You can invest in the best-quality tablecloths or the finest cutlery, but all you actually need to create a stunning table setting is a beautiful floral arrangement. There's no finer centrepiece, in our humble opinion.
Fresh flowers can sometimes seem like an unnecessary investment, but they can play a major role in transforming your space. Even a simple bunch of flowers by your bedside table or on the breakfast bar will make a huge difference, introducing colour, a touch of greenery and, best of all, visual variety to your interior.
You can experiment with different colours and varieties, and play around with receptacles – whether you want to use a marble, glass, ceramic, stone or plastic vase, this is an easy way to change up your interior on a regular basis.
We speak to Fabrice Vallez, a floral designer at Maison des Fleurs, a high-end floral services company known for its signature flower “boxes”, which operates out of the En Vogue showroom on Jumeirah Beach Road, Dubai, to find out some insider tricks for creating stunning tabletop floral arrangements.
What are your top tips for creating striking arrangements for the tabletop?
The key is to experiment and not be held back by rules. Let your creativity flow and lead you.
What’s the most common mistake people make when it comes to arrangements?
Using too many kinds of flowers, and ending up mismatching them. Other mistakes are loosely arranging blooms and cutting the stems straight. This deters the flowers from absorbing the water.
What are the latest trends when it comes to floral arrangements?
We call our latest trend the Magic Garden, where we use a range of beautiful flowers that blend well together. The flowers are creatively arranged, but made to look like they’ve been randomly or freshly picked from a beautiful magic garden, where you can find lots of different varieties of flowers in one place.
What are your favourite flowers to work with?
Hydrangeas, garden roses and berries. These are our favourites and popular among clients as well, because they complement every occasion.
What are the easiest flowers to incorporate into tabletop arrangements?
Roses are the most common flowers to use, because they are available all year long and come in different colours that will match the theme of every occasion.
What are the best ways to make sure your arrangements last as long as possible?
It’s important for flowers to absorb as much water as possible – this dictates their lifespan. Therefore, the stems should be cut diagonally to allow the flower to absorb water well. And don’t forget to add cold water in the vase every day.
sdenman@thenational.ae
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