With the freshness of the new year often comes the urge to redecorate. Instead of spending a lot of money on new décor, why not use dried flowers to add a bit of intrigue and whimsy to your interior spaces? Dried flowers are experiencing a styling resurgence. They can be seen all over Pinterest right now, but they can be a bit intimidating to create and arrange. So, we teamed up with Michelle Lywood to show how to easily decorate with dried varieties of blooms in your own home.
1. On A Fireplace Mantel.
One easy way to showcase dried flowers is on your mantel. They create a delicate, soft look that goes great with vintage décor and furniture. Michelle broke them up into unique vases (think: vintage milk glass and amber apothecary jars) to continue that effortlessly antique vibe. She suggests opting for low-maintenance varieties (eucalyptus, wheat, tallow berry and cotton) when curating your dried arrangement.
2. Inside A French Market Tote.
We love the idea of styling a French Market Tote with dried flowers inside your home. That’s part of the beauty of using dried flowers—they are low maintenance (ahem, no water!) and last a long time, possibly even forever. Making flower arrangements and then styling them inside a pretty woven tote is unexpected and looks beautiful. Try arranging them on the floor by the fireplace or you can even hang them in your entryway for a timeless, elegant touch.
3. Use Apothecary Jars.
Another unexpected and delightful way to showcase your favorite dried flowers is by dropping them into apothecary jars. It may take a bit of time to get them to sit just the way you want and you may struggle to get them out of the jars (we don’t plan to ever take them out!), but once you get them just right, it’s pretty stunning. We love the idea of a soft brown, pink and white combination, and adding a silky ribbon gives it a romantic touch. This type of miniature, portable arrangement could even be a fun gift idea!
Michelle’s Dried Flower Suggestions:
- Poppy Pods
- Tallow Berry
- Air Plants
- Limonium Flower
- Rice Flower
- Stardust Gypsum
- Pampas Grass
- Wheat
- Bunny Tail
- Cotton
- Carnations
- Spray Roses
- Eucalyptus
Drying Tips:
- Most flowers dry best when hung upside down, as it prevents their stems from bending at the top or the petals flattening to one side. However, gravity does take effect and significantly shrinks the size of the blooms with the petals oriented downwards. As the flowers dry, I manually spread the petals from time to time to help them maintain some shape.
- It is best to find a place that is out of direct sunlight and has low humidity for the best drying outcomes.
- I use wire to hang my stems and secure to the end of the stem using masking tape. All plants shrink as they dry and can slip out of materials that were initially tied snug around them, so the tape is an added bit of security to make sure they don’t fall. Once the stem is dry enough that it can hold the weight of the bloom, I then transfer it to a vase where the blooms will continue to dry.
- Keep in mind that most white florals will turn brown as they dry. Darker-colored florals are most likely to maintain color, or any variety that was colored using dyes. Carnations, for example, come in many different colors that are artificially dyed and most often will maintain that color after they are dried.
- Hang non-floral plant varieties upside down, leave them in a vase with no water or even lay them sideways on a flat surface. The more time they are given to dry, the more unique their dried colorings will manifest, which can range from dark green and a faded sage green to beige with varying warm tones. Eucalyptus is my favorite foliage to dry as the range of colors is always beautiful. However, leaves with interesting shapes or textures can also be great style additions!
- If you find a few stems of foliage you like that have more delicate leaves, you can place the leaves under or in between the pages of a large book with the stems sticking out from one end. Any evenly distributed weight on the leaves will prevent them from curling and shriveling as they dry. Although, sometimes drying them openly can result in really interesting shapes and movement, too.
A few other ways to use dried flowers:
- Hot glue them into frames for display (use a shadow box frame for those blooms that weren’t flat-pressed)
- Hot-press them onto the sides of pillar candles
- Dry lavender for scented satchels perfect for cars, closets, bathrooms, etc.
You may also like: A Beautiful Gift For The Flower Lover and Dramatic Fireplace Mantel Flowers
