Decorating
Decorating: Fill Your Home With Floral Blooms and Foliage
Banish the last signs of winter and treat your home to some full-on flower power
Spring is a great time of year for introducing flowers and foliage into your home, but if you are usually no more adventurous than placing a vase of seasonal blooms on the mantelpiece or making a table centrepiece out of some spring bulbs, then it’s time to get creative and look for clever and crafty ways to add some pretty floral touches to your interior.
Be inspired by nature and embrace this season’s trend for bold floral patterns and botanical prints, filling your home with flowers of all sorts, from wallpaper and fabrics to fabulous faux flowers.
Be inspired by nature and embrace this season’s trend for bold floral patterns and botanical prints, filling your home with flowers of all sorts, from wallpaper and fabrics to fabulous faux flowers.
Grow a tiny garden
Original botanical prints depicting illustrations of plant parts are an enduring trend. Source an original online, keep an eye out in vintage shops, or find a new, reproduction print, and stick it in a vintage frame. The science angle makes it a less feminine way to display flowers.
Try hanging a framed print in a sunny corner of the room, accompanied by some leafy ferns and potted house plants, to create a mini indoor garden or greenhouse – a great solution if you don’t have access to the real thing.
Original botanical prints depicting illustrations of plant parts are an enduring trend. Source an original online, keep an eye out in vintage shops, or find a new, reproduction print, and stick it in a vintage frame. The science angle makes it a less feminine way to display flowers.
Try hanging a framed print in a sunny corner of the room, accompanied by some leafy ferns and potted house plants, to create a mini indoor garden or greenhouse – a great solution if you don’t have access to the real thing.
DIY yourself a floral tablecloth
Make a simple update to the dining room or a dressing table with a length of fabric used as a tablecloth. Source romantic blowsy florals in natural linen for a relaxed country feel. It’s a quick and easy idea, and cost effective, too. Layer with other fabrics in the room – on cushions, curtains, seat covers or napkins – for a seasonal update, teaming your tablecloth with fresh pastels in spring and summer, and checks and tartans for an alternative look in winter.
Make a simple update to the dining room or a dressing table with a length of fabric used as a tablecloth. Source romantic blowsy florals in natural linen for a relaxed country feel. It’s a quick and easy idea, and cost effective, too. Layer with other fabrics in the room – on cushions, curtains, seat covers or napkins – for a seasonal update, teaming your tablecloth with fresh pastels in spring and summer, and checks and tartans for an alternative look in winter.
Repeat repeat
For a more permanent floral injection, look out for graphic designs on wallpaper. Choose large repeat patterns for a strong visual statement. If you aren’t a lover of bright colours, take inspiration from nature’s muted silvery and greyish shades of green, and accessorise with furniture and decorative pieces in similar tonal shades.
Try this idea near windows or doors that overlook a garden for a simple but effective way of linking the outside with the interior. Also try introducing coordinating floral patterns in other decorative objects, such as table lamps and rugs, to boost the theme.
Discover how to choose the wallpaper of your dreams
For a more permanent floral injection, look out for graphic designs on wallpaper. Choose large repeat patterns for a strong visual statement. If you aren’t a lover of bright colours, take inspiration from nature’s muted silvery and greyish shades of green, and accessorise with furniture and decorative pieces in similar tonal shades.
Try this idea near windows or doors that overlook a garden for a simple but effective way of linking the outside with the interior. Also try introducing coordinating floral patterns in other decorative objects, such as table lamps and rugs, to boost the theme.
Discover how to choose the wallpaper of your dreams
Make it monochrome
Florals don’t need to be colourful. For a modern feel, bring in black and white blooms on textiles or wallpaper, then add a flash of colour with vibrant leafy green on a statement piece of furniture – a look that works particularly well in a monochrome scheme.
Florals don’t need to be colourful. For a modern feel, bring in black and white blooms on textiles or wallpaper, then add a flash of colour with vibrant leafy green on a statement piece of furniture – a look that works particularly well in a monochrome scheme.
Be neat and petite
For a delicate floral touch, introduce flowers in miniature form. Scour vintage shops and flea markets for small-scale pastel and oil paintings of flowers. For an unfussy effect that will work well with clean-lined furniture, remove the frame (unless it’s especially beautiful) and display the painting frameless.
Make the most of your tiny tableau by playing with scale and teaming it with an oversized contemporary piece that picks up on the colours of the blooms. For a quicker update, if you don’t happen to have giant accessories to hand, try framing a tiny painting in a larger frame to create a similarly playful effect.
For a delicate floral touch, introduce flowers in miniature form. Scour vintage shops and flea markets for small-scale pastel and oil paintings of flowers. For an unfussy effect that will work well with clean-lined furniture, remove the frame (unless it’s especially beautiful) and display the painting frameless.
Make the most of your tiny tableau by playing with scale and teaming it with an oversized contemporary piece that picks up on the colours of the blooms. For a quicker update, if you don’t happen to have giant accessories to hand, try framing a tiny painting in a larger frame to create a similarly playful effect.
Be bold in the bathroom
If your taste is generally quite muted, it can be fun to be a little more adventurous in your bathroom or cloakroom. Take a style lead from the architecture of the space: for example, romantic botanical prints bursting with exotic blooms, such as palm trees and orchids, could be used to create a colonial look, and would sit particularly well with Victorian-style sanitaryware. Here, wallpaper depicting lady’s-slipper orchids is the perfect design for drawing attention to the slipper bath.
In a 1960s house, on the other hand, a hint of kitsch Hawaiian foliage might work well. Or, in a grand Georgian room, you might combine a strong black and white stripe with your florals.
Browse 10 more bathroom ideas for Victorian homes
If your taste is generally quite muted, it can be fun to be a little more adventurous in your bathroom or cloakroom. Take a style lead from the architecture of the space: for example, romantic botanical prints bursting with exotic blooms, such as palm trees and orchids, could be used to create a colonial look, and would sit particularly well with Victorian-style sanitaryware. Here, wallpaper depicting lady’s-slipper orchids is the perfect design for drawing attention to the slipper bath.
In a 1960s house, on the other hand, a hint of kitsch Hawaiian foliage might work well. Or, in a grand Georgian room, you might combine a strong black and white stripe with your florals.
Browse 10 more bathroom ideas for Victorian homes
Brave some brushwork
Get crafty and upcycle an old piece of furniture by painting on some pretty, folksy flowers. If your art skills don’t quite stretch to the sort of freehand depiction seen here, seek out a floral stencil instead. You could leave the surrounds bare or decorate an entire piece of furniture, picking out the colours of your flowers in other details. Be sure to prime and undercoat your wood first, and varnish it afterwards to preserve your handiwork. This is not an instant project, obviously, but it is one that will give you a unique piece of furniture.
Make a focal point out of your new piece and create a ‘nature table’ cameo collection of objects on top that hint at other elements of the natural world. Consider framed butterfly or insect prints, wildlife ornaments and, of course, a freshly picked bunch of flowers from the garden.
Get crafty and upcycle an old piece of furniture by painting on some pretty, folksy flowers. If your art skills don’t quite stretch to the sort of freehand depiction seen here, seek out a floral stencil instead. You could leave the surrounds bare or decorate an entire piece of furniture, picking out the colours of your flowers in other details. Be sure to prime and undercoat your wood first, and varnish it afterwards to preserve your handiwork. This is not an instant project, obviously, but it is one that will give you a unique piece of furniture.
Make a focal point out of your new piece and create a ‘nature table’ cameo collection of objects on top that hint at other elements of the natural world. Consider framed butterfly or insect prints, wildlife ornaments and, of course, a freshly picked bunch of flowers from the garden.
Stick to shadows
If you don’t like bold, colourful flowers, opt for a subtle touch instead. A simple shadow effect is an interesting way to add just a touch of embellishment to plain woodwork, such as cupboard doors or window shutters (look for wall decals in suitably muted shades unless you have a willing artist on call).
Here, the pale grey stem of cow parsley running across the shutters is subtle, but enough to add visual interest and lead the eye out to the green of the garden. I love the little flower painting on the end of the island, too – both touches really make this kitchen memorable.
If you don’t like bold, colourful flowers, opt for a subtle touch instead. A simple shadow effect is an interesting way to add just a touch of embellishment to plain woodwork, such as cupboard doors or window shutters (look for wall decals in suitably muted shades unless you have a willing artist on call).
Here, the pale grey stem of cow parsley running across the shutters is subtle, but enough to add visual interest and lead the eye out to the green of the garden. I love the little flower painting on the end of the island, too – both touches really make this kitchen memorable.
Make your own floral art
Create a dramatic effect in the kitchen using modern methods: these days, it’s easy to get your favourite image turned into a wall-sized print. For best results, take a simple, clear image in restful shades that will complement the rest of the room rather than overpower it. And print the image to the exact dimensions of the wall to maximise the impact. This works particularly well in rooms lacking big windows or a strong focal point.
Create a dramatic effect in the kitchen using modern methods: these days, it’s easy to get your favourite image turned into a wall-sized print. For best results, take a simple, clear image in restful shades that will complement the rest of the room rather than overpower it. And print the image to the exact dimensions of the wall to maximise the impact. This works particularly well in rooms lacking big windows or a strong focal point.
Fake it
Embrace the beauty and practicality of faux flowers; good-quality fakes are having a real style moment right now. Sometimes, all it takes is a simple sprig of a delicate blossom or some slender grasses to add a dramatic floral touch to a room and allow you to have flowers that are out of season, or simply not available where you live. Plus, they’ll never die. (Just remember to dust them…)
TELL US…
How have you incorporated flowers into your interior? Share your tips and photos in the Comments below.
Embrace the beauty and practicality of faux flowers; good-quality fakes are having a real style moment right now. Sometimes, all it takes is a simple sprig of a delicate blossom or some slender grasses to add a dramatic floral touch to a room and allow you to have flowers that are out of season, or simply not available where you live. Plus, they’ll never die. (Just remember to dust them…)
TELL US…
How have you incorporated flowers into your interior? Share your tips and photos in the Comments below.
Use an oversized and graphic piece of art as a simple way to add a modern floral touch to a home. This could be in the form of a supersized artwork on the wall or an accessory, like this bright and bold printed cushion. Draw attention to the floral image with other strategically placed accessories, such as paintings, pretty floral china or even a pile of vintage flower books.