My botanically-inspired design
“There will always be flowers.”
I grew up with flowers. In my mother’s garden there were dozens of roses, perennials and annuals of all colours, shapes and sizes. Looking back, I know now that my playing in this garden, making dandelion houses for the snails (my earliest foray into interior design!), learning to prune and care for plants was an introduction to the benefit flowers have on the soul. I feel at peace when looking upon (and caring for) plants in this same garden of my childhood and it’s this connection, as well as their sheer beauty and variety, that I encourage into interiors through floral themes in various textiles and finishes.
Floral drapery in my own home and roses from the garden in a vase of my own making.
This powder room for clients and owners of Rembrandt Renovations was a joy to put together. Having received their brief for a room with personality, colour and their inspiration image of an iced layer cake topped with flowers, we searched for a lovely wallpaper which would communicate this elan and found it with Designer’s Guild Faience in linen. To prevent the room from becoming too saccharin, this floral freshness needed strong elements as counterpoints: modern brushed gold sconces and a round, metal-edged mirror impart masculinity to the scheme while the custom wood vanity, in a colour pulled from the wallpaper, grounds all the lovely floral which seems to be floating on a breeze.
Incorporating floral through cushions is always a classic choice. In these two spaces we selected floral patterns which cuaght the eye of the client and had custom cushions made. On the left, our recent work for clients in West Point Grey, the Dahlia & Rosehip velvet by Sanderson guided much of the charming living room’s scheme (the clients both adore dahlias and roses, a perfect combination in the garden as well as a living room!). On the right, a project from my Love it or List it days, this elegant mudroom which we created for clients in Kitsilano, became more than a place for coats and shoes but a lovely perch to take in the backyard. To echo their garden, we chose a classic floral pattern by Designer’s Guild which added a little va-va-va-voom to the space.
Both spaces showcase how a small amount of bodacious floral on a toss cushion will liven up a room without making it feel heavy or too romantic.
A more contemporary take on floral was used for the entrance of our clients in their Point Grey town home. Set on a base of lustrous coppery-gold, the feathery floral motif creates a beautiful corner of visual interest as seen from the living room. The floral pattern draws on the client’s Asian aspects of their family heritage as well as their love for travel.
Beyond textiles and wall coverings there’s a world of floral-inspired selections to be had! In my own home, I designed our ensuite around these botanical basins that I sourced through Kohler. They are black and white with the tiniest little red lady bug amongst the foliage - they’re gorgeous and I will never tire of them (if I ever move I may need to take them with me!). On a smaller scale, in the powder room, I sourced a vintage hook in the shape of a rose through Etsy. I’m a fan of a hook over a towel ring for hand towels as there’s no pressure to fold the towel in order for it to look good. A simply draped towel with an interesting hook does the job quite nicely.
Artwork is another wonderful way of introducing floral into your home. Whether on a larger scale or small, a painting of flowers will always bring you joy. For our West Point Grey clients and their charming garden suite, we had a couple vintage prints I had sourced in Umbria framed and hung on either side of their bed. As they both loved roses and dahlias (see above pillow for their living room), I selected a sunny yellow dahlia for ‘his’ side of the bed and a blushing pink rose for ‘her’ side.
One of my favourite pieces we have in our home is by the incredible artist Carol Stewart. I was lucky enough to have grown up in a household of artists and Carol was often painting ‘en plein air’ on our deck and this painting, a cacophony of colour and pattern has held my interest for decades.
Pamela Anderson’s Rose Garden, season 1 of ‘Pamela’s Garden of Eden’ on HGTV.
And then there’s the garden… I worked on Pamela Anderson’s property during season 1 of her lifestyle show and, amongst the many and varied projects, we evolved her rose garden. She had planted dozens of ‘Yves Piaget’ roses (a bodacious deep pink and heavily scented) but the space was lacking the romance Pamela so desired in her garden. With the help of landscape designer Kurtis Howes of Remedy Eco Designs and contractor Darren Isaac we created a wooden path and platform as well stone paths inter-planted with ground covers and introduced perennials and more roses - the more generous the planting, the happier the plants tend to be. The result was quite spectacular: revealed to Pamela at dusk with dozens of candles, string lights and lanterns, her white iron furniture bedecked in vintage linens, champagne on ice… the setting was wonderfully romantic and fit for her personality which is as bodacious as her beloved roses.
Whether inside our out and however plentiful or modest, a dose of floral in your surroundings is a balm for the soul. Flowers can soften the hard-edges of a room (think bathrooms and kitchens) as well as brighten darker spaces with colour and pattern. They can add colour, pattern, freshness, whimsy, nostalgia or echo other places in the world - they offer a layer of interest and can reflect an aspect of your personality. In my design schemes, there will always be flowers.