LOOKING AT CARNATIONS IN A WHOLE NEW WAY
In the 20 years that I spent producing and styling locations for magazine photo shoots, my favorite part of a shoot was shopping for pretty flowers at my wholesale supplier. As you can imagine, it was a lot of fun to be let loose in a warehouse filled with flowers! But I’m going to share with you a little behind-the-scenes secret. I also used supermarket flowers for photo shoots. Central Market, Price Chopper, Albertson’s, Tom Thumb, Sprouts, Kroger and Trader Joe’s were all on my flower radar. Which brings me to today’s topic: “Supermarket Flowers That Don’t Get Enough Love”.
While supermarket flowers have improved as far as what’s available and fashionable, there are a few flowers that are often overlooked at the supermarket. Today’s choice of “supermarket flowers that don’t get enough love” are CARNATIONS.
This is a flower that has been treated very badly over time. They have a reputation as “filler flowers”, sharing the spotlight in ready-made, pedestrian grocery store arrangements. And if you’re a Sex & The City fan, you probably remember the episode where a potential suitor brings carnations to a first date (poor guy didn’t get a second date because of that). I feel sorry for carnations (and that guy!)
But carnations, when left to shine on their own, can be truly fabulous and eye-catching. Let’s explore this a little more.
CARNATIONS = A PERCEPTION PROBLEM
Why do carnations get such a bad rap? Here’s my theory: I think they get a bad rap because, let’s face it, they’re on the inexpensive end of flowers. The perception is that they’re cheap. And I don’t need to show you pictures of how badly carnations have been treated – you’ve seen them. THAT’S primarly what makes carnations look cheap (and the color – more on that later in the post).
So then why am I a fan of carnations? For one, they resemble baby peonies when used ‘en masse’ – in the right colors. I also like them because they last forever – or at least a week, with a change of water every couple of days.
I’ve actually styled with carnations on photo shoots. The image below is from a story I produced for Better Homes & Gardens “Before & After” magazine, in a lovely home in San Antonio, TX, designed by the talented Maria E. Beck, photographed by Jay Wilde. The color of the carnations blended perfectly with this serene and elegant living room, and the gold vase made the flowers look more special (that gorgeous antique marble mantel certainly helps to elevate the carnations, as well).
Are you changing your mind about carnations yet? Let me show you a few more examples. In the images below, I’ve styled creamy-white carnations from the supermarket in a few different looks and settings.
GOLD VIBES
In the first vignette (shown below), I’ve re-created a similar look to the gold vase with carnations shown in the magazine story, but here I’ve styled it on an end table in my living room.
MONOCHROME CARNATION STYLING
Below, I arranged two bunches of carnations ($5.99 a bunch) in a white leaf vase, accentuated by white accessories and planters on my dining room table. Here’s the beautiful leaf vase shown below, in a gorgeous green color.
CARNATIONS MEET MODERN
The image below gives carnations a totally different vibe, where I juxtaposed contemporary and traditional styles, with carnations as the focal point.
For this vignette, I used one bunch of carnations in a modern black vase on bookshelves, surrounded by art books, a small decorative bowl, and a black and white art print in the background. Carnations + Black + White = Super Chic Flower Statement. (Link to that fabulous black vase here and in the gallery below). I’m showing a step-by-step tutorial on how to re-create this exact arrangement in my next post.
RE-PURPOSED GLASSWARE, PART I
Another styling trick I’ve employed is to look to your china cabinet for re-purposing glassware as flower vessels. In the image below, a trio of etched glass goblets make a fabulous low centerpiece for an elegant dinner party. I used two bunches of blush-beige carnations to make three centerpiece vases.. Another low centerpiece idea is to use 5″ tall mercury glass votive candle holders as mini-vases (this would look fantastic with 6 or 8 votive holders down the center of a long table). I’ve curated a couple of options for votive “vases” in the shopping gallery at the bottom of the post (also, here and here).
RE-PURPOSED GLASSWARE, PART 2
Using the same “repurposed glassware as flower vase” principle, below I created a casual vignette with one bunch of carnations in a tortoise tumbler on the chest of drawers in my entryway. Elegant vintage-style amber drinking glasses would also work in this scenario.
See how you can make carnations look fresh with the addition of a beautiful vase, surrounded by the right accessories? It’s really all in the mix – and all about keeping things simple.
A QUICK CARNATION PRIMER:
Ideally, when you buy carnations from the supermarket, they should have fairly tight buds, like the image below. That way, they have some time to open up to their full bloom.
If. you’re planning to use them for a party or other event, buy them a few days before to give them time to open up. For reference, it took 5 days for the carnations in the photo above to be photo shoot ready for the images we shot for this post.
I’m also a big fan of flower frogs (see image below) that you put in the bottom of the vase, which helps give structure to your arrangement and keeps the flowers in place.
I’ve curated a shopping gallery below to re-create some of the carnation arrangements and vignettes shown throughout the post.
CLICK ON THE IMAGES BELOW FOR PRODUCT LINKS
STYLING WITH CARNATIONS: A RECAP
TIP #1:
Select a gorgeous vase. The vases I used in the five vignettes elevate the carnations and make them look special. While you COULD use a simple glass vase, that’s expected. And we like the unexpected around here. Embossed and etched glass read “special”. So do vases with a design (such as the traditional leaf vase, the contemporary dot vase in the gallery and the modern face vase in black or white.
TIP #2:
Use only carnations. Nothing else. No baby’s breath. No filler. No greens. Just the flowers, please. And, depending on the vase size, use at least two bunches. Nothing makes cheap flowers look cheap more than being stingy with the quantity. Lushness is your friend here.
TIP #3:
The color matters. Even if you’re a “red” person, there’s no getting around the fact that red carnations will never look “expensive”. Believe me, I’ve tried. For a classic look, stick to white, cream, blush or antique beigey-pink. And just walk right on by those dyed carnations in bright neon colors.
I hope this post has helped to show you how you can Make Your Every Day More Beautiful® with carnations. I have a few more ideas about “Supermarket Flowers That Don’t Get Enough Love” that I’ll share with you in future posts. But for the time being, head to your nearest supermarket and give carnations some love!
In my next post, I’ll show you a step-by-step tutorial on how to re-create the modern arrangement in the black vase shown in the post.