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Diwali décor is incomplete with diyas and bright florals adding to the festive cheer. If you are looking for new ways to brighten up your home with fresh flowers, look no further. We spoke to two décor experts—who share their top tips on how to freshen and brighten up your home for the festivities. So, go ahead and say it with flowers. Meenakshi Kapoor, an interior designer and Ami Kothari, table stylist tell us how.
Mix flowers with rangoli
If you’re looking for fuss-free ideas, start with something simple like an unconventional glass vase or a tall silver tumbler or brass pot. Always opt for fresh flowers and leaves—you may either buy them from a florist or forage them from a garden and use them. You could also take a traditional urli, add some water to it and top it with either flowers or petals.
Another easy way of adding flowers to your décor is through rangoli. You could make a colourful rangoli with flowers—either in combination with rangoli colours or with flowers in a pattern. Kothari suggests the combination of marigold and white mogra—not only is this pleasing to the eye but the fragrance is also lovely. “This illuminates the whole place, changes the ambience and creates that festive look. Flowers also work well in combination with alpanas or rangolis. To further add to the celebratory ambience, you can add mirrors,” she adds.
Kapoor who goes by @behind_that_house on Instagram suggests urlis can also be used to house tall stems like tuberose and gladiolus. Additionally, she advises using flat brass or silver thalis to arrange loose flowers like rangoli. “You could make flower garlands out of Arali or Tagore flowers and hang them from the ceiling. These are great to highlight corners or spaces like balconies and windows.
Choose seasonal flowers
Nothing is quite as charming as fresh, seasonal flowers. Take your pick from options like dahlias, daisies, lilies, chrysanthemums, roses, carnations, tiger orchids and lotus.
For a traditional festive look, flowers like marigolds, and mogra work best. On the topic of best floral combinations, Kapoor lets in that she’s decorating with orange marigolds, dark pink carnations, and Indian tuberoses this season. “My all-time favourite combination however remains lotuses and mogras,” she quips. You can find Kothari’s pretty tablescapes on her Instagram handle, @diningcouture. Her favourite flowers include rajanigandha, mogra, pink roses, lotuses and marigolds for cheer that they impart. She also advises using leaves to create contrast. “Add foliage to flowers. Lotus pods also look great. If you’re looking to create a modern look, put together mogras and roses (white or pink) and white carnations together with green leaves.” She also suggests keeping eyes open to things in local markets which she believes will inspire you to create different looks.
A festive table
Flowers can also truly enliven your table setting. If you’re planning on hosting a festive get-together, here are our experts’ favourite table arrangement ideas using flowers.
Adding brass or silver candle holders or vintage glass candleholders can elevate your table décor. Candles work as a focal point in addition to adding light and warmth to the room. You can use a candle as a centrepiece with different floral borders around it. If you don’t have too many accessories handy, you can simply take a large glass vessel, fill it with water and add to it petals and floating candles. Additionally, you can add petals in small glass pickle bottles and place them around the table.
Add rajanigandha petals in clay pots or traditional diyas and border them with marigold. Another idea is using cutting chai stands with petals of different flowers to add freshness and colour.
Take a glass prism and fill it with a small bunch of roses. Make this your centrepiece and strew the rest of the table with petals. You could also add fairy lights inside the prism to further highlight the flowers. For a grander look, you could arrange together prisms of different sizes as your centrepiece.
If you have a round glass vessel (think of a fishbowl) you could stuff it with marigolds, turn it upside down and place it along with the table. It would resemble somewhat of a floral ball. You can add tea lights or diyas on top of these to add to the festive flavour.
Make the most of your used alcohol bottles. A decorative bottle works best, but in case you don’t have any even a simple wine or beer bottle would work. Create colourful layers made up of floral petals of different colours. Use a thin jute rope to cover the bottleneck and to add that rustic touch. As a finishing touch, wrap fairy lights around the bottle and voila! Your table (and your home) is festive ready.
Photo: Ami Kothari