The Floral Home

Hello dear readers!

My Saturday started early as I drove to fetch a bicycle I won on eBay.  A vintage 1979 Stowaway.  I immediately dropped it off at my local bicycle store for new tubes, tires and a service.  It's now a lovely bicycle for my daughter who I hope will take the odd beach cycle with me!

As a tribute to our late Spring and the abundance of wild flowers I see as I drive or walk along, I'm doing a post on living with florals. I recently visited an area I hadn't been before and I was amazed and oh so pleasantly surprised by the sheer abundance of wild flowers growing on grass verges, around trees, near curbs and sidewalks, sprouting through cracks in walls and brickwork.  Flowers have such a relaxing, calming affect when seen in their natural habitat.

Florals can be large and blousey, small and ditsy, modern or vintage looking, faded, prim and proper or bold and bright, monotone or colourful.   Floral fabrics can be Antique French, ornate Italian, detailed Oriental and intricate in pattern.   And of course floral interiors are synonymous with English cottage living. Every country has their own unique way of using florals in decoration.   What we all agree on is that florals are a beautiful and necessary part of decorating our homes, whether we use fabric, wallpaper, painted furniture or a simple vase of garden flowers.

My favourite book on floral interiors, is the book The Floral Home by Leslie Geddes-Brown.  Unfortunately it's no longer in print, but there are several second hand editions on Amazon.  Leslie introduces us to her book by saying that people have been decorating their houses with flowers for 4500 years, from the acanthus and palm leaves in ancient Greek architecture to the humble Iris which was revered by the ancient Egyptians.  

It's no wonder we continue to use florals in our homes today.

A few collages and pics from the book:

Some photos of wonderful floral interiors, vintage in style, bohemian and modern...

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and my own floral bedroom, a mixture of antique French fabric cushions and high street finds!

Have a happy bank holiday weekend!

Sharon

xxx