Floral Styling With An Expert

What started off as a hobby, designing flowers for family and friends’ celebrations, led Dominique Stylianou to setup her own flower business in 2011. Coming from a Dutch family on her mother’s side, she grew up surrounded by flowers and her colourful, textural style has been in high-demand for fashion press days, celebrity birthdays - as well as top British set designers, ever since.

Dom is not the type to discuss her clients, but I know that the recent birthday of a highly-acclaimed British rockstar saw her designs at table, and she could reel off the preferred blooms of London’s leading fashion editors without a second thought.

Simple styling for a recent fashion press day

Based in London - where Dom lives with her husband and two children - A Riot of Colour has blossomed into styling leading events, and now offers hand-delivered bouquets. Dom is quick to point out that her offering will vary according to seasons and she is influenced by what looks particularly lovely in the market that morning.

As a regular at Covent Garden market, {but also someone who finds it intimidating to tussle amongst the pros at 7am}, and knowing many readers share a love of home-arranged flowers, Dom very kindly met me for a pot of tea to share some insights, hints and tips for creating and keeping stylish flowers at home…

A mix of vases are invaluable - just be sure to keep them clean

Shop-bought flowers seem to be really sad at this time of year. What flowers should we be seeking-out in the winter months? There are some real favourites popping up now! I love using anemones {my favourites are the white ones} and ranunculus in gorgeous deep reds and the palest ballet-slipper pink. A new variety called butterfly ranunculus is also so popular and they all have a very generous vase-life.

Hellebores are also so pretty but make sure you buy the green ones which last longer, and those gorgeous Icelandic poppies in bright yellows, oranges, peach and white will start to appear in florists this month.

And what fillers do you like to use now? Waxflower is a fabulous filler and comes in whites, all shades of pinks and purples, and I have stared noticing a red variety too.

What flowers are most requested at London Fashion Week? Or can you tell us which flowers a particular editor favours? Dahlias and hydrangeas are popular during LFW and mainly because they are at their best in September. A lovely mix of white flowers is always popular, or a large vase of white dahlias is also often requested.

Which are your own favourites for each season? I prefer to work seasonally, unless clients specifically request something out-of-season because they love it, or because it is on-brand for them.

I like flowers to add that extra bit of movement - sweet peas are feminine and very British, and peonies are fabulous in any colour, with their big blousy blooms never failing to wow in early summer.

Dahlias too are glorious from late summer into early autumn, coming in so many wonderful shapes and sizes - the English dahlias are strikingly beautiful and have a long vase life - I love the rich and deep red ones the most!

As we come into autumn I include cosmos - with their feathery leaves and daisy-like heads in shades of orange and chocolate - they have a relaxed, meadow-style to them.

Simple styling at home… For the house, flowers bunched in just one type are always chic - such as pale pink peonies in the kitchen and powder-blue hydrangea in the entrance. As a gifting-bouquet or for an event, I love to mix blooms.

For a simple but stylish dinner, trying placing three small bunches of one flower - in any container - down the centre of the table.

Advice for beginners… When creating a mixed bunch, don’t forgot to buy a generous amount of green foliage and at least one type of textural flower - such as wax flower, astrantia or alchmilla mollis - as this will ensure your bunch is generous-looking and the textural flowers will soften the overall look.

For seated dinners if there is a lot happening on the tables, don’t over-complicate. At events people often forget that large sharing plates are going down! Create a runner of stem vases down the centre, with up to three types of flower in each one, and always the same number in each vase. Be sure to alternate groupings of two or three vases, with single ones, to keep it from feeling too formal - and if there is space, twinkling gold votives add a sense of drama.

For parties at home it’s always lovely to have a small stem vase of flowers in the loo and a nice full bouquet on a side-table in the entrance - alongside a fragrant burning candle - to create a proper welcome.

A simple welcome arrangement and burning candle

Where to buy flowers from? I would highly recommend a trip to a flower market. It will awaken your senses with all the colours and smells. The popular flowers in season are always in prime position at each stall and in every colour imaginable. There is always a stock of homegrown flowers, so be sure to look out for those.

Don’t forget to bring cash if you plan on spending less than £20 per stall, and a warm jacket as they keep it nice and cool there for the flowers!

Ensuring your flowers last Get your flowers into water as soon as possible. If driving to a large market maybe wedge a shallow bucket of water in the footwell! Once home keep them in water as much as possible, as you set to work trimming off any leaves that would sit below the water line in the vase.

If you have a Milton tablet, add around a quarter of it to the vase water - this helps keep the water bacteria free. Where possible, try to keep flowers away from direct sunlight or radiators, as the cooler they are kept, the longer they will last. For best results stick to British blooms in season British, and keep it fun! x

For more information see www.ariotofcolour.co.uk and find Dom on instagram at @a_riot_of_colour