03 Magazine: March 31, 2023

50 Magazine | Interiors
Dried flowers
Prolonging texture and beauty
My husband and I were married in the old
Majestic Theatre in Christchurch in the early
’90s, and we styled the entire interior in
dried flowers, which was so fashionable at
the time. Most of those arrangements then
furnished our first home, and when I try
to work out why I struggle to embrace the
resurgence of dried flowers these days, I
think I still only associate them with dry and
dusty statice and gypsophila that lingered
too long in our cottage.
However, there are some dried flowers I
can live with, knowing they provide interest
and texture during winter. Hydrangeas,
roses and peonies are all flowers that dry
easily, as do eucalyptus and magnolia leaves.
I have experimented with various
methods, and leaving hydrangeas in a
small amount of water for them to drink
themselves dry in their vase is my best way
to retain their form and colour. You can
also add one-part glycerine to two-parts
water to assist with the drying process.
Another method is to place your chosen
flower in a flat container with silica gel for
48 hours. Silica gel can be purchased online
and is reusable. I hang roses, peonies,
eucalyptus and magnolia leaves to dry with
no other treatment.
Display your dried flowers simply in an
old rusty container or create an artful still
life in a vase placed on a coffee table or
sideboard. To prevent that dry dusty look, I
spray hydrangeas with clear hairspray. Any
flower heads that break or don’t survive
the process are used for other purposes,
like decorating the Christmas tree, placed in
potpourri or as table decorations.
Laundry & linen
Stowed away for safekeeping
While a laundry is often associated with
everyday chores, this room has been
thoughtfully designed so that even mundane
tasks can be done in a pretty space. It has
always been important to me that storage
areas are well organised.
And that they smell nice – my laundry has
a vase of daphne and other fresh flowers in
here, all year round.
The overflow of jars, books and
preserving pans are stowed here. It is also
the place for storing the harvest before
preserving, freezing and dehydrating.
Another item I collect is material – furnishing scraps, fabric offcuts and
linens – so the linen cupboard is a treasure trove waiting for just the right
occasion to use that certain piece of velvet or paisley fabric.
I like placing linen on a dressing table to instantly soften the look, or use
fabric to fancy up a feast or make the everyday more special.
I am always on the lookout for beautiful linens and have been known to fill
suitcases with fabrics when travelling overseas.
Vases & vessels
You can never have too many
Being an avid flower-lover lends itself to collecting a vast array of containers.
I do have plenty – many of them found while fossicking for second-hand
treasures, which is one of my favourite pastimes.
Vessels and vases can range from beautiful glass to tin buckets, fruit-salad
bowls from another lifetime to cans with their labels removed.
The trick is to find somewhere to store them all. My vases and containers
are stored in an indoor studio where it is warm and inviting for the winter
months of sorting and creating. They can also be repurposed to create layers
on a display, to stack cakes and build tiered tablescapes.
Picking fresh blooms and foliage and placing them in a vase of choice is
such a simple way of bringing nature indoors, and it doesn’t have to stop just
because it’s colder and there are fewer flowers available. Just think creatively,
and look and display any beauty of nature.
Extracted from The After-Hours Stylist by Kate Williams & Anna McLeod.
Published by Bateman Books, RRP$60.