As fashionable florist Kally Ellis proves,
adding fresh blooms is the perfect way to decorate…
The florist Kally Ellis (right)
Her London florist business, McQueens,
supplies flowers to the likes of Christian Louboutin, Mulberry and Claridge’s,
so it’s not surprising Kally Ellis lives in a house full of flowery charm and
innovative ideas. She also shares the three-storey Victorian house in norht
London with children’s novelist Damian Kelleher, their son Freddie, 19, and
daughter Sophia, who is 17.
Yellow and green displays give the
living room a springtime air.
Her style is shabby chic from necessity,
says Kally: ‘Having children who used to break everything and a cat, Lady Gogo,
who rips all our furniture to pieces, I’ve learnes not to be too precious or
have anything of great value.’
Instead, she fills her home with much-loved
pieces: old church chairs serve as dinning chairs; gilded icons collected on
Mediterranean holidays decorate the bedroom wall; a double French window bought
in an antiques shop brightens the bathroom. This is a home filled with flair,
creativity and – of course – masses of flowers.
Put bare walls to work
The simple hall is transformed with the
addition of convex mirros that Kally has picked up over the years, giving the
entrance impact and setting the scene.
Add much-loved accents
Kally loves homespun pieces that feel
welcoming, such as the one-of-a-kind tapestry cushions she uses to add layers
of texture and pattern to the living room sofa and armchairs. ‘My friend
Jonathan Adler is an interior designer in New York, and every year he sends me
a beautiful cushion,’ she says.
Link indoor and outdoor styles
Rustic window boxes look informal and
cosy
Instead of traditional window boxes, Kally
chose rustic woven planters that mimic her cosy indoor style. White hydrangeas
and budded jasmine on the street side are complemented by some secret planting
on the window side of the boxes, which only those inside the living room can
see and admire. ‘After all, you look more than you look in,’ reasons Kally, ‘so
why not keep the vest view for yourself ?’. The blooms are echoed inside the
living room with an arrangement in a big cooper planter.
Use repetition in your displays
If one vase looks good, a row of them will
look wonderful. On one mantelpiece, Kally has arranged five white egg-shaped
vases, each hoalding an egg-yolk yellow ranunculus bloom for spring. Between
each is a McQueens scentes candle. The line-up will change with the season, but
the letters behind them remain a constant: a golden initial each for Damian,
Freddie, Sophia and Kally.
Be bold
Ranunculus, dwarf daffodils and jasmine
conjure up sring
Like every interior designer, Kally isn’t
afraid of going oversized to create an impact. On the second mantelpice in the
double living room, she’s put a permanent framework of sliver birch branches
from which she can hang an ever-changing disphay – currently glass test tubes
filled with ranunculus blooms suspended from florist’s wire. ‘At Christmas I
hang tree baubles – other times I might have white glass teardrops. It’s a
display that can incorporate many different looks and colour schemes.’ On the
hearth beneath it, groups of glass jars spiraea stems.
Colour block your flowers
‘It’s abour bringing the outside
indoors’
‘At McQueens, we rarely mix flowers in one
container,’ saya Kally. ‘The best way to use flowers in the home is to colour
block them. Sitck to one or two shades at a time, using just one type of
flowers in each container, then mix the containers, not the flowers. It’s a
simple way to a big impact.’
Invest in home comforts
Kally and Damian had their osk flooring
done when they first moved in. ‘I like the look of bare wood, but the original
floorboards were very gappy and draughty. It was something we needed to do, and
it was wosth every penny.’
Layer colour over neutral shades
To contrast with the main bedroom’s calm,
pale cream décor, Kally chose a splashy linen print of bold tulips, and
co-ordinates it each spring with vases of scarlet Aladdin tulips dotted around
the room. A favourite Alexander McQueen dress is displayed permanently on the
vintage mannequin, creating another feature that holds happy memories for
Kally: ‘The original shop I bought in Shoreditch was called McQueens because it
belonged to Alexander McQueen eventually became a client, too!’
Start a collection of vases
‘Every household should have a few vases in
standard shapes and sizes,’ says Kally. ‘The three I would recommend are: a
fishbowl, which is great for hand-tied bouquets; a tall, conical or cylindrical
vase for long-stemmed flowers and branches; and a low, wide, tank vase, which
is handy for hyacinths or tulips. Bud vases are useful, too, for placing down a
long table with a single stem in each. When you spread them out, they look like
much more than they really are.’
Brighten up plain white
Purple clematis and candle
The all-white bathroom springs to life with
the addition of dollops of vibrant colour: a trio of turquoise glass vases
filled with purple anemones; turquoise Claus Porto soaps (which Kally admits
she has a weakness for); an enamel jug holding a generous bunch of cut purple
clematis. ‘I don’t understand why people put horrid green plants in their
bathrooms rather than flowers,’ she says. ‘It’s personal thing, but I feel
green plants are for outside.’
