The secret to the perfect DIY floral centerpieces

A luxury in life is having flowers in your home, but people often just plop them in a vase and walk away – doing the flowers a major disservice. We aren't into elaborate or fussy arrangements but there are some simple ways to make your arrangements look like they were done by a pro. Here are some florist secrets that can help you create simple but chic arrangements.

Underwater

When it comes to flowers, it's nice to think outside of the box. If you're hosting a last minute dinner party, this arrangement literally takes minutes and makes for the perfect centerpiece.

First, snap off the heads of hydrangeas and shove them in the vase. Fill the vase with soda water ¾ of the way up – this will make the look like there are diamonds around the flowers. Then, top it off with water. If you use fish bowls, you can stack the vases for a more modern look. We got ours from Grower's Market. These arrangements use fewer flowers than normal floral arrangements and are sure to wow your guests.  

Modern rose arrangement

Here's a different, more modern way to arrange your roses. The secret ingredient is the oasis that allows the roses to stay in place. It soaks up water like a sponge and acts as both a preservative to prolong the life of the flowers and a support to hold them in place! Another trick to finish the arrangement is to wrap a leaf around the oasis.

Mixed bouquet

One of the things people often do is cut everything at the same height and then shove them into a vase. But then you're left with a mess that feels dense and thick.

Start with a vessel ¾ of the way full with cool water and then stretch pieces of tape across the top of the vase, then more in the opposite direction to make a grid. Add your fillers first, starting with a green base plant and place them in the grid facing different directions. Then, clean off the lower foliage because you don't want there to be any leaves at the bottom of the vase – it will create bacteria and your flowers won't last as long. Next, cut your stems.

Be sure to snip on an angle to create more room for the stem to take up water. When cutting flowers at different heights, hold each one next to the vase and see where the bottom will hit. Choose your face flowers next – these are the big blooms, the showstoppers that occupy the main part of the arrangement. Use them in groups of three or five. Then, add your accent flowers and you're done!

Leaning arrangement

This isn't your conventional floral arrangement! Here we created sculptural art out of the flowers. Simply grab a large bunch and wrap the stems together. Instead of plopping the flowers into the vase we've leaned the bouquet and because we placed the flowers on an angle, we are able to see their faces!

All flowers provided by Sweet Peas