Your Space Our Design: December 2009

This year I really wanted to make a centerpiece that was both contemporary but that also fit in with my traditional decor as well as being a show stopper! Doing my usual reading-up on the topic from both magazines and Internet sites, I found a style that I absolutely loved! The inspiration came from Traditional Home`s Holiday 2009 edition found on page 62 as well as a segment featured on Cityline. I liked the concept of roses and holiday type greenery combined in a decorative pot. Of course, like everything else I do with design, I decided to put my own unique spin on it!

The first thing that I did was brainstorm on what types of pots I currently had lying around the house. Being a designer I have a ton of beautiful containers, but one immediately popped out at me. I have an extensive blue and white porcelain collection that I began about 10 years ago and my absolute favorite piece, a blue and white bowl with antique gold edging was perfect! This bowl is very traditional and would be a nice contrast to the style I was trying to achieve.

Knowing that the bowl was fairly large, I set out to my favorite holiday idea store, Dominion. I know what you`re thinking,-"how does Dominion have the items I am looking for?" Let me explain.... Dominion (grocery stores) carry a large variety of greenery at a considerably lower price than other stores I have been to. They also carry a lot of contemporary Christmas ornaments and have a good selection of stock.

So I went to Dominion and picked up a large bunch of mixed greenery from outdoors. Then I went to the floral department with white roses in mind like the picture from my inspiration. Surprise, suprise- they didn't have any white roses, but they did have the most beautiful deep red colored roses that coordinated perfectly with my greenery and proved to be a harmonious combo for a holiday scheme. On my travels, I also spotted some fresh holly so I threw that in the cart as well! Once I had these times, I visited the seasonal department and went looking for ornaments. You may be wondering why I was looking for ornaments but we'll get to that shortly...

I found that a shiny silver color was an amazing contrast to the deep red and green in my existing shopping cart items. I also threw in a small box of tiny red ball shaped ornaments in matte and shiny finishes to go with the holly. Just as a side note, I picked up a bottle of red wine for good measure and headed out into the frigid night on my way home...

I began making the arrangement by using a brick of floral foam and soaking it for about 5 mins in cold water. Then I laid the brick inside the bowl I was using and got down to work. I started with the mixed greenery and cut medium lengths of the cedar from the bunch. I worked around the perimeter of the arrangement and built on as I went making sure to fill any gaps along the way. The trick is to use a variety of greenery so I layered cedar, pine and couple of other varieties to fill up the bowl and make a plump and luxurious mixture.

Once the bulk of the greenery was added, I randomly placed the roses in the foam, ensuring that they looked balanced; this is where the designer comes in. I have an eye for placing things in just the right spot. I don't know exactly how I do this but I am certain that it always looks perfect to by the end. If you're not sure how to place the roses just follow a photograph.

To finish off the centerpiece, I added the fresh holly to areas that needed punches of red. I added a small cluster of pine cones to one side and then I looked for holes in the arrangement; this is where the ornaments come in... I filled in the gaps with spectacular shiny silver ornaments and layered the holly with the smaller red tones.

Voila! the arrangement was complete and I was beaming with confidence from another successful design project! I love the color scheme and the way the whole thing looks on my table. It also coordinates with my mantle and tress design which is an important point- you must ensure everything flows with your color scheme. You are not limited so feel free to use whatever flowers you wish or whatever goes with your decor.

The greenery should last for about a month and the roses approx 3 weeks. I am planning on adding fresh roses or possibly another variety of flower once these ones wither.

Enjoy!