Fabulous Florals

How to say it with flowers this season, from room revamps to a touch of spring blossom. From romantic accents and blossoming bouquets to meadow flowers and ferns, strong floral interiors are making a welcome return – and this time around, you can go to town. 

Clash patterns and combine florals within a room, using different scales, shades and prints. Or take it ‘one stem at a time’ so you have something beautiful and timeless you can grow into. And if you haven’t got the memo yet: Laura Ashley is back. The design-led heritage brand has drawn on its vast archive to launch a new home collection in partnership with Next. This collection is bold with pattern and colour, redefined for the modern era. “The collection is a real mix of our ‘family favourites’, signature prints and styles we know the customer loves,” says Helen Ashmore, head of design at Laura Ashley. Think of the 70s and 80s florals, country charm, and traditional Laura Ashley mixed in with “some new, elegant designs that resonate with our heritage”.

1. Laura Ashley Tapestry Floral Wallpaper – Dark Seaspray €46.50 per roll (Laura Ashley furniture and other items, from a selection), visit next.ie.

Within the collection are three key floral looks – Tapestry Floral, Magnolia Grove and Parterre – and it won’t take much persuasion to find a print that’s right for you. Displaying depth and volume, Tapestry Floral is the headline pattern, bursting with colour. 

“We found a really old, traditional tapestry fabric in the archives and reworked it, modernised it, played with the scale and colour tones, so beautiful seaspray blues mixed with delicate blush pink for a soft, contemporary edge,” explains Ashmore. Wall-to-wall wallpaper with matching curtains (also enjoying a revival) is an option if you’re going full bloom. Or a quick way to update a space is to introduce this striking pattern via a statement headboard for some five-star luxe.

2. Laura Ashley Garrick Headboard in Tapestry Floral €578.50-€694.50; Tapestry Floral Pencil Pleat Curtains €69.50-€139.15 (Laura Ashley furniture and other items from a selection), visit next.ie.

“This pattern takes scale beautifully, and our made-to-order headboard can be matched with crisp white bed linen for a lovely, rich, hotel feel,” suggests Ashmore. “You can then layer up soft grey throws on the bed, and I’d use the print again, but on a smaller scale, through accent pillow-cases. We all dress our beds with six or seven cushions which end up on the floor at bedtime, but that’s how you can layer the pattern up and accessorise with Tapestry.”

3. Laura Ashley Magnolia Grove Eyelet Curtains €98.50-€191.50; Magnolia Grove Wallpaper – Natural €46.50 per roll (Laura Ashley furniture and other items from a selection), visit next.ie.

If a palette of pinks and blues isn’t for you, your rooms might benefit from the timeless, natural beauty of Magnolia Grove. “It’s the first sign of spring when magnolias are on the tree outside; it cheers everybody up,” notes Ashmore. “Such a natural, botanical feel that works for modern country style interiors.” Not too dominating, you can put Magnolia with grey or cream sofas, pair it with natural linens and use it to update rustic and farmhouse furniture. 

As Ashmore points out: “You can take it in all sorts of different directions, and style the pattern alongside lovely pops of green accent cushions to mark the spring-like colour palette, and change the look through a bit of colour.”

4. Laura Ashley Parterre Wallpaper – Sage €46.50 per roll; Parterre Eyelet Curtains €75.50-€145 (Laura Ashley furniture and other items from a selection), visit next.ie.

Floral but unfussy, if you want to say it with flowers, but in a more formal, hand-tied bouquet sort of way, the sage green Parterre print will flow effortlessly into existing beige schemes. The ‘neutral’ floral design will compliment natural woods and act like foliage when you scatter sage green cushions on a dove-grey or ivory sofa for the finishing touch.

Also taking their cue from spring’s florals, British design house Woodchip & Magnolia have teamed up with TV and podcast presenter Fearne Cotton to launch the Hope & Bloom Collection – featuring five wallpaper and fabric designs inspired by their favourite season. “The actual colour palette is very feminine. It’s very light, lots of blues, blush pinks and duck eggs in there, very beautiful and easy to live with,” says Nina Tarnowski, founder and designer for Woodchip & Magnolia.

5. Pondering Peonies Duck Egg €114.80 per roll (vintage style bedding, part of room set), visit woodchipandmagnolia.co.uk.

Showy, joyful prints include Pondering Peonies, which maximises their best-loved bloom in all its boldness but with a retro twist. Available in six colourways – from Duck Egg and Sunny Yellow to Tangerine and Navy – Tarnowski says it’s got that hint of the 80s “with the oranges and yellows coming through, there’s that kind of edge and touch of rock and roll. It’s our nod to cottagecore, but we’ve called it ‘granny punk’.”

6. Hope and Bloom Navy and Hope and Bloom Dusky Pink wallpaper both €114.80 per roll; fabric €114.80 per metre, visit woodchipandmagnolia.co.uk.

Meanwhile, Hope and Bloom play up the beauty of wildflowers. “It’s like we’ve picked a bouquet and tossed it onto the wallpaper,” says Tarnowski. “I think that’s what I love. It’s got that spontaneous, expressive, kind of chaotic look about it, whereas many florals are quite rigid. All early spring flowers, there’s blossom, hellebores and snowdrops – the first things you see poking through the ground – and there’s a fluidness.” 

If you’re torn between the different colourways, try picking two and using the paler print to highlight and frame the darker sprays in a dining area. Pull some other colours from the print to the tablescape, make matching cushions, or find a vibrant throw rug to funk up the florals.

7. Vintage Fearne Night Sky Black wallpaper €114.80 per roll; velvet fabric €91.60 per metre (other items part of room set), visit woodchipandmagnolia.co.uk.

Another contender, Vintage Fearne, is a ‘refreshing take on fierce botanicals’. If you’ve been plant-obsessed during the past year, your indoor foliage is about to get a big boost. “That black with the green is so fresh, and there’s some white as well, and with daylight hitting the living room, it’s so powerful and green,” enthuses Tarnowski. 

“And you can bring all your plants into the scheme. It’s bringing the outside in but with a slight twist.” With such a flurry of fauna designed to lift your mood, nobody has to be a wallflower with these looks. “Just go for it,” says Tarnowski. “We see the pattern on the ceiling; we see it on four walls – just layer and layer. “That’s why we’re doing quite a number of calming patterns and colours [within the collection]. So be brave with it, ” Tarnowski adds. “It’s what feels right for you, your home, and think of it as an extension of your personality.”