Styling a Home with Summer’s Bounty

When styling rooms for a magazine shoot, the trend is often less is more, but this time of year I like to go for more! With gardens, landscapes, and farmers markets overflowing, I style rooms with big bouquets and fill kitchens with vegetables from the garden.

When I’m making floral arrangements there are always numerous buckets and vessels filled flowers. This scene emulates the idea of the kitchen as a floral workspace while still showing off the cabinets, marble backsplash and farmer’s sink.

Photograph by Michael Partenio

Here in an alternate view of the same kitchen, a proliferation of vegetables gives the sense of a meal about to be prepared with the riches from a kitchen garden.

Photograph by Michael Partenio

I love to put an oversized container of flowers in my own kitchen, and often do the same when I’m styling both small and big spaces. The long branches of helianthus seemed perfect for this country kitchen. They filled the space between the rustic island and the ceiling, and their tall vertical shape emphasizes the windows.

Casually opened windows add to the relaxed atmosphere in a room. You can almost feel the breeze!

Photograph by John Bressler

A giant silver punch bowl with a profusion of zinnias, Queen Anne’s lace and hydrangeas was a prefect centerpiece for an eclectic dining room. On its own the arrangement was an impressive statement, but layering-in the owners silver pieces created personality and the idea of a party about to happen.

Photograph by Karin Lidbeck Brent

In this antique farmhouse dining room the wallpaper and mix of patterns that inspired me to go a bit over the top. It may have been fun to go with a more modern approach, but the rich old world design of this room called for something that felt like a Dutch still life. The photograph conveys the idea that this is a house of full of collected treasures and bursting with abundance.

Photograph by Michael Partenio

The beauty of summer shoots is that often the locations have pleasant surprises waiting for me. This arrangement came together as a last minute display cut from the homeowner’s amazing flower and vegetable garden.

Photo by Michael Partenio

Just last week while driving to a New England Home photo shoot I passed yuccas growing on the side of the road. I quickly did a U-turn to pick them! I knew they would look dramatic on the large living room coffee table. I wish I could show you the whole room in this beautiful home designed by architect Shope Reno Wharton, but you’ll have to wait until next summer to see it!

Photograph by Michael Partenio