If you love rustic furniture and cottagecore interiors you may already be familiar with the gorgeous Instagram account @grove_cottage_. With a passion for flowers, Naomi has transformed the 200-year-old cottage set in a conservation area in a Buckinghamshire village into a wonderful English country rustic haven bursting with beautiful blooms and plants both inside and out. We caught up with Naomi to talk about her love of flowers and how to use them to create a stunning and welcoming home.
How to decorate your home with flowers by Naomi @grove_cottage_
I love the way fresh flowers and plants in my home make me feel, especially in the winter when the garden is dormant. They have a positive psychological effect on my mood and mental wellbeing which can immediately be felt once they are placed around the house. We know how good it makes us feel when we are walking in the countryside or enjoying green spaces in the city, and the same such emotions can be achieved from having real plants and flowers in your home.
Creating a beautiful display
I am no floral expect but my passion and inspiration come from nature, and how plants and flowers naturally grow in the wild. Relaxed, informal displays that reflect the countryside around us, perfect if you want to create a cosy cottagecore aesthetic. Keep it simple by using three core elements: balance, proportion and scale, with long stems in the centre, greenery around the edges to soften the look and shorter blooms to fill the gaps. It is always advisable to regularly step back from your display to visually review from a distance, the same way you would a painting.
"Keep it simple by using three core elements: balance, proportion and scale"
Keep it seasonal
I always have real plants in the house, but fresh floral arrangements are dependent on the seasons. In the summer, I will regularly pick flowers from my cottage garden to create simple, laid-back displays. Whilst in the winter, I will forage in the hedgerows and fields for dried, wildflowers and mix them with bought blooms from local farm shops or market florists.
Whatever the season, it is all about bringing the outside in. During the summer months, it is so rewarding to create natural floral displays from flowers and plants I have grown in the garden. In the colder months, there is nothing better than going for a long walk in the countryside to forage for dried plants. Mixing these with seasonal flowers bought from a farm shop or market florist helps to support the local community.
Best rooms to display flowers
You can create displays in any room, corner, nook or cranny. Large plants always sit proudly in both the dining room and my living room, enjoying the corners of these two rooms, whilst fresh flowers thrive well in our kitchen on our rustic dining table where natural light streams in through the vaulted glass ceiling. The kitchen windowsill is home to potted plants and herbs and my senses are awakened in the morning by fresh flowers on my chest of drawers in the bedroom. I also make use of the tops of our rustic sideboard with a large display or a collection of smaller vases on a wooden tray.
Favourite flower combinations
In the summer, it is all about seasonal flowers picked from the garden mixed with fresh foliage. A combination of climbing and wild roses of soft pink and cream hues creates the perfect natural display for any spot in the house. I might go as far as saying I am slightly obsessed with roses, as my cottage garden in the summer is abundant with their prettiness.
Autumn and winter are all about foraging for wild plants during the changing colours of nature. Hawthorn, rose hips and grasses add beautiful textures, whilst hydrangeas picked from the garden and dried provide a pleasing array of beautiful blooms. Around the festive period ivy and holly with berries, mixed with dried thistles and eucalyptus, again adds texture and depth to floral displays.
Size matters: the perfect vase
The most important thing to remember when choosing the perfect vase is size does matter! The general rule of thumb is stems should be no more than one and a half to two times the height of the vase. The beauty of long-stemmed flowers complements a tall, slender vase to give the display height, whilst curvaceous vases, with a wider bottom and narrower neck, suit shorter plants with rounder and bigger heads. Bud vases or jam jars are the perfect choice for displaying a single stem or smaller blooms.
To discover Naomi's gorgeous style and home follow her @grove_cottage_. All images courtesy of @grove_cottage_.
Check out more from the Our Friends blog series for rustic inspiration and home interior ideas....
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Real homes: adding character to a new build
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Magical dried flowers with floral artist Bex Partridge
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House Tour: a 1930's home with a rustic heart
