Give your flowers a fresh new twist

• Last Updated: November 12. 2009 3:28PM UAE / November 12. 2009 11:28AM GMT

Add an element of surprise with a mini-landscape of high vases and pots.

I love the look of fresh flowers but I’m never sure how to do more than the standard style of a single bunch in a single vase. I know they’re a fantastic way to add life and colour to the home – what else can I do and which flowers should I choose?

A home without flowers or plants looks and feels lifeless. Personally, I could not breathe in it. It’s not about recreating a forest or filling every empty space with blooms – it’s about creating a sense of life and verve with floral touches here and there.

It’s worth keeping an eye on floral trends but never forget the classics. Roses have never lost their aura: for all occasions, in every colour they are still among the top 10 choices for most of my clients. And for good reason. They’re elegant but not frilly, and suggest romance without being over-fussy.

White phalaenopsis orchids are graphic, sophisticated and spectacular and look fantastic in any apartment, whether traditional or hyper-modern. They are wonderfully self-sufficient and you don’t need many. They should not be mixed with other blooms, though, as they tend to overshadow them.

Hydrangeas have become very fashionable lately. It’s very funny to see – 20 years ago, hydrangeas were the flowers languishing in your grandmother’s garden. In fact, they are very dramatic but also very Zen – modern and clean. The huge size of each flower head means they make a powerful impact.

2. There’s no need to fret about colour. Nature is beautiful – there’s no such thing as a best colour because so much depends on your purpose, your occasion and your personal preferences. The major faux-pas for me is mixing dozens of colours together: there’s no point in arranging nice flowers if the result is just a rainbow. Try to create a sense of harmony – and bear in mind the other colours in the decor of the room.

3. For best effect, think outside the box. For instance, I love the idea of arranging just green plants, flowers and shoots in vases, or, for a special occasion, constructing a mini-landscape with very high pots and foliage across a table. An element of surprise is great, particularly for special occasions.

Many flowers can live without water for a few hours and it looks very unusual and eye-catching to arrange them this way, especially in hallways; when we did that at The Address Burj Dubai I remember guests touching the flowers constantly to check that they were real. Using black vases with white flowers gives a great ying-and-yang contrast and it’s easy and quick to do. I like to have fun using single blooms of flowers that normally grow as bunches, such as the purple Vanda orchid: I spread them on dry branches across the white cloth of a dining table to create an imaginary tree, or stick them to a wall like a living wallpaper – or just sprinkle them on top of a bouquet.

4. Flowers and plants are a great way of revamping your home quickly and not necessarily expensively. Simply changing the way you style them is a brilliant way to add new character to your spaces. I like the idea of including mineral elements such as stones, perhaps in a shallow bowl, on which you put a single blossom of a fresh flower.

A series of living bamboos in tall transparent vases will provide uplifting and dynamic decoration for a long wall.

To lift things, try displaying the same kind of flower repeated in different vases and arranged differently. For instance, a single hydrangea, rose or orchid in one tall, square-edged glass vase and three more in three small ones alongside, with the unifying element of the clear glass bringing it all together.

5. Remember that different rooms require different flowers. For the bedroom, even flowers that smell great and look wonderful, such as lilies, can be too intense to sleep with. They should also not be too big or overbearing in the bedroom – keep flowers there small and intimate. The general living area, on the other hand, is a space in which the opposite is true – be more adventurous and don’t be conventional.

Emily Davies was talking to Virginie Dolz, the creative director of Space and Flower, Dubai; 04 34 05 024; www.olivierdolz.com