Romantic Ideas for Rose Lovers

Roses take center stage as Valentine’s Day approaches. But my favorite flower is never out of fashion, whether with the sophistication of a single blossom or in profusion in a bouquet. Roses are ever popular as a motif in fabrics and wallpapers. And as gardens are now dormant in most of our climes, you can still bring the luxury of a rose garden to your life. Tarry here for lovely ideas.

• Creating Beautiful Bouquets: You do not have to visit the florist to find roses to arrange. The flower stand in your supermarket is often less expensive and you can create a lovely bouquet using this step-by-step technique. Some of the steps include deciding on the temperature of the water (warmer water will make the roses come to full bloom faster), how to position greens in the bouquet, squinting at your bouquet to find areas that might need another flower, and using additional greenery creatively. There are also wonderful hints about how to keep the bouquet fresh as long as possible.

Once mastered, you’ll find inspiration for your own bouquets from Martha Stewart’s wedding centerpieces. You need not be planning a wedding to find these arrangements lovely for your home on a special occasion or just to cheer you at your desk. While we think red roses for Valentine’s Day, there are many luscious variations in colors of roses.  Don’t overlook the beauty of white, yellow, or my personal favorite, Sterling roses, to fit into the decor of your home or the mood you want to create.

How to keep rose bouquets fresh? Everyone seems to have a magic formula.  Check out these suggestions from Readers Digest, which include everything from a nip of vodka to pennies in the water. The one I never heard of before was giving the flowers a spritz of hair spray.

• Placing Your Bouquets: Just waiting for one of your inspirations–coffee tables, chests, end tables, and of course, dining rooms.

The Leighton coffee table is an exciting one of a kind artistic piece that will surely be even more appealing, perhaps with several blooms floating in a shallow clear vase.

A floating rose vase like this will blend beautifully with the soft painted motif on the top of the Leighton coffee table.

Awaiting your bouquet is this delightful Spring Garden Chest.

Just a stem or two would make a delightful display on this two-drawer chest with bubbled glass knobs. Capturing a moment in the garden on a day when the real rose bushes are covered in snow.

The gracious traditional lines of the Windward end table call out for a tidy bouquet or perhaps a blossom picked from a larger bouquet.

There always seem to be a few blooms that last longer. Adding extra greenery, perhaps even a fern leaf or two, will “stretch” the life of your flowers.

Working among the roses with your desk, writing table or home office furnishings graced with flowers just may make that dreaded task a bit more pleasant. And if you are sending Valentines, what could be more of a companion than a bouquet of roses? You may always have flowers on your desk, but this is the moment for roses on this stunning Palladium writing desk.

• Dining among the roses: the Estate Collection has a wonderful mix of heritage and comfortable casual style. Dine at the 66-inch pedestal table in the collection and dress the tables with the roses of your choice.

And if you’d like to keep the rose theme going, why not create a special dessert with a dash of rose water?  Many cuisines around the world use rose water in cooking.  The New York Times suggests its delicate flavor will add a “subtle kick” to such recipes as pound cake and rice pudding.

For a special Valentine’s Day’ dessert, consider William-Sonoma’s chocolate cake topped with a pink frosting in the shape of full-blown roses. The cake is baked in Florida from a bakery called We Take the Cake.  It serves 8-10. Not only yummy to eat, but very decorative for your table.

• Decorating with Rose Motifs: You will be engulfed in a garden of choices if you are looking for roses in fabrics and wallpapers. And in fine art, as well. You might even want to hunt for rose-covered fabrics and prints in flea markets and at estate sales. Once, no home was without a rose somewhere on a pillow or in the drapery. I used to collect paintings and prints of roses and clustered them on the wall in an extra room for a very pleasing effect at very little cost.

For a contemporary print, consider photography, perhaps even your own. Photographer Cheryl Davis has a beautiful print on canvas of a vintage rose that would make an everlasting impression.

Or consider Susan Rios for her new painting New Love.

Waverly is a tried-and-true source for rose motifs on fabrics and wallpapers. For decades they have been the go-to source of American families. For fabrics, I am partial to Bennison fabrics. If you want to keep your rose garden to a minimum, you might want to use the fabric or wallpaper sparingly. For example, just a few yards stitched into pillow will create its own eye-catching drama. Sam Moore Furniture’s Rita sectional has room in its gentle curves for not only rose-covered pillows but coordinating fabrics as well.

And why not wallpaper a small box or simple wood chest for a special effect? Sometimes there are sales of extra rolls at paint and wallpaper shops–the perfect place to pick up just what you need. Better Homes and Gardens has how-to steps and project ideas for using one roll of wallpaper.

• Sum: Roses are top of mind on Valentine’s Day. Enjoy them, and don’t forget what charm and grace they bring to our homes and gardens year round.