How to artfully style flowers in every room of your house

There’s a very simple reason why before an estate agent shows people around a new house, or a photographer takes a picture of a glamorous person at their home, they always add flowers.

It’s because they are one of the easiest and most effective ways of bringing colour and texture to a room, immediately elevating a setting and making it more beautiful somehow. Bringing nature inside also has an instant relaxing effect, and has been shown to reduce stress and anxiety. When you walk into a room and see flowers there, it just feels like someone cares, and that’s why they’ve put them there - they show that a space is lived in, loved, and thoughtfully curated rather than simply functional.

When it comes to our own homes, we’re usually quite good at adding a vase of daffodils as a centre-piece on a dining table, or a hand-picked bunch of wild flowers on a window ledge perhaps, but there are plenty of other more interesting ways that you can incorporate florals into every room of your house. Of course, there’s a lot to think about, not least what to put where, how to combine different colours and textures, and of course, the overall aesthetic of the rest of the room.

If all of this leaves you feeling a little overwhelmed, then don’t worry. Read on for our expert guide on how to style flowers artfully in every room of your house – from how to combine them, to how to display them and much more. With a few simple principles in mind, you’ll quickly find that styling flowers becomes an enjoyable and creative ritual rather than a daunting task.

Mix and match colours and sizes

While a singular bunch of flowers has its time and place, there’s so much joy to be had in an artfully styled bouquet. As well as mixing different colours, think too about combining a variety of petal sizes, stem heights and even textures, with woody foliage adding more interest. We love mixing delicate tulips with blousy peonies, for example.

Not feeling confident in your styling abilities? The key is to just have fun with it – but equally, you can’t go wrong with one of Appleyard’s expertly designed bouquets. Try starting with a focal flower and then building around it with smaller, more delicate stems to create balance and movement within the arrangement.

Consider the overall colour palette of the room:

If your room is white-walled and minimalistic, you can do pretty much whatever you want with your flowers, opting for a cacophony of colours. However, if your room already has wallpaper, or a specific colour palette on the walls or carpet, it’s definitely worth thinking about if your blooms will clash with it or compliment it. Another thing to watch out for is artwork: it’s always nice if you choose flowers that pick out similar colours (or even match) rather than something completely different, as it might be jarring on the eye. You might also consider seasonal tones, such as warm oranges and deep reds in autumn or soft pastels in spring, to help your space feel cohesive throughout the year.

Coordinate your flowers to your vase:

It’s easy to forget about the vase, but they’re pivotal for creating a beautiful overall effect. Be sure to coordinate the type of flower to the vase, as well as to the space it’s in. For example, ceramic jugs with fun stripes or checks look amazing in the kitchen, with a selection of wild flowers, for example. Meanwhile, an unusually shaped murano glass vase might work better in a bedroom or living room, with a few less flowers in it, to allow the vase design to have a greater impact. You can also reuse old glass bottles or jars for hand-picked bunches, to add a rustic flair to a dining room table.

It’s important to also consider the size of the vase and the size of the bunch: sometimes, bigger displays can be wasted by being squeezed into a vase that’s simply too small, and vice versa. It goes without saying that you should also always cut your stems down to size to fit the vase, so that they aren’t awkwardly poking out too high up. Adding fresh water regularly and trimming stems every few days will also help extend the life of your arrangement, keeping it looking its best for longer.

Think about surprising locations:

There are some places that we have come to expect to see a vase of flowers – a window ledge, a mantelpiece, or a dining table, for example. That’s why it’s always interesting to think about new places to display them, which are sure to prompt a smile in anyone not expecting to see them there. Good ideas include the hallway or the landing, on the stairs, or any other neglected spaces in the house. House plants have been popular as a decor choice in bathrooms for some time now, but why not have a vase of flowers instead, on the corner of the bath or the sink, or one a vanity table? Ditto the kitchen work surface. Indeed, anywhere that you have previously had a house plant can also benefit from flowers too.

It’s also interesting to think about putting them at different heights – on shelves, or on top of cupboards, or on the floor of the fireplace. The options are endless. Even a small bedside table or a home office desk can benefit from a simple arrangement. 

Remember scent:

We often forget about scent when it comes to flowers, but their fragrant smell is as much a part of their appeal as their beautiful colours. Put lavender amongst the flowers in your bedroom, to help encourage relaxation and sleep, or eucalyptus in the bathroom, to help clear your nasal passages while you shower. In the kitchen, you can choose culinary scents, like rosemary or sage, which are nice when added to bunches of other woody stems, such as roses or hydrangeas, for example. Layering scents throughout the home can also create a sensory journey, with each room offering a slightly different but complementary fragrance.