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OUTDOORS IN
OUTDOORS IN

As you may have seen from our various collections, we here at AUTHOR enjoy bringing the outdoors in. From plants, to stone, to wood, there are numerous natural textures and materials outside that can be brought indoors to create a relaxing space for nature and outdoor enthusiasts.

FLOWERS & GREENERY

Our easiest and most loved way to bring the outdoors in is with flowers and plants, especially beautiful Spring blooms from our garden. As we all know, Spring is the time for bulb plants to blossom such as daffodils, crocuses, fritillarias, bluebells and hyacinths. Some fresh cuttings of these plants bring a lovely fresh scent into the home as well as splash of colour to help brighten any cloudy or rainy day.

Small posies are beautiful with one or two stems in small glass vessels at your bedside table or at the edge of a bathroom sink. The transience of nature is so appealing as some stems of wild flowers you have foraged on a walk may only last a day or two and we love to regularly prune and freshen up our small flower arrangements around the house so there is variety. Some flowers can take on different colours as they dry such as hydrangeas which can be dried and kept for display for over a year.

Do not hesitate to go bigger than bringing just a few stems into your home. Spring is the best time for cuttings from flowering fruit trees. We love to bring branches in of our favourite blooms and exhibit them in large glass vases such as rowan, blackthorn (sloe) and cherry. Prunus, the genus that plums, cherries, sloe berries, apricots, peaches, nectarines and almonds stem from, are the most popular flowers in Spring due to their beautiful white or pink scented flowers.

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Shrubs and foliage can also produce exquisite colours to brighten up a home space during Spring. Pussy willow and forsythia produce bright yellow flowers and make a great way to bring some sunshine indoors. In the late winter, you may still get the fiery, red hues from dogwood’s foliage. In the Spring, dogwood trees flower shades of creamy white to rich pink, similar to that of cherry trees which look stunning on a kitchen or dining table. Displaying one type of flower on its own such as daffodils in a long, narrow jar or a branch of cherry blossom in a large glass vase looks bold and striking.

Green itself is the colour of Spring as it is when plants start to rejuvenate. Do not be afraid to display foliage and greenery on its own without any flowers. It brings a wonderfully fresh and grounding feeling into your home space.

FIND THE RIGHT WAY TO DISPLAY

Make sure you find the right vase or pot to display your branches or flower stems in. Small posies look lovely on side and occasional tables in glass bowls or small jars. Big branches in large glass vases or pitchers work well as a statement piece in a living room or kitchen area. If you use a glass vessel, check how the stems look through the glass in the water as you do not want them to look messy. Freshen the water every few days to make sure it does not go murky and green. Jars that used to contain food can also be recycled as a flower vase. We like to tie hessian around the top of a jar to dress it up and give it a bit of charm.

NATURAL ELEMENTS

Bring in natural materials that you love to decorate your home such as stones, pinecones and seashells. They make great accent details and bring back memories of the tokens you’d collect as a child when beach-combing or on a woodland walk. They will remind you what you love about the outdoors most.

For a bigger impact, have pieces around your home that incorporate these natural materials, such as using stone or wood as a washbasin in your bathroom or island counter top in your kitchen. Stone can be used in numerous ways to create a feature piece such as our stone-based mirrors by Katharina Eisenkoeck, that inhabit a world between sculpture and functional home accessory. These big focal points are great conversation starters and bring you closer to nature by bringing it into your living space.

For any more advice or ideas on how to bring the outdoors in, do not hesitate to contact us. We’d also love to hear your thoughts on other ways to bring nature into the home.

About the Author

jane

Written by Jane Adams, founder of Author Interiors. LinkedIn:

Read more about her here.

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