Floral prints. In my opinion, the most misunderstood lot of all prints. There is an instant feminine reference to begin with which instantly typecasts it. Then of course, there is that vision of your grandmother’s living room which makes things worse. Believe me people, floral prints are insanely awesome but you need to dress it according to times! Sharing a few ways to ace floral prints here- from fabric, drapes, wallpapers and rugs- along with my own bedroom where I incorporated a healthy bit of floral prints without making it look like a ghost from the 70’s. Hop along ladies and gentlemen! Let’s do floral right. And I said crash course so I’ll get to the point super quick.
Get in Floral prints through wallpapers and that doesn’t necessarily have to be feminine
While talking about oversized floral wallpapers I told you how all floral prints doesn’t necessarily have be to feminine. You really do not have to make it look like a lady in gown will walk right through. Look at this floral wallpaper for example. It’s chic, moody and beautifully gender neutral. Paired with warm wood tones, white wainscot paneling {that half wooden wall you see} and loads of natural fiber in neutral, I wouldn’t be surprised if this room belongs to an artsy hunter! Wonderful way of bringing in a bit of floral prints to your home without making it look like it belongs to professor Umbridge. Not that I believe pink is for women only by miles!
Think accents and it’s alright to let colors clash. No matchy matchy is key
Seriously, please do not match your floral prints with the overall theme and everything else. That’s where it starts looking like it’s going to choke you by the petal. Bring in freshness through florals by contrasting the colors like Hi Sugarplum did! Love, love love how they highlighted solids and stripes with just the right bit of florals: note the bright floral choice in there that actually brings out the mood of the various dark and light toned furnishings in her sitting area.
Tip: If you are confused as to how to make colors work, look for colors in the opposite side of the color wheel for striking contrast. For example, for a blue heavy decor, get in tangerine, orange and pomegranate reds. For green, look at accentuating it with shades of pink and purple.
Why walls? Why not floors? A good floral rug can change the game
What would have been otherwise a simple farmhouse setting is given an all new dimension with an orchid colored floral rug. Being slightly pixilated it offers a whole lot of textural depth as well to the whole setting. I believe the image is from Amy Vermillion Interiors but if you claim otherwise please let me know and I will be happy to link up.
Tip: You could get in florals in pixilated forms, watercolour forms, geometric forms, cross stitch and also abstract. It does not have to be a perfect group of flowers in traditional sense.
Get in Floral prints through Upholstery, Cushions and Drapes
The easiest way to add in some floral in your system is through the use of accents like cushions, poufs and drapes. You could also upholster a chair in floral fabric and use it to highlight your decor. I am huge fan of shabby chic, boho and vintage floral prints but you could go eclectic, feminine, modern or abstract with your choice of floral prints depending on your decor theme. Gosh, adore how the floral fabric here flank the rusty iron day bed, weaving a setting from my dream. Someone give me a farmhouse already! You have given people so much money, God, why cant I just have a farmhouse!
Alternatively, see how glamorously these Indian kantha floral cushions are used! The only source I found is this but I am quite certain this is not the original owner of the photograph
Use them in staircases and staircase wall
I had a little wallpaper love at first sight moment right here. Look at this neutral, simple, clean Brooklyn apartment that sports such a gorgeous stair wall/outer string. You know what? I think Harry Potter would have been perfectly fine living here. Designed by designer Danielle Coulding, the wallpaper is- woohooo- of effin course Ellie Cashman! Remember the wallpaper post? That we swooned on? yeah, yeah, that is correct!
And here’s my favourite floral staircase of all times! Gorgeous colours play along the serene whites giving me all kinds of climbing goals. You could achieve this result with tiles or with wallpapers!
What did I do for my room
For my room, and because it’s all kept neutral and white, I used a dash of bright sky and pink English floral printed shams and paired them with grey and white polka pillows. I also added two vintage floral prints as wall art and added black frames to set it off. Here’s how it looks!
Here’s a closer look at the shams