Selecting a silk floral arrangement

If you are in the market for buying a custom made silk floral arrangement I often advise customers to set down and think about detail. The following list is not only for those who are having a custom made flower arrangement made for them, but is for the do-it-yourself people.

1. Sit in the room where you want the flower arrangement to go. Look at the style of the room (country, modern, classic, cottage, vintage, etc), then note the colors of the room (the main color, the accent colors, and the colors of any woods), next note any type of collections you have in the room, and finally measure the space (height and width) that you have for said flower arrangement.

2. Decide if you want a 360 design (which is a fully flower arrangement all the way around and is often used on tables in the center of a room, etc) or if you need a wall arrangement (this arrangement has one side without floral material in it so that is will sit closer to a wall). If you are doing a dried twigs (purely twigs, pods, and other wood looking dried materials) then skip step 4.

3. Note at least three of your favorite colors (does not have to be a color used in the room) and your five favorite types of flowers (roses, tulips, hydrangea, etc).

4. Decide if you like dark greens or light greens (for the foliage in your arrangement). You may want light greens if you have dark wood in the room, or dark green if you have light wood in the home. It is just a matter of how noticeable you want the arrangement to be.

Now if you are having the arrangement custom made for you submit the above to the designer with your budget and they should be able to come up with several options.

If you are doing it yourself, sit down with a color wheel and find the room's dominant color. Look at the complimentary color of the dominant room color and the triad, tetrad, and split complimentary colors. See where your favorite colors fall into place and if one is appropriate go ahead and chose it for one of the colors in the arrangement.

Now you can chose to have just one color in varying shades in your arrangement and the container can match your accent colors in your room. You can chose to have your accent colors and your favorite color in the arrangement. The options are limitless for the number of combinations you will be able to make by just asking and answering a few questions of your self.

Once you know what you want and get your supplies play around with the placement of the floral materials before you cut them to length. If you have already snipped on one and it is too short now-- add some length back with floral wire or stakes and floral tape. Always have your container in front of you before you begin--this will help you to maintain your shape. Try to always work by placing the tallest to the shortest from the middle to the outside of the container. Never be afraid to experiment and look around at what you have collected in the room--you might be able to incorporate a piece of it into your arrangement.

Written by Marty owner of Design Time Haven