may want to use an indoor tree or some sort of a grand thing hanging from the ceiling; in smaller spaces, perhaps a bookshelf, the answer may be an interesting dried twig in a small bottle or a bowl full of seed pods. Something else to consider when we talk about space is the theme or house story you’re working with. If you have an architecturally modern house, you may want to look for more angular house plants while, if you have a cottage in the countryside, you may lean more toward scrubs you have foraged from around your property as well as little finds from the forest. Whatever the scale, you always want to utilize botanicals in such a way that it evokes the mood your house story aches for.
{ Go to Q5.1 - Do you have a large cavernous space to fill or is it small and cosy? Think about the size of arrangements you’d like to do in your house and what sort of scale you’re thinking. }
05. Lesson: surroundings.
Essentially our job is to invite the outside in and you may choose to do so by considering the colour palette of your surroundings as the key colours you will use inside. You may even think about using botanicals that are native to your property inside. The work is to utilize things that help to place you in your environment —- I recommend having a walkabout your area, taking note of things, cutting and collecting in different quantities and seasons, so you begin to have a relationship with the natural world around you. Look for buds and branches and opportunities that are unexpected. It’s truly amazing to witness how quickly a bit of nature can elevate even the most already beautiful of spaces.
If you have a garden, consider it and the area outside as much a part of your house as your house. Pay attention to spaces like these and include them in the experience of your home, designing and styling them as you would the interiors.
{ Go to Q5.2 - What colours are around your house in the natural world? Think about the colour of the earth and sky as well as plants and branches and things. Take note of the scent in the air? How does it feel? Is it foresty, beachy, a suburb, the country? }
05. Lesson: schedule.
The final thing to consider is schedule: how often can you be styling or looking after something in your home? If you live onsite and you’re a keen gardener, perhaps you always want to do fresh arrangements and have beautiful house plants. If you have a property manager or a housekeeper, you want to consider dried botanicals (like arrangements, twigs, bowls of seed pods and leaves).
Another thing that is really low maintenance is using botanicals in things like wallpaper, murals, material patterning, and the like. Instead of thinking of nature only as a literal thing, you can weave the elements of nature through your styling.
{ Go to Q5.3 - What’s your maintenance schedule? realistically what would you like to do: dried arrangements, fresh arrangements, house plants, botanicals woven through your props and furniture? }
05. Lesson: your three go to arrangements.
There are three arrangements you can use in almost any home. Try each arrangement as an exercise, photographing and posting your work.
One ingredient in a bud vase. Try making a pairing of two different ingredients next to one another in a narrow necked bud vase. Consider pairing for impact and consider using a variety of different things. Be sure to stagger your stem height and be aware of the rhythm and depth you create.
Large Branch in a tall narrow-necked vase. The emphasis of this arrangement is on height and its striking simplicity.
A more complex mixed arrangement using chicken wire or a flower frog
Key things to remember.
You should always be on the hunt for vessels with a narrow neck.
Have some chicken wire in your styling kit for open-mouthed vessels
Remember that, in general, arrangements should be two times higher and wider than your vase.
Play around with drying things and remember that you dry them upside down.
05. Just so your questions are all in one spot ….
Q5.1 - Do you have a large cavernous space to fill or is it small and cosy? Think about the size of arrangements you’d like to do in your house and what sort of scale you’re thinking.
Q5.2 - What colours are around your house in the natural world? Think about the colour of the earth and sky as well as plants and branches and things. Take note of the scent in the air? How does it feel? Is it foresty, beachy, a suburb, the country?
Q5.3 - What’s your maintenance schedule? realistically what would you like to do: dried arrangements, fresh arrangements, house plants, botanicals woven through your props and furniture?
