Spring Decorating Ideas Around The House With House of Fraser
This winter has been long and cold. The UK has had unprecedented ice and snow right up until this normally mild month of April.
But finally, Spring is starting to make herself heard and we couldn’t be happier to nod along to her chorus.
I reckon Spring is as good a reason as any to have a celebration, no? Spring flowers, spring food, pink gin cocktails, yes? There is so much delicious seasonal food around at the moment and the May bank holiday and Royal Wedding (if you're into that sort of thing) is round the corner too.
Winter has been a bit of a tough season for me personally. I adore our new house, but find moving house quite discombobulating, and find it takes a long time to feel settled. Similarly, whilst my babe has reached ridiculous levels of sweetness, his lack of sleep, combined with moving house wobbles, reduced me to a bit of a wreck. A tearful one. We took the tough decision to night wean him a few weeks ago (no milk at night) and I have been sleeping in the study/studio. It's amazing what a bit more sleep can do to a human. Sleep deprivation makes everything- everything- feel bleaker. Although I am feeling much better I have a while to go before i’m feeling fully like myself again. But the onset of actual Spring, the first hint of warm sun on my face, some more sleep, and finally feeling able to tackle my projects and work goals for 2018 means I want to celebrate! For me, this centres around my home as thats’s where I spend most of my time, and it means both big dinner party sort of celebrations and also daily micro celebrations.
Bedside flowers are the loveliest way to start the day. Similarly, passing a little bunch of garden blooms on a sideboard or a flowering branch in the hallway or bathroom is like getting a small floral hug. I find that showing my house some love like this means I’m more likely to keep the rest of it tidy and beautiful (as much as I can with 2 kids anyway!), am I weird/alone in this?!
Spring Dinner Table:
I have fallen in love with the Gray & Willow range from House Of Fraser. It's their in-house range and I hadn't come across it before but there are some really lovely pieces. The ceramics pictured here are the Stone wear range, but I also adore the dark grey Sable range, which I now have in my props store. Here I have paired the White plates with their Alto cutlery which is absolutely gorgeous- it’s brushed steel with a slightly vintage shape and satisfyingly heavy in the hand. I also made some Pink Gin and Tonics with thyme (so easy- just using the pink Fevertree tonic and a sprig of thyme!)
We tried a couple of different table arrangements. First we we put Orange Butterfly Geraniums and Purple Fritillaries in small vintage stoneware pots. I absolutely love the orange and purple combination against the soft pink linen and White plates.
Then we put flowering jasmine in tiny glass vases (these are also vintage) and wound the tendrils down the table. Be still, my heart. This would also look beautiful on a shelving unit, or mantle piece too; any long surface.
A welcoming hall table:
My love for blossoming branches knows no bounds. You’ve all seen my magnolia (in this post) and here is another more readily available alternative. Snip a couple of blossom branches, bring them indoors and watch them open with glee. In our home we have a daily blossom watch, a task Frankie-Rose relishes as much as me! I have put them in a House of Fraser Gray & Willow stone wear bottle on my hall way table. I also love scenting my home with either essential oils or a gorgeous scented candle. (This one is Velvet Peony from Urban Apothecary)
A show stopping mantelpiece floral display:
I like having flowers in the lounge for more relaxed hangs with friends. Well, all the time if I’m honest! But i’ve never made a display like this one.
Jess suggested we create a long, low mantelpiece display. I was super keen to try this having seen Erin's beautiful Ikebana arrangements at the last Sisterhood Camp retreat. Jess and I share a dislike of floral oasis, so in this arrangement we have instead used metal pin holders, a totally new contraption to me and much more eco. Here's how.
We used one of my Lucy Rutter ramekins for this arrangement, and put the pin holder in the bottom of it.
Then Jess used floral tape to create a frame to both keep the pin holder in the pot and to create a frame for the flowers (see pics).
Then you create your frame/shape with the long stems. Jess told me to keep a defined ‘V’ shape somewhere in the arrangement.
Another tip she gave me was to use the snips to split the bottom of the stem, making it much easier to stab the thicker stems into the pin.
Then we just added in the rest by eye, creating a burst of colour in the centre of the display. Because the ramekin is small, you need to top it up with water every day. The arrangement lasted 3 days.
I love how wild and unruly it is on my mantle piece!
So those are some of the floral joys around my house at the moment. Some of these flowers are from the garden, some are foraged, some are from the wholesaler, and some are from the local market, it matters not. Popping flowers or branches around the house is just a really sweet and simple way to lift the everyday.
Sources:
This is a sponsored blog post in collaboration with House of Fraser who I am delighted to be working with.
P.S Thanks SO MUCH for the love for all of the events I launched last week! Click here to see the Blossom insta meet, a day retreat, and a 3 day residential retreat too. I would love to have you there!