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Most people have seen enough flower arrangements to know what looks good and what they like. Although every florist boasts a designer to create masterpieces that can take your breath away, don’t be intimidated. You, too, can achieve decent results and a fairly professional artificial flower arrangement using common sense and following a few steps. Furthermore, silk flowers are quite forgiving-if you don’t like the way they look, simply take them out of the vase or basket and try again.

First, consider the season; you’ll have the best results if you focus on the flowers that are growing at that particular time. If you plan to have the arrangement displayed throughout the year, choose those that are almost always available, such as roses or carnations. This will go a long way with color as well; you won’t see too many blues or yellows in the northeast during winter, but oranges and rusts replicate autumn perfectly. The goal is to take nature’s lead, since she usually knows best. Think about what grows when, and with what, and you’ll have some idea of where to start. (For example, holly berries and pine are partners in December, but lilacs don’t bloom at the same time as pussy willows.)

Second, consider the size of your chosen sprigs and hold them up to your available containers. Using the analogy of a lady wearing a hat, a very large woman with big hair probably wouldn’t look good with a teeny cap, just as a petite gal would be overwhelmed with a monster-sized ten gallon cowboy hat. Your vase is the person and the flowers are the cap; they should be comfortable with each other. The range of the flowers' height and width should be somewhat close to that of their containers for the most harmonious effect.

Third, you may wish to use florist’s foam or Styrofoam to anchor your stems so that they stay put for several weeks-even if they'll be in a vase. Styrofoam blocks can be cut using a kitchen knife, and they can withstand many uses. Once they’re filled with holes from flower stems, however, it’s time to throw them away, as they’ll be of little use. If you’re using a basket, set the Styrofoam inside to see how high up it goes. If it’s too low, place something underneath, such as a small empty plastic container, an unused book, or anything else that provides the desired height. If the foam is too high, you can cut its depth.

Fourth, secure the foam in your container so that it’s not movable-if you must use two pieces, secure by connecting with a few toothpicks. Start with one type or one color of flower, placing those around the parameter and inside that parameter in a fairly symmetrical pattern. Followed up with another color or type in the same way, until you no longer see the foam. Remember two things: You don’t need tons of flowers to do this; the first tip is to bend wire stems and fluff out petals to fill up space. The second tip is to add bits of greenery here and there to eliminate empty patches. Voila!

There are a few other considerations that may make this more user-friendly. Keep in mind that stores such as Michaels or Joanne Fabrics often have wonderful sales and coupons when you can purchase large bouquets of silk leaves and flowers. If you’re on a budget, stock up and then snip apart the bouquets. You’ll be left with a lot flowers and leaves at your disposal to mix and match in different arrangements, and it’s much cheaper than buying single stems of silk posies. (Some may be a little difficult to separate, but using pliers, bend the stems back and forth repeatedly, and you’ll have success.)

When you think your arrangement is getting dusty, a spray of water from a spritzer used for real plants will allow the blooms to sparkle again. Finally, once a silken flower begins to fall apart, pull it off its stem and throw it away, but save the stem. You’ll find use for it in the future, for those flowers whose stems may have broken or separated from the wire, or for extra flowers on existing stems that you wish to have their own stems.

Hopefully, these tips will help you create a flower arrangement that is truly one of a kind, yet looks like it is a professional work of art!

Some folks rarely, if ever, move furniture around. Others, like me, seem to have to do it every three or four months, in accordance with the seasons. After so many years, I’ve come up with a few parameters that seem to apply in every case, which just may help some of you who don’t normally rearrange, but are considering it. These tips may save you aggravation in terms of wasted time or energy.

First, consider the season if you don’t live in an area that’s the same all year. Those who must bear cold winters should try to keep beds and couches away from windows during that time unless you’ve covered windows with dressings of blinds, then sheers, then insulated drapes. Equally important is not covering up the heating vents, which always seem to be exactly where you’d like a heavy piece of furniture to be placed. You may luck out if the furniture doesn’t sit directly on the floor, but still, be careful that the heat won’t get blocked by floor-length drapes. In the summer, the same reasoning applies if you’re a big fan of air conditioning. If not, and you know that you’ll often be opening and closing windows, make sure that you can easily reach the windows without having to bend over, or squeeze behind, something else to get to them. You also don’t want to place anything that may easily be bleached by sunlight directly under a window. (Even some flooring and rugs are somewhat susceptible.)

Next, think about your electrical connections and have extension cords available; in all likelihood, especially if you don’t have an overhead light fixture and the main table light is controlled by a switch. The same goes for the complex computer station and cable television connections-it may be a serious undertaking to relocate that equipment. An alternative could be to switch the desk or TV to face another direction, or buy longer cables. Nothing is impossible, but dealing with wiring is rarely easy.

Are there items that no longer fit in your space after rearranging, in terms aesthetic or practical? Well, that happens. Of course, the answer is to put them in another room, but if that’s not feasible, don’t lose hope. Stash smaller things under a table that may be covered with a long cloth, or stack them; use vertical-instead of horizontal-space. Don’t forget unused spaces such as closet floors, high shelves, or even under-bed areas for small and flat accessories.

You will probably find that you may need to re-hang some wall art, or change it completely; it’s not as hard as you think, and you’ll be glad you made the effort. If you are changing colors, you could go all out with a new paint job, or you can just change bed linens, furniture covers, window treatments, accessories, and the like.

You probably already have 99.9% of what you might need; the trick is to dig through your stuff to find what can clearly convey your idea of what your new space should convey. For example, if you like music, you can clear out a lot of miscellaneous things from a room, and focus of those things musical: framed sheet music, wall hangings of music notes, displays of instruments, and pictures of famous musicians. (If you’re a pianist, you may even want to pepper your space with items that are predominantly white and black.) Almost any hobby can be emphasized by displaying your accoutrements. Using the main color theme of your focal point, plan your other colors…the simplest example could be displaying a little girl’s pink and white tutu and pink ballet shoes, then removing items in other colors, save for those which are pink and white (stuffed animals, dolls, boxes, etc) or dance-related.

Changing window coverings gives a lift to a room, and it’s smart to use lighter curtains up in the summer and heavier ones in the winter. Keep in mind which direction you will now be facing upon awakening; you may just room darkening window treatments if you’ll be facing east and sleeping past sunrise.

Rearranging may take a few hours until you’re satisfied, but the hours of pleasure you’ll have for the next few months will definitely be worth the time investment. You may just feel like you’re living in a new-and better-place!

When it comes to centerpieces, don’t let yourself be boxed in by any preconceived notion of how it fit into certain parameters. In fact, placing something in the middle of your table is one area where you can allow your imagination to take issue with rules, expectations, and even the rest of your décor!

At this point in my life, thinking back over some of my centerpieces, I wish I would have taken pictures; there were some I truly enjoyed. But one of the greatest things about centerpieces is that they can be timeless and displayed for as short or as long as you’d like. They can also be given as gifts, copied for others, and taken apart and the components used elsewhere-just like they can be created in the same way. There’s no big amount of time or money commitment with a centerpiece; in fact, some holiday ones can even be kept in storage and used year after year. Centerpieces are one of those decorating dreams that give a lot and rarely take much.

If you’re lucky enough to have both a kitchen table and a dining room table, you may want to use a larger, more elaborate centerpiece in the dining room, even if it won’t be seen by as many casual guests. You’ll see it every time you walk past the room, and it will bring you a jolt of pride. Plus, it won’t get damaged from being jostled three times a day and will make eating there even more special. In the less formal surroundings of the kitchen, your centerpiece may need to be smaller to coincide with the size of the table, but try to have one that can be easily moved for those times that your meal takes more room. (It’s quite annoying to hear someone complaining to “move that thing out of the way” after you’ve spent your creative energies to produce it.) If your regular dining companions don’t like to have anything but their meal on the table, you can still make the table look festive with an attractive covering, runners or placemats, and a decorative napkin holder and salt/pepper shakers grouped with a pair of candles. Make a larger arrangement to keep on the table between meals, or place it on a kitchen center island or the center of anything, such as coffee table, end table, shelving, mantel, etc.-after all, who says a centerpiece has to be on the center of an eating surface?

It’s probably easier to jumpstart creative juices on the holidays, when there is an abundance of novelty items. One of the simplest ways to define a centerpiece base is with a large placemat or folded cloth, preferably in a seasonal color or design. On top of that, a good start is either one large central item, or two large items on either end. This tends to offer a sense of the arrangement having stability. These can be surrounded by smaller items which support the theme-but stop before it looks like a sidewalk sale. An example may be a red basket filled with pine boughs in the center of a white base, with a pair of red candles in tall brass candlesticks slightly behind on one side, a small holiday figurine slightly in front on the other side, and the entire display asymmetrically encircled with garland, in which small red, white and gold bows or ornaments are placed. It’s simple, elegant, and somewhat whimsical, while cohesively conveying the nature of the season.

Think of the defining aspects of the holiday or season for item ideas…New Year’s Eve can use champagne glasses with spirals of curled ribbon falling out of them, surrounded by confetti and noise makers. In summer, think small flags, brightly-wrapped sparklers, and pinwheels protruding from clever containers. Birthday centerpieces can include weighted balloons, novelty artificial cakes, or even large “number” candles stuck in a pot of greenery, flowers or sand. Try to have a consistent color pattern between the base and the items, and everything should connect.

For special occasions, use something representational for the celebration, such as a small trophy, a graduation cap set on an elevated base, or a large photo of the happy couple-you get the idea. Flowers make do make nice centerpieces, but there’s so much more that can make your table one that will be remembered. Have fun with your centerpieces, and a hum-drum meal just might seem a bit more festive!

Thanks to my favorite designer, Dorothy Draper, I’d like to share a few tips on some innovative decorating ideas. Now mind you, these are contained in one of her books published in the 1960’s, which goes to show you that cleverness and creativity never go out of style as the years pass.

1. If you have a young son, daughter, niece, nephew, or grandchild, you just may be the recipient of some lovely original artwork. One way to display it is to frame some of the smaller ones, or crop, cut and mat them (if the artist won’t mind) and hang them on a large piece of driftwood. If the child has a lot of certificates from school or clubs, or even pins from scouts, you can mount those as well on backing and attach those as well. When guests admire it, you can inform them it’s your “family tree” of accomplishments.

2. Should a beach chair, patio bench or chaise lounge find itself sitting unused in the basement, try throwing a colorful cover over it, and/or pads and pillows, before adding it to a game room. If the rest of the décor is fun, this un-thought of piece will add a bit of whimsy.

3. Instead of always looking for vases for fresh cut or silk flowers, try placing them in earthenware pitchers, small flower pots painted white, or even large, empty cans (with labeling removed and a pretty cloth going half way up, secured with a rubber band that’s hidden by the top of the material hanging down.)

4. Should you be tiring on an old, plain headboard, try placing a high row of narrow, open shelves behind the bed. (If they can be adjusted to different heights, it’s even better.) You can thus place your radio, tissues, etc. immediately behind you and a lamp to the side, then use the upper areas to display knickknacks, photos, or other lightweight items. Move your headboard and night stands to another room for a short change of pace. Remember that if you like to read in bed, it’s wise to invest in one of those support pillows to be comfortable, especially with this arrangement.

5. Some inexpensive ways to add cheer to a room could include buying new knobs for your cabinets, dresser, or armoire, filling apothecary jars with colored candies or brightly wrapped snacks, adding bright white kitchen curtains, hanging a flowered, extra large towel wide upon a towel rack, or even painting an old item an uplifting color.

6. You may have a piece of glass on top of a coffee table or end table, or other surface. If so, you can make the base underneath serve a purpose by laying special items under the glass in an attractive display. Some suggestions may follow themes such as family (photos, art work, family tree diagrams, etc.) vacation (photos, pictures from brochures, maps, etc.) achievements (recital programs, certificates, etc.), and anything else that may hold sentimental importance to you. As long as you arrange the items with thought for an interesting layout, it will be a striking conversation piece for family and friends for as long as you’d like.

7. While you may enjoy your current kitchen window treatment, for a change you can try a roll-down bamboo covering for a fresh and tropical look that keeps out light and heat.

8. For a sizeable amount of pictures in a room with a distinct color scheme, you can gain cohesiveness by either using frames of the same neutral color, or mats of the same, neutral color. If, instead, the room is neutral, you can jazz it up by adding mats or frames in the same bright color (chose one that’s most appealing to you, and stick with it) or, if you’re creative, buy white mats and added dabs of colored paint to all of them in a consistent manner, or cover them with brightly patterned contact paper.

9. For a sophisticated change, make identical book covers for all displayed books, either out of wallpaper, contact paper, or even sturdy material.

Let me know if you try any of these suggestions, and how they worked for you!