Floral Arrangements on the Floor: Making a Big Impression from the Ground Up

When you want to create an aura of stately drama to a room, forget about heavy statues and pricey pedigreed paintings-opt for one or more floor vases instead!

Big vases are a classic decorating accessory, and like all classics, they are always in style regardless of the type of décor you prefer. Tall, plain black vases can look just as appropriately elegant in a traditional room as they do in one that’s all 1970’s modular furniture, flokati area rugs and Peter Max prints.

The important thing to remember when choosing a floor vase is that it must be big enough to avoid looking diminutive in your space and have a base that’s heavy enough so that it can’t be easily knocked over by your dog, cat, or busy children who bumps into it.

Floor vases come in all colors and a variety of materials, from traditional blown glass and cut crystal to tall hammered copper pot-like numbers and clay vessels originally designed to carry water to elegant Imari porcelain that can set you back several thousand dollars or more.

However, since floor vases only come in one basic shape, you should be able to find one or more that suit your room pretty easily. Shop around to get the best price so that you don’t wind up paying twice the price at an upscale garden outlet as you could have to a low cost import store.

Actually, the vase can be less important as a design statement than what you choose to put in it. The tall plain, classic black vase mentioned above could be filled with small bare tree branches or evergreen cuttings strung with tiny white lights in the winter; cherry blossoms, pussy willows or magnolia blooms in the spring; ornamental grasses or gladioli stems in summer; colored leaves or bittersweet boughs in fall, and silk orchids or Elephant Ear philodendron any time of year. Each choice provides a different design note and can change the look of the room in an instant.

Filling your floor vases with materials of a color taken from a design or pattern found in the room will provide a coordinated, eye-pleasing effect. For example, if your room features paisley pillows in dominant shades of red and black, filling a black floor vase with red silk blossoms can add just the right design touch; a dark blue sofa is suitably complemented by a blue and white Chinese floor vase that holds a few white orchid stems.

When it comes to floor vases, you’ll find that just about anything goes!