Incorporating Flowers into Your Table Design - How to Style A Tablescape Like A Professional - 4th in this series
When incorporating flowers into a tablescape you have endless opportunities for including additional visual interest, layers, textures and colors to your design.
Add a hint of rose, some warm woody pieces from nature and other fragrant blooms to your table and you have a warm and welcoming centerpiece.
“to creat something exceptional, your mindset must be relentlessly focused on the small details.”
Let’s look at how and why I chose the flowers that went into my design.
Here is the picture I used initially to gather my ideas for the table design. It is what I think of when visiting Provence. It captures the rustic surroundings with bits of elegant romantic design.
First: Let’s revisit my table’s overall theme. It is the first thing I do before selecting flowers. When I have a clear vision of where the story takes place and what I want the theme to be, I can finish my design feeling confident I am moving in the right direction. Having a visual in your mind of what you are trying to create is so much more helpful than going on a whim. This process can be used whether you are styling for a tea party, bridal shower or any interior design project you start to work on. It is manditory for me. I need a vision before moving forward with any design project.
The setting of a story is the time and place where the event is set. It is the culture and society that shapes the story. The setting to my tabletop design was placed in the backyard of a gorgeous historic chateau in Provence in the summertime.
The theme of your story delivers a deeper undercurrent of an unspoken word. In my theme, you see a group of women, all dear friends, coming together to catch up with one another. They are so delighted to see each other and content to spend the afternoon sharing stories and memories. They are sitting at a beautifully designed table in the middle of a robust blooming garden. The private estate is sophisticated, cozy, casual and intimate. Already, I certainly want to in attendance for this gathering…don’t you!
after revisited my table’s setting and theme, I had more idea’s to work with when curating my table. The basic table setting was complete and now I needed to really elivate the design to make it timeless. For me, flowers have always been the way I express whether a table will be formal or casual. This table will be ageless and refined with the distictive style and beauty of Provence.
Second: I next researched which flowers bloom in Provence during the summer season.
French gardens are often filled with picturesque arbors ideal for late summer afternoon tea and showcase the heart of French design. They are casual yet sophistocated and vibrant yet strikingly romantic.
The warm rich climate of Provence is shared with Italy’s dry soil. There is a fusion in the culture and design everywhere you look. Both Italian and French heritage riddles the countryside in Provence. The confit pot is a great example of the fusion in the two cultures coming together in a historical design element.
The French love both their flowers as well as herbs. Both are very common in everyday gardens. They use their herbs all year round for cooking and they are absolutely essential to the French cuisine.
The French love to use their dishes and linens that have been handed down from generations. They very much are family focused and charish those things that belonged to their ancesters from long ago. It is not unusual for a modern French woman to set a table with a mix of both current and vintage tableware.
“As Rosemary is to the Spirit, so Lavender is to the Soul.”– Anonymous
This centerpiece presents additional layers to the table as well as more texture and color.
Third: I started selecting flowers based on what I wanted my design to look like. I wanted to incorporate the colors from the finished tabletop into the florals along with some additional colors that would give the design a deeply rich and layered look.
I also wanted the flowers to appear as if someone had just gone outside, picked a bunch of flowers from the garden and casually placed them in their favorite vintage confit pot, which they now use as a vase for the table. I wanted my table to feel hugge and to tell a sweet story.
For me, having blooms cascade down the confit pot was both elegant and haphazard in nature, as if quickly arranged before guests arrived.
The confit pot had warm hues of brown and cream and represented an arid climate filled with deep-rooted heritage. The vintage appearance of the pot tells a story of its surroundings culture. There is depth and intimany in its grandeur. I love that and wanted to capture that feeling in the flowers as well as in other elements on the table.
As for the flowers, I wanted to design the essence of the setting and theme in one array of flowers. The centerpiece had to represent all the robust flowers in the garden. I wanted it to have huge blooms that are soft and romantic. I didn’t want anything that would have sharp lines or edges. My centerpiece had to be warm, soft and inviting.
Here are the flowers that I chose and why:
Dusty Miller: I chose dusty miller for its green/gray color. The leaves match nicely with the different grays in the table as well it added both texture and warmth to the arrangement. The fuzzy softly curved leaves cascaded down the side of the pot and filled space.
Hydrangea’s: I then added cream-colored and light blue hydrangea to soften the centerpiece. Hydrangea’s have a complex texture and add depth and volume to a centerpiece. The opening of the pot is very large and I needed big blooms to fill some space and they did exactly that.
Delphinium: I added just a few delphinium for the pop of deep blue I was looking for. I wanted a vibrant blue flower to match both my vintage Spode plates and votives. Delphinium’s have very small blooms that are deeply colorful. There aren’t many blue blooms especially in November. These were perfect. I chose stalks that were small and fell in a beautiful manner. I also used the little blooms in other areas of the design…I’ll get to that later.
David Austin Roses - Heritage: I then added beautiful David Austin Heritage roses to the bouquet. One type had powdery off-white petals with hints of pink and berry tones. The blush color added nicely to the brown hues in the confit pot as well gave my centerpiece a warm richness I was looking for. I also added a cream heritage rose. I wanted to add color yet still stay with the softness and romance of the tablescape. These beautiful roses were a bit old fashion and very fragrant. Perfect for the look I was going for, cozy and warm.
Eucalyptus: I chose seeded and silver dollar eucalyptus for its arid feel as well as its ability to both cascade down the confit pot and capture some of the warm greens in the runner. It has a blue/gray color to it that mixed well with the rest of the flowers and gave the centerpiece a sweet old world feel to it.
Creamy White Hypericum Berries: I love creamy hypericum berries. I use them in most everything I decorate with flowers. They add just a touch of warmth and beauty to any arrangement. These spots of berries added to the delicate nature of the arrangement. They both cascaded beautifully and mixed well with the heritage roses.
Astrantia Sparkling Star Pink: This elegant show stopper was the star of the bouquet. Everyone wanted to know about this lovely bloom. The beautiful strawberry and cream, posy-like flower is anything but ordinary. This is an upright clump forming perennial whose beautiful small pink flowers are surrounded by magenta bract like colorful pin cushions. The ones in my bouquet looked almost a purple in color. The unopened blooms were as beautiful as the bloom themselves. They truly were the grand finale of the entire centerpiece. There was not a lot of them in the arrangement and peaked out here and there giving the bouquet a hint of mystery, added color and romance. They were magnificant.
Creating this floral design was an effort of a few. I looked to my favorite nursery to help me create the best arrangement I could using the colors that I felt were necessary. It was a collaborated effort with a group of people who are both extremely creative and experts in their field. I am very thankful to have had them on my team. Thank you Riverside Nursery for all your efforts and guidance into this lovely floral arrangement. Melissa, you are the absolute best!
This bouquet was created separately for a presentation on the side of the table. It had all of the flowers that were in my centerpiece.
This French market basket was sitting on a chair by the side of the table. I wanted it to represent just another element to my story. In my story, the basket is full of flowers picked from the garden. It is all the unused flowers that were supposed to go into the centerpiece, but they ran out of room, so they remained in the basket. Along with the flowers are fresh French baguettes that were picked up from the local bakery and a beautiful linen dish towel. All quintessentially French and perfect for adding to the theme of the story.
I adore this French market basket. I actually use it when gardening today. When I go outside to my own garden, I use it to gather my blooms and bring them in to put in a vase.
Did you know that the French market basket is commonly used throughout France and Europe to carry fresh produce, cheeses, and baguettes from outdoor markets? Because they are lightweight and strong, they are ideal for food shopping. The primitive french baskets of long ago were made of sturdy but heavy straw. The straw baskets of today are light and can be used for many different things.
““My garden is my most beautiful masterpiece.” ”
“The thing is…a floral centerpiece is another way to incorporate additional design elements in your tablescape such as color, texture and layers. They can add to your story and elevate your design… pay attention to the details. Use your own imagination and you will not be disappointed.”
Here is a quick video of my finished tablescape.
“Mon Jardin à la Française” or “My French Garden”
As with everything I post on my blogs, please feel free to comment or if you have any questions, please email me through my contact page. I welcome it anytime!
Design with your heart™️
Happy entertaining my friends!
Mary
“May your home be a place where friends meet, family gathers, and love grows. ”
Next up…in the fifth series, how I created the delightful nosegays using herbs on each of the place settings.
