They’re beautiful, colorful and they smell good. But did you know that fresh cut flowers have amazing powers that go way beyond just sitting in a vase looking pretty? It’s true. Whether it’s a great big bouquet or a single rose bud, flowers can boost moods and improve emotional health. They’re also just about the simplest, fastest and least expensive way we know to accessorize any interior space. This post is all about the why, where and how to add flowers to your home and your life. Read on.
It’s a Scientific Fact
In 2000, a team of researchers at Rutgers University led by professor of psychology Jeannette Haviland-Jones conducted a 10-month study to explore the connection between fresh flowers and life satisfaction. The bottom-line: flowers are a natural, healthful moderator of moods with both an immediate and long-term impact.
- All 147 women in the study expressed gratitude, delight and genuine smiles when they received flowers
- Study participants said they felt less depressed, anxious and agitated after getting flowers
The Rutgers study also found a similar response when men received flowers. So if you’re stumped for a gift for that special guy in your life, send him flowers.
Create Inspiring Spaces Throughout Your Home
The Rutgers team also explored the positive impact of where you put cut flowers. Not surprisingly, placing fresh arrangements wherever guests gather creates a positive, welcoming vibe. Personal fulfillment expert and best-selling author Jayme Barrett agrees. Barrett says we can “creative positive shifts in emotion…and cultivate idyllic atmospheres by purposefully integrating flowers throughout our living space.” She calls it the Vitamin F effect, and she has specific floral formulas that include color combination, vase style, placement in the home and flower variety for creating specific outcomes. Let’s say you want to create a calming, serene atmosphere (who doesn’t?). Barrett offers this prescription:
- Blues, violets and lavender blossoms such as hydrangea, delphinium and stock in a loose arrangement in a cobalt blue glass vase. Place it in an entryway to set a tranquil tone as soon as you step inside.
Find Your Flower Profile
Any floral arrangement can be uplifting. But let’s take flower power to the next level and match your posies to your home decorating personality. According to the Society of American Florists, most folks fall into one of five categories, each of which is best complemented by a specific floral style.
American Country
- American Country reflects the comfortable, casual colors and homespun textures of a farmhouse. Think baskets or galvanized buckets spilling over with wildflowers like yarrow, heather and herbs. Swags and wreaths work well, too. This type of style would be right at home in a new home at Stonemill Falls in Wake Forest, North Carolina, a natural, wooded and idyllic refuge, or Terrain in Ravenwood in Castle Rock, Colorado
Classic/Traditional
- Classic/Traditional is a more elegant style marked by rich fabrics and formally decorated rooms. Classic blossoms suit this sophisticated setting. It calls for equally classic flowers such as roses, irises, lilies and gladioli, accented with dried fruit and foliage, in crystal, silver and porcelain vases. It’s a perfect choice for one of Taylor Morrison’s breathtaking new home at Woodland Hills in Lakewood in the Crystal Lake District outside Chicago.
Casual, Easy Lifestyle
- Casual, Easy Lifestyle, like you’d expect at Pebble Pointe at The Brooks in Estero, Florida, is all about keeping it light-filled and stress-free. Create balance and beauty with a mix of flowering plants like cyclamen and potted pothos arranged with cut sunflowers, daisies or hydrangea is pottery or glass pitchers.
Modern Contemporary
- Modern Contemporary is sleek, chic and noted for clean lines and open spaces. The Canyons at Highland Ranch in Clermont, Florida reflects this. Bold, exotic, tropical flowers like anthuriums and heliconia in frosted glass or metallic containers are perfect in this setting.
Victorian
- Victorian is a soft, romantic style marked by lace, chintz and velvet. Lush or fragrant pastel blooms like roses, peonies, gardenias and freesia in glass, crystal or silver vases fit right in.
Location, Location, Location
Use the real estate inside your home to make a floral statement. Interior designer and host of Surprise by Design Rebecca Cole advises that flowers aren’t just for entryways and table centerpieces. A small bouquet in a powder room is a nice alternative to artificial plants, while a bud vase with a simple cluster of cut flowers nestled in a bowl of potpourri is a lovely, fragrant way to make your guest room more welcoming. There’s a place in every space for fresh cut flowers, even it’s a single bright gerbera daisy floating in a small glass bowl on a bookshelf.
Make ‘Em Last
Fresh cut flowers are an investment in your well-being. Maximize that investment by caring for them properly with these tips:
- Remove all greenery that will sit below the waterline in your container
- Use a sharp clean knife or scissors to cut stems at a diagonal just before you put them in your vase
- Use the packet of flower food that comes with most bouquets
- Change the water when it gets cloudy and recut the stems
- Pull out flowers that are fading or dropping petals.
Stop and Grow the Roses
Filling your life with flowers is a lot easier when you grow you own. For that you’ll need a home with a yard, a patio or at the very least a balcony or porch. We can help. Start your search at TaylorMorrison.com. And if you’re anxious to get that garden full of beautiful blooms going, take a look at our move-in ready homes near you.
Sources:
“Rutgers: Flowers Improve Emotional Health”
“Vitamin F with Jayme Barrett”
“Matching Flowers to Your Home Style”
“Location, Location, Location”
