Michelle Virtue, from BYU Campus Craft & Floral shares her top greenery tips.
One of the easiest ways to update and freshen your kitchen and by extension YOU, is to replace the old, dusty greenery of styles past. Great strides have been made in the world of permanent botanicals—they are more realistic, easier to care for, and very affordable. Reinventing your kitchen will take you less time and money than you think and can make an amazing difference in your kitchen workspace. So, grab a big garbage bag and pull all the dingy ivy off our cabinets. DO it NOW! The key is to start with a clean slate! I promise you won’t regret it.
Our 4-step Plan to Greenery Recovery:
1. Have a Plan. Find examples of silk greenery or accents that you like in magazines or online. Determine the style of your kitchen, the look or theme you are hoping to achieve, and make a sketch. Measure the length of your cupboards and the height between cabinet top and ceiling. Be consistent in style & color.
2. Hunt & Gather. Once you have a plan, it’s time to gather your supplies. Pull from your existing décor, add a few new pieces, and be willing to use what you already have. You can collect new accent items affordably at end of season sales, thrift stores, flea markets, and garage sales. Be patient. OR, if you aren’t patient and have the money, go FOR IT! Glass vases, stones, and a selection of green foliage/flowers is a good start.
3. Personalize. Make it your own with framed photo accents (black and white—keep it crisp and clean), monograms, or meaningful heirlooms.
4. Experiment. Don’t be afraid to change things up. Use your cupboard tops as a rotating home display. Bright vivid greenery is more dramatic in the spring/summer months and dark rich greenery lends itself to fall/winter décor.
Here are a few of our top kitchen greenery tips:
-Build up your cabinets. Most cabinets have a lip that hides their dusty tops. This can make everything you put on your cabinets SINK. Use Styrofoam, plexiglass, dishes, books . . . anything you can build your display on.
-Vary heights. This adds visual interest.
-Use wreaths turned on their side. This can be a great way to store or utilize foliage wreaths.
-Grasses are SO fresh. Try potted silk wheat grass. Ornamental or tropical grasses add variations in foliage colors and textures.
-Topiaries. Boxwood topiaries are structurally pleasing to the eye.
-Frame your greenery. Use old frames to create a finished 3-dimensional display on your cupboards. I love salvaging varied sizes of frames, popping out the glass and painting them. This gives you flexibility in style and color.
-Accent with serving dishes, frames, or boxes. You can still use this space for some storage. It’s just a matter of being selective and making sure those items you store look like they BELONG.
-Trade out greenery to reflect the season. Pull your foliage down every 6 months for cleaning. There are lots of permanent botanical sprays that make this process painless.
-Use green flowers—not just foliage. Hydrangea, amaryllis, orchids, bells of Ireland, carnations, roses, and button mums come naturally in green. This crisp botanical look is VERY popular and stylized. Avoid using green silk flowers that do not grow that color via Mother Nature.
-Tropical foliage is striking. It has clean lines, great color, and LOTS of texture. Try buying one monstera leaf and putting it in a class vase filled with stones. It’s easy, dramatic, and inexpensive. Glass is easy to find, relatively inexpensive and versatile.
-Color/style blocking. Don’t get carried away. Keep like things together. It will be a lot easier to create your display if you are consistent and keep things fresh and simple.
For more information about Campus Craft & Floral visit their website at www.campuscraftfloral.com
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