This is our first DIY blog and we couldn’t be more excited to share it with you! Whether you’re living in your home, or getting ready to list your home for sale, a DIY floral centerpiece is a quick, easy way to add color and life to any space.
Why flowers should always be included in your decor plans
While strong patterns and floral fabrics are having a moment, you simply can’t beat how fresh flowers or greenery can elevate your interior design. It’s the quickest and easiest way to add life and color to any space. And flower power is real. Including flowers in a space is scientifically proven to have positive impact on our mental health.
For less maintenance faux flowers are the way to go
So put simply, flowers make people happy. But they require a lot of maintenance if they are potted or short-lived if they are fresh cut. That said, as much as we would love to include fresh flowers on every single one of our stage jobs, it just isn’t practical. So the next best thing are faux flower arrangements and greenery vases. You’ll see us include plants in every single stage job not only because they are great fillers for space, but they are a great accessory that compliments almost any design style.
You may not know, but Christine from Nest Home Staging and Design often creates her own faux floral centerpieces for staging jobs and clients in the Cincinnati area.
Before you get started here are some styling tips
Finding a the right vessel should be #1 when doing a DIY faux flower centerpiece for your home.
Ask yourself is this going to be a permanent display or can you change out the vessel seasonally? Orchids look great during the spring and summer, but you can switch it up with seasonal decor around the holidays.
Also consider where is it going to be displayed. The arrangement is going to look different depending on if it’s going on a shelf in the studio and viewed from one side versus on a dining room table with a 360 viewing angles.
Here are a few past faux flower arrangements Nest has created!
Materials you need to make the perfect DIY faux-flower Centerpiece
1 - potted vessel (it can be shallow or deep depending on the look you’re going for)
1 - flower foam cube
1 - pack of craft paper or an old newspaper
1 - pack of moss (green and Spanish moss is shown here, but we opted to use just the green moss)
6 - faux ferns
7 - faux orchids (tip: When buying orchids or any faux flower, look for some with that waxy feel to them for a more authentic look)
Any of these items can be found at a crafting store. We purchased our supplies from Michaels.
Steps for creating the perfect DIY faux-flower centerpiece
Step 1 - Find yourself a really nice bowl - ceramic or plastic. It can be something that has been passed down from generations or that bowl you love and purchased but now has become the catch-all in the kitchen. We found our vessel at Home Goods.
Step 2 - Cut your foam cube to size. You don’t want the foam to stick out past the opening of the vessel.
Step 3 - Take your craft paper and crinkle into balls and place around the foam cube. This stabilizes your foam and provides the base with more volume and height so you don’t use as much moss at the end. Great cost saving tip!
Step 4 - Now time for the orchids. Check the stems for length then cut. Be sure not to cut them too short. Orchids have long stems. You want to stay pretty true to the flower type you are styling. Stick them into the foam with even spacing around the foam. Since we’re styling our arrangement to be displayed with 360 viewing we made sure that the orchids look good from every angle.
Step 5 - Fan out the ferns and place around the base of the orchid stems. Don’t worry about fully covering the foam and craft paper with the ferns. That’s what the moss is for.
Step 6 - Unpack your moss and fully cover the stems bases from the orchids and ferns.
Step 7 - Now for the finishing touches! After everything is placed go back and fuss a little bit with the orchid stems. Again, because we’re creating this flower arrangement for a 360 view, we want to make sure that all the flowers are looking outwards. Once we have it looking good from all angles, we slightly bend the stems for a more natural look.
Step 8 - Take a moment to celebrate the beautiful faux flower arrangement you just created.
Et Voila! You have a one-of-a kind centerpiece that brings color and life to your space for a fraction of the cost real flowers would put you out. To buy a centerpiece from a higher-end florist, or buy a faux-flower piece from a store is costly, and a do-it-yourself flower arrangement is the way to go for an inexpensive way to instantly brighten and enliven your space.
Share some of your DIY centerpieces with us on instagram by tagging @nesthomestaging in your story or on your post! We can't wait to see what you create.
Thanks for reading!
We are still taking on staging jobs for the winter!
We stage homes in all conditions of the listing process! The great thing about working with the Nest Home Staging and Design team is that we’ll work with you to find the best solution to your home seller situation. If you’ve already moved into a new home and need to sell your old one we’ll bring in our inventory of furniture to stage the space or if you’re preparing your home for listing we’ll use your existing decor items, but strategically stage them for a greater impact.
Either way, reach out to us today to see how we can help decrease the amount of time your home is on the market!