Recently I had to do a photoshoot for an Airbnb in South Yarra. I wanted to buy purple gerberas for the shoot because I think they’re young and fun. And this is what I perceived the interior style of the Airbnb to be. But the client wanted her favourite flower, tulips. Which got me thinking about the perfect flowers for your favourite interior style.
Flowers for formal interior styles
Formal interior styles suit formal flowers. Formal interior styles include French Provincial, Hamptons, Luxe. For interior styles like these I would consider formal or classic flowers such as roses, tulips and lilies.
But the colour of the flower and the vase they’re in also needs to be formal. So for the photoshoot I mentioned above, I chose purple/pink tulips, rather than white, for that young and fun feel. And I put them in a black Le Creuset ceramic jug not a typical vase.
Vases that suit formal flowers include simple glass vases, a ceramic vase in your chose colour scheme or a patterned vase such as a ginger jar.
Flowers for casual interior styles
Casual interior styles include Mid-Century Modern, Scandinavian, Boho and Industrial. So consider casual flowers such as gerberas and daisies. Sunflowers and ranunculus.
But with casual styles you could also consider foliage such as pampas grass, lavender, eucalyptus. In some homes, I’ve even used rosemary.
The vessel for flowers in more casual interior styles can be anything really. You can use old jars. I think this works well in Boho styles. Odd shaped ceramic vases and colours work as well too. For example smoked glass works well with Industrial styles.
Artificial or real flowers for your home
I see artificial flowers used a lot in coastal styles such as Hamptons. Flowers such as proteas, chrysanthemums, orchids and hydrangeas. While nothing beats the real thing, having fresh flowers all the time is expensive.
So my advice when using artificial flowers is to keep them at a distance. What I mean by this is on a bookshelf rather than closer to people like on a dining table. This way they’re part of your styling but far from people who can tell they’re fake. They get the visual experience but not the fake sensory experience.
This way you get the look and feel of flowers but not the bad fake experience.
When working with clients I try to use flowers they like when I do my final styling, which usually happens during the photoshoot this helps to personalise the space. Using the client’s favourite flowers also means that I’m working the perfect flowers for their favourite interior style
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