***Giveaway winner has been selected! Thank you for entering! :) ***
This post was brought to you in partnership with simplehuman. They gave us one of their new sensor open trash cans for the studio and another one to give away (details below!!)! Thank you for supporting the sponsors that help keep LGN going. :)
Do you have a list of back up jobs? Like, jobs you have in mind just in case your current job ever feels old or stale? I have two back ups, just in case this designer/shop owner thing doesn’t pan out. The first is a Labor and Delivery Nurse (because BABIES!!!) and the second would be a Florist. But given how much I really love interior design, and that I have four kids and that I also do my best to squeeze in as much florist moonlighting as possible around here, it might just be that I have the best of all worlds right now! :)
We make between five and ten arrangements a week for styling our projects. So every Monday morning I go to the flower market and stock up. While our studio kitchen is under construction we set up a makeshift floral station using our beautiful new voice and motion sensor trash can from simplehuman and this standing desk we got in the IKEA as-is section. I didn’t notice until we got it back to the studio that part of the laminate had been torn off (eye roll). But I’ve always wanted to try the marble contact paper and this seemed like the perfect experiment. It was super easy to do and I love this little floral station now! We can just come over and grab whatever we need during the week for print shop shoots or client spaces. And our beautiful new trash can helps us keep the area clean and tidy! It comes in a ton of color and finish options, but I love our sleek white one!
Most of my arrangements end up being loose and more organic with lots of greenery. I thought you might like a little tutorial on my general approach to flower arranging here!
I almost always start with a floral frog or oasis to help keep the stems upright and in place, especially with bigger vessels.
I always start with greenery as my foundation. I like to mix it up sometimes, but I pretty much always just want to use silver dollar eucalyptus. The bluey green color is my absolute favorite and the smell is amazing!! I use shears to cut the stems to size, so they hang a little long and loose. I’m also sure to remove the leaves that would be under water to help the arrangement last longer.
One of my best tips is to keep a tidy work station and clean up as you go. You guys, our new simplehuman trash can opens when you say “OPEN CAN” (!!!!). I mean, we basically live like the Jetsons now!
ANNE STREET print // HYACINTH print // rug
It also opens when you wave your hand near the lid and it will stay open if it senses you are still using it! Crazy right? This trash can has been so handy here at the floral station and I’ve become so obsessed that I got one for my kitchen at home. It’s awesome when the can is just open and ready for you to dump right in those drippy messes (like chicken! :/) that are just a regular part of meal prep. The germaphobe in me absolutely loves the touch-free element. And can we just talk about how gorgeous and sleek the can is? What a beauty!
You can plug in the can or use batteries and there is a built-in liner storage compartment inside the can that I think is just the coolest thing!
The next step for the flower arrangement after the greenery is to place a couple of your biggest flowers. I used blush dahlias as my base flowers here as well as couple of bright pink garden roses.
A good trick for measuring what length you should cut your flowers to is to hold them upright and trim to the height of your vase. Remember that it’s always better to cut a little long and have to maybe come back to trim a little more stem off than to be stuck with a too-short stem and a flower that keeps sinking into your arrangement! (I like to snip the ends right into our new trash can! Here’s a little pro-tip for you though: no need to say “close can.” I was saying that for a while until I realized it closes automatically! Hahahhaha.)
After you establish a general shape with the big foundation flowers, I like to add color and texture and further define the shape of the arrangement with a couple of smaller flowers.
I always like to add a touch of either black or really dark oxblood red to almost every arrangement for a little bit of contrast. These anemones do just the trick here!
Tada!! All done! I would use something large like this for a big coffee table or an entry console. If we change the water every day, arrangements like this one can last for two weeks!
Tell me, what are you favorite floral arrangement tips? I’d love to compare notes! And if you’re not arranging flowers with an touch-free trash can near by, you’re not living!! :)
PS We decided to give one of these gorgeous automatic-open cans to you! YAY! To enter to win, just leave a comment on this post with your dream household invention or your favorite simplehuman product.
Thanks again to simplehuman for sponsoring this post!
Ooooo I’ll take a robot chef! And one of these awesome trash cans!