A Wild Early Summer Centerpiece DIY Tutorial with Pottery Barn

A Wild Early Summer Centerpiece DIY Tutorial with Pottery Barn

Friends and family dinners at the beach became one of our favorite stay-at-home rituals last summer-- and one hope to continue forever. Getting creative with your table's centerpiece is a simple, satisfying project that makes even a week night meals feel special! Pottery Barn, my go-to for classic pieces, has a stunning summer look book full of things I like to re-imagine into centerpieces with mixes of preserved, fresh and potted natural seasonal elements like succulents, orchids, ranunculus and foraged finds.

I am asked how to design flowers and plants for seaside parties all the time so I thought it would be fun to share a tutorial I created for the Pottery Barn blog using a driftwood lantern. This arrangement was made in June; as I looked around at what was blooming, I realized the colors of nature were shining all over the spectrum so I escaped the confines of the styling plan and ran with neutral with pops of big color. My grandmother sent the Gloriosa Lilies from her garden all the way from Nashville. She was in her late eighties and I wanted to capture the vibrancy of her flowers and her giving heart in this centerpiece.  

Below I am sharing the post How to Make a Driftwood Centerpiece just as it originally is published. Be sure to head over to the Pottery Barn blog to see it yourself.

Yours truly, 

CGH

 

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HOW TO MAKE A DRIFTWOOD LANTERN CENTERPIECE

Originally posted on the Pottery Barn blog, As a follow-up to yesterday’s beyond beautiful shoot with Christy Husley from Colonial House of Flowers.  Christy, along with her dear friend Lea, agreed to share step-by-step instructions for how to make the featured Driftwood Lantern centerpiece. Keep reading for the complete DIY, told in her own words:

How to Make a Driftwood Lantern Centerpiece

Materials
Driftwood Lantern
Instant Aquafoam Brick
Floral Clippers
Flowers

How to Make a Driftwood Lantern Centerpiece

Step 1: Gather your favorite elements – flowers, vegetables, greens & grasses.

Step 2 : Affix the water soaked Aquafoam to a dish.

How to Make a Driftwood Lantern Centerpiece

Step 3: Add your focal pieces to the foam. Lea’s favorite is the artichoke and mine the white peony so that is where we started. We kept adding. As the chuckles crested and the conversation roared the arrangement seemed to ripple outward, gushing in places and drifting and breaking in others.

How to Make a Driftwood Lantern Centerpiece

Step 4: As a final touch I added Gloriosa Lilies from my grandmother’s garden because they mean the world to me.  Once your final touches of meaning and intention are in place, put the dish high on the Driftwood Lantern.

How to Make a Driftwood Lantern Centerpiece

Step 5: Let it shine!

The thing that gets my heart beating about this lantern arrangement is that it’s about a simple, fuss-free gorgeous creation that lights up the space. The incandescence of creating something for someone you love with someone you adore is beautiful. The moment is as pretty as the piece. So grab your favorite friend, and make something that glistens with intention and gleams with all the laughter you shared making it. Good luck and merry flower making!

If this inspires you to create your own Wild Centerpiece for summer our baskets are a good place to start. Take lots of pictures and share with us on Instagram and Facebook. 

 

Floral Design: Colonial House of Flowers  | Photography: Jade + Matthew  | Styling: Lauren Weems  | Venue: Tybee Island  | Flowers: California Flowers  | Inspiration: Slow Flowers by Debra Prinzing  | Photography: Jade + Matthew  | Supplies: Syndicate Sales

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