spring decor

I have an empty wall behind our dining table. It’s a big white blank canvas and after 2 years of living here, I still can’t commit to hanging things there. Sometimes I just love the clean slate. However, this spring for the very first time I decided to add just a touch of decor in this space. Spring was calling and I wanted to bring the outdoors in.

This was a project that combined some of my wedding floral techniques with a little interior design flare. It was a really simple project and I only have to tiny nail holes in my walls, easy to patch up or ignore when I decide to take it down and move onto the next project.

Items you’ll need:

Chicken wire
Wire cutters
Nails (or Command hooks) for attaching the chicken wire to the wall
Twigs or Grapevine (I used a mix of grapevine and pussy willows foraged from my yard)
Flowers/Greenery (I used 1 bunch of real wax flower and these faux plants from Hobby Lobby)
Wire for any stubborn stems

Using your wire cutters, cut a thin strip of chicken wire. Mine was about 3 inches wide and 6 feet long.

Next, loosely stretch out the chicken wire and attach it to the wall. Make sure it’s not too tight against the wall or you’ll struggle to weave the twigs and greens through the holes.

Begin tucking the grapevines and twigs into the chicken wire. You may need to wire any stubborn pieces into place but for the most part they should be fairly easy to weave through the holes of the chicken wire.

Once you have a layer of twigs in place, begin adding your greens or flowers. I used wax flower, which was a live plant and let it dry out naturally in the arrangment and then added a few more faux greens. Baby’s breath would be a great alternative if you’re looking for a small white blossom that will dry naturally or you could use all artifical product. These queen anne’s lace are a really beautiful option.

Make it as lush or airy as you like. You could even use a premade garland as a base and then add twigs or grapevine into it, which would make the project even more simple.

I’d love to see your versions of wall garlands (or even table garlands, mantle garlands… the options are endless!)

It’s holy week – the week between Palm Sunday and Easter Sunday. We’re preparing for a home full of company and I took the opportunity to play with a mock Easter tablescape. This was done a couple weeks ago, in preparation for the real deal – which will undoubtedly be filled with a few less frills (think kids throwing Easter eggs on the floor, dad’s getting grumpy because there are sticks on the table and candles that need to be replaced by platters of food). But it was still designed to bring inspiration and I will use pieces from it when Easter Sunday rolls around.

When I think of Easter, I like to imagine spring colors, seersucker dresses, white hats and daffodils blooming in the yard. Today, there is still snow in the grass. It’s forecasted to be a balmy 29 degrees on Sunday and so the visions are quickly swiped away, welcome to Michigan. However, that’s not going to stop me for sourcing local product for my designs, and if you follow me on Instagram (we can be friends HERE), you’ll remember my adventures of foraging pussy willows and dried grapevine all while dodging the swamp (word to the wise – foraging can be dangerous!). The pussy willow was really my starting point as it was the perfect way to bring the outdoors in, remain seasonally true and bridge the gap between spring and winter. They’re a sign of hope after a long winter and hope is what Easter is all about.

From there, I created some clusters of wax flower, which I love for their delicate white blooms and their foliage almost looks like that of an evergreen, which is the only green outside my window at the moment. This look could easily be created with baby’s breathe, blooming spring branches or even artificial blooms depending upon your location and resources. Simply soak a little wet floral foam in water and pop the blooms in place. Mine are simply sitting on clear plastic plates as I used very few fancy mechanics in this design.

For me, the art of hospitality includes sharing things that you love. Good food, good conversation and surroundings that make your guests feel special. I pulled out my grandma’s vintage silverware and designed with pussy willows, which other’s may not know the significance of but for me there’s a since of nostalgia that these bring from a happy childhood memory. It’s my subtle way of sharing something special with those who grace my home.

Grapevines were strung to the wall, with a few real and artificial blooms wove between their branches. If planning on using real flowers to create something like this, I suggest finding something that dries beautifully over time, like eucalyptus or add a little dash of white with the baby’s breath. I created this from scratch but I also love the idea of purchasing a premade garland and elegantly extending it across the wall (this one from Target would be gorgeous and you could even add in a few twigs and grapevine for extra dimension and texture).

On Sunday, homemade cinnamon rolls will be our dessert of choice. But I’ve been told that a good housewife always keeps dessert in the fridge, just in case unexpected guests should arrive. In my case, I happen to have a lovely white cake in the freezer which I pulled out for this project, but I’m not sure I would actually serve it to any of my guests, as it’s almost a year old, but it sure photographed pretty. My friend Kellie (who took these beautiful pictures for me) laughed as I told her that I just happened to have a cake on hand, but it’s really is just the sort of crazy thing that I might have laying around my house. Perks of being a wedding planner.

These little eggs placed on each napkins, they’d be adorable placecards. I can imagine beautiful gold calligraphy here (however, my skills are lacking).