Easy Tiny Arrangements | My Hutch Style

There has been a big trend in home "styling."  I sort of hate that idea - especially if it is a home you actually live in.  I feel like, in this internet photo world, that there is a lot of styling going on and a lot less living.  How many people have a cozy nook that "looks" perfect for snuggling up and reading a book, but is never actually used?  Or a gourmet kitchen that rivals most on Pinterest, but is never used for cooking or baking.  Some of my biggest grievances are bath tubs that are never filled and fireplaces that are never enjoyed.  To me, a home should be beautiful only because it makes it more comfortable and livable.  

The only "styling" I do is to add flowers on a weekly/daily basis.  It is one of my favorite ways to give our home life and bring the seasons inside.  Floral arranging can seem intimidating, but when on a really small scale, these tiny gatherings are so simple.  What's more is that these small arrangements can make a huge impact on a space - powder room, bedside table, next to the kitchen sink, on an end table or on top of that coffee table book you never read ; )

I put together these fall-ish tiny arrangements to scatter around our house.  Here are the elements I used :

- Orange Roses
- Orange/Coral Dahlias
- Navy Viburnum Berries or Privet Berries (Viburnum grow in our garden)
- Deep Purple Leaves
- Small Creamer Pitchers

These are my favorite tiny helper hands that are currently at Kindergarten right now.  Kids love making floral arrangements because when you start with beautiful flowers, they can really assemble something truly beautiful all by themselves.  These small ones are especially easy to make.

I cut the flowers to length and Emma plucked them in where she saw fit.  This arrangement is made in the Creamer from the Classic Cream & Sugar set with a pewter finish.  They make the most charming vessels.

We added these dark foliage leaves for contrast with the orange and coral colors.  It turned them in to very Fall-ish looking arrangements.  In the spring, we could add fern sprigs instead to this same arrangement and they would look springy.

Now, remember when I said I hate styling my own home?  Well, since this hutch has entered our home, it has become sort of my seasonal muse.  It is the centerpiece of our kitchen/hearth/dining room and it calls out for being decorated.  I plan to keep the Creamware Platters (set of 6) on it throughout the year, then add seasonal color through plates, flowers and candles.

So, it has been one of my favorite spots to nestle a flower arrangement.  It also becomes a perfect place to set up some appetizers/bowl of nuts/stack of plates/wine & glasses when we have guests.

This tiny arrangement is made in one of these Creamware Creamers.

I always love putting the little buds of flowers in the arrangements, too - they are the perfect compliment to the blooms and so nice to add a variety of size.

Creamware Creamers
12" Taper Candles

Another version from the Creamware Creamers.

I also love to add candles - obviously.  I get these thick glass votives from Target for $2-3.  They look so expensive because of the thick glass.  I buy the 12 packs of simple votive candles in glass and slide them in the thick glass votive holders.

Little frames are another way to add charm to a corner.  This is an engraving of a river that I love.

Our garden roses are beginning to fade, but until them, I will keep cutting them and placing them around the house - for their lovely scent and their beauty.

Shop my favorite small Creamers for tiny arrangements, here >

DIY Flower Pot Gift Ideas | Mother's Day | Hostess Gifts | Peonies

Mother's Days gifts are my favorite to buy - mostly because I just buy exactly what I would want.  I have found that the best gifts are use-able, useful gifts.  Moms are do-ers.  We don't like too many things that sit around and don't get used.  We also like invitations to relax - like soaps, candles and bath salts.  These things all get used and eventually go away, which is the perfect gift formula.  The container can also be used after the gift is done - no waste.  Everyone has the need for one more little rustic pot to plant and herb, flower or use as a container.

Of course, these would make darling teachers gifts and hostess gifts, as well.

Here is another version of the same gift, but in Navy and Greens.

Here, I've used the rustic pots as vessels for a flower arrangement (with the help of plastic cups inside).

Lychee Rose Bath Salts

Champagne & Peony French Soap, $10

Lychee Rose Soap

Small Herb Pot, $10

Coral Peony Linen Guest Towels, $14 for 2

I stuffed some tissue/Kraft paper in the base, under the towels to help fill the pot.

Lychee Rose Bath Salts

Champagne & Peony French Soap, $10

In this Pot Gift Basket, I included :

Concord Green Taper Candles, Verbena Bath Salts & Verbena Soap

Here are some other favorite matching combinations... if you like that sort of thing, which I clearly do  ; )

 Natural Beeswax Tapers & Gardenia Soap

Mom's Hydrangea Taper Candles & Lilac of May Soap

Of course, fresh flowers (or a potted plant) are always the right answer for Mother's Day.

Here I used one of my Large Kitchen Containers to turn this pot into a water holding vessel.

5 White Hydrangea fill this "vase" perfectly 

This Peony arrangement is made in the Small Herb Pot.  I love how using a rustic pot instead of a vase makes any arrangement look gardeny and casual - very summery.

A Clear Plastic Cup from my essentials collection fits perfectly inside it to turn it into a vase.

This French Blue Gingham Napkin is available in the store, too.

Shop the Mother's Day Collection for more ideas >

Flashback : Lilac Season | Mr. Darcy Stopping to Smell the Flowers | Lilacs in Concord, Ma.

I'm revisiting this post today from 2012... and adding to it a bit : )

There was a time about 20 years ago when I wrote this post (kidding, only seems like that long ago) that I had what seemed to be all the time in the world to wonder around with Mr. Darcy and observe.  I was pregnant with Emma and I would go on long walks that lasted hours, all through town to watch the changing seasons.  When we were living in Concord, Mass. I was awed by the abundance of lilacs everywhere all over that old fashioned town.  This walkway/front hedge was one of my favorites.

Yesterday, Emma and I visited small hidden patch of Lilac bushes in the woods near our house that I had discovered years ago.  I hadn't been there since Mike and I moved into this neighborhood (the first time) 7 years ago.  We clipped an armful and stuck our noses in  them the entire walk home.  

When I bought this Watering Pitcher for the store, I knew it would be perfect for big, wild bunches of lilacs... and peonies, and hydrangea.

They make this entire room smell so good.

I also found some Mrs. Meyers Lilac dish soap, counter spray and hand soaps at target... and bought several of each : )

I wish lilac season lasted longer, but so glad it is around for a late Easter this year.

.........

Today, on our morning walk, Mr. Darcy and I decided to stop and smell the flowers.  He was attracted to the pansies and pussy willows at the Mainstreet Cafe, while I was drawn to the lilacs.  I've been meaning to photograph the lilacs for a week or so, but the weather hasn't been cooperating.  With rain in the forcast for the next five days, I decided to just go for it.  


Concord, being an old town settled in the 1635, has many old neighborhood streets and homes that remain from the Colonial and Victorian era.  Lilacs were especially popular in the Victorian era and were a staple in landscape and garden design.  In today's landscapes,  they seem to have lost their popularity, unfortunately.   

 


Look at this glorious hedge - I can't imagine how old it must be.

In the past, gardens were more seasonal than they are today - groves of cherry trees, hedges of lilac berries, and cutting gardens full of tulips and peonies.  Now, landscapes are designed to be 'maintenance free' and look good all year long.  While this might seem smart in our busy lives, I think everyone is missing out on enjoying the short blooming times of each seasonal flower.

This light pink lilac is so sweet peaking through the picket fence. 

These full lilac blooms are from our very own bush.

Our old house was full of seasonal flowers - beginning with daffodils, hyacinth, tulips, pear and dogwood trees, magnolia, lilacs, peonies and ending the season with hydrangea.  I loved it.  In our new house, the landscaping was completely overgrown, so everything was torn out and started from scratch (except an old flagstone patio we discovered - a great surprise).  I miss having the surprises of what each week might bring, but it has been fun to select exactly what we want.