Each month we like to brighten the house with an inexpensive—sometimes free—bouquet to keep things feeling fresh. That idea started with a thoughtful Christmas gift from the hubs, but this month we got especially lucky. During a photo shoot earlier today the prop stylist brought a cooler full of flowers; many stems went unused when the shoot wrapped, and she generously offered the extras to us.
She happens to be a close friend who helped on a past shoot with Do It Yourself magazine, so after she warned that the blooms would likely be tossed on her long, hot drive home, we gladly accepted. The house instantly felt more spring-like. Here’s what we arranged.
We inherited a handful of cream carnations that we tucked into three simple Ikea vases on the windowsill and added a bit of greenery to give them more presence.
We also found a trio of roses, which we popped into a glass milk bottle that happened to be on hand. The bottle’s relaxed, kitchen-friendly look suits the soft, two-toned blooms perfectly.
The roses have a lovely contrast—scarlet tips blending into creamy yellow petals—that we’ve admired every day this past week. We don’t usually go for roses, but these have been hard to ignore.
The half bath received a small cluster of cream carnations in one of our green drinking glasses from World Market. The green glass complements the stems and offsets the pure white and cream blooms in a fresh, subtle way.
Carnations have been consistently long-lasting throughout our monthly bouquet experiment; they hold up well and continue to charm for weeks, often lasting from May into June with ease.
But the standout piece was a lush bunch of tulips with beautiful, varied coloring displayed in a green vase we received as a birthday gift. The green glass felt perfectly at home on our dining table, and the tulips instantly livened the whole room.
We felt a little spoiled by the abundance of bouquets—so fortunate that we almost felt guilty. Have you ever ended up with too many flowers around the house? Maybe from an overzealous backyard bush, a thoughtful friend, or a great sale? We love seeing how different arrangements change a room. Do you prefer matching stems or mixed varieties, clear glass vases or colored ones, tightly packed arrangements or loose meadow-like bunches, bold colors or muted tones? Share what you like—there’s something wonderful about bringing the outdoors in.
Curious about past inexpensive bouquets? We’ve documented many months of budget-friendly and free arrangements—some of our earlier favorites include grocery-store finds and backyard blooms. It’s fun to look back at how a few stems can freshen a room month after month.