1980s Interior Design: A Floral Challenge

1980s Deco vases

This week, I enjoyed the design challenge of creating a dramatic floral arrangement to be used in a portrait that will be my official blog photo! My love of ’80s design has resulted in a large collection of ceramics–’80s Deco vases (as shown above), spherical pieces, swans in a variety of hues. This spring I decided to document my collection, and to be included in the picture.

The challenge: to create an over-the-top yet tasteful floral arrangement that complements the cooler tones of my collection of ’80s ceramics.

I also wanted the arrangement to reinforce the theme and hues of the artwork below–Rio Mesa Blue II by Scott Nellis. This Goodwill find will be hanging on the wall, anchoring the different elements of the shot:

Rio Mesa Blue II by Scott Nellis

To me, the key seemed to be finding truly interesting flowers–the more unusual, the better. Not one for fake blooms, I decided that if truly going faux, I might as well play it up, right? I was immediately drawn to the feathery mauve fronds below (left), and to the calla lilies (right), which were a staple of ’80s floral arrangements:

'80s-style floral stems

Earlier this year, I’d seen and admired an intentionally-faux arrangement that featured really large flowers like the magnolia blossoms below:

Faux magnolia blooms

Then I found these spiky, thistle-y selections in mauve and peach (below):

more pastel blooms

And now the results…

An '80s-style floral arrangement

I decided to let the magnolia blossoms fill out the bottom of the arrangement so the taller stalks could flare out fan-style from these more traditional blooms. While the flowers don’t necessarily scream “’80s,” they mesh well with the ’80s artwork and add height and interest to the vignette.

An '80s floral arrangement brings out the colors of Rio Mesa Blue II by Scott Nellis

The arrangement is the star in my display of ’80s ceramics. Stay tuned to see it all together once the portrait is complete…I can’t wait until picture day!