Green month at O.xide

We are seeing Green this month at O.xide Design! Requests from clients are definitely in that color scheme, now is it for an environmental view or is it simply because we can’t wait for spring? No matter what it is we love it!

Working with greeneries such as accordion, salal or even anthurium leaves is a great subtle way to give volume to an arrangement, throwing tones of green dendrobium orchids is also awesome. Impact is what we want and it is what we will get with this very green arrangement.

Again a proof that simplicity works best, one color scheme with a lot of power!

Green month at O.xide

We love working with green apples, they give so much volume and texture to any arrangements at a reasonable price. If they work with the color palette and style of a project, there are good chances you’ll find them there. As a matter of fact, we love incorporating any fruits or even veggies in our arrangements!

There are so many options as to how we play with these apples. Whether they fill a vase, directly work side by side with flowers in an arrangement or are piled up beside a centerpiece, we always find a way to be creative! Enjoy our fruity pictures of the use of green apples in ‘09.

Photo by Montreal Photographer Amélie Cousineau

We thought we needed to encourage people to use different, unthought-of corners in their homes and decorate them with flowers to bring them to life.

Dreamy white Hydrangeas and green apples are showcased here in all their simplicity to brighten up this kitchen’s opened shelf. The plates are nice, but the flowers and apples make them even more attractive! The best thing about it is that it is so simple and inexpensive to create, a couple stems of flower, fruits and your own dishes are all you need.

Who said flowers only belonged on a dining table? Use your imagination and decorate uncommon spaces of your home with nice fresh flowers!

Three Arrangements for One Vase

The are as many possibilities as there are vases and flowers to create cool arrangements!

Here, we took a decorative vase with a long and narrow opening and played with yellow Pincushion and Eremurus flowers as well as dark green Anthurium leaves to create 3 different looks. We simply dropped the flower steams in the vase always keeping in mind to keep each variety of flowers at a different level and in a 3D motion, we don’t want an arrangement that is flat, we want movement !

Next time you go to your florist, try buying loose flowers as opposed to hand-tied ones and experiment yourself, try using vases which have a non-standard shape, be creative and you won’t be disappointed.

Old Montreal Wedding Flowers

Nathalie & Dale are an easy going young couple from out of town, that decided to get married in the gorgeous Place D’Armes Hotel in Old Montreal. Many young couples, especially out-of-towners are falling in love withOld Montreal and are making it their wedding destination.

I think the main reason for this phenomenon, is that typically, weddings are more conservative than other kind of parties. And Old Montreal with its beautiful old architecture brings the “conservative” and “elegant” factor to a wedding. On the other hand, the hotels are very modern in interior design and branding.

In my opinion the mariage of the old to the new is very exciting, and I think this is what is attracting the couples to pick Old Montreal.

Old Montreal Wedding Flowers

Nathalie and Dale represent a bit what I am talking about. Nathalie being more modern in her taste, and Dale a bit more conservative.  Our challenge was to please them both, and I think we succeeded. Working with this couple was a lot of pleasure, as they were relaxed and fun all through the process.

Old Montreal Wedding Flowers - My Sketches

We went with a neutral colour scheme of creams and whites that we punched with some apple green and chocolate bown. The flowers we used in the project are the green cymbidium orchids, green celosia, white hydrangea, cream roses, all very classic flowers. To make the bride happy and give her that extra little something, we integrated chocolate brown feathers. And finally we combined green apples to add freshness to the whole feel of the wedding.

I like working with greens, but I also like eating them! As a matter of fact, I love anything fresh and well presented. It applies to flowers of course, but also to food! I realized with time that I enjoyed using creativity in every aspect of my life. One particular area where I try to exercise my creativity is food and cooking. I would even say, that cooking might be my second biggest passion after design. No wonder my boyfriend is a chef!

These are pictures I took when I decided to prepare a nice and simple meal for him. Why not treat him, right?

Drinks:

1- Lemonade
2- Basil infused syrup
3- Fresh Lemons
4- Fresh basil leaves

Salad:

1- Arugula leaves
2- Filet mignon thin slices
3- Grilled asparagus
4- Fresh Parmesan shavings
5- Balsamic vinegar dressing ( homemade! )

My boyfriend was happy, and now looking at these pictures, I am hungry again!
When people say you start eating with your eyes, I totally agree!

Cocktail équinoxe pour le traiteur Primavera

En fouillant il y’a quelques jours dans mes photos, je suis tombée sur ce projet que nous avions réalisé l’année dernière pour le “cocktail équinoxe” par le traiteur Primavera. Le cocktail a eu lieu a l’auberge St Gabriel du Vieux Montréal. Primavera présentait à ce cocktail sa nouvelle division plus moderne du traiteur. Les invités étant presque tous reliés d’une façon ou d’une autre à l’industrie de l’événementiel, Steph et moi ont voulu pousser les limites et laisser libre cours a notre créativité!

Ce projet me tiens particulièrement a coeur à cause de son thème: ” Le printemps” . Étant une passionnée de fleurs, vous pouvez imaginez que le printemps soit ma saison préférée! Oui, vous l’auriez deviné, Primavera veux bien dire printemps en italien.

Alors voici notre version funky/moderne du printemps:

• Vases avec vitre superposés, vases du bas avec du curly willow (pour représenter les racines) séparés d’une vitre et vases sur le dessus avec des fleurs (pour illustrer les fleurs qui poussent)
• Décorations avec de gros abats-jours avec des orchidées cymbidium qui pendent d’un lustre intégré (pour illustrer la pluie qui fait pousser les fleurs)
• Arrangements sur tables à cocktail de petits vases avec orchidées cymbidiums et crystaux séparés d’une vitre

Jetez un coup d’oeil sur les sketchs de Steph. Je ne peux me lasser de lui dire qu’elle dessine merveilleusement!

Les sketchs que Steph a proposé au traiteur Primavera

Chic English Garden Style Baby Shower Flower Arrangements

A beautiful afternoon in a backyard surrounded by gorgeous flowers, friends and family, what better way to celebrate the upcoming birth of your little bundle of joy!

Working with an event planner is always a great way for us to assure our flowers will be showcased at their best, and for this project the proud mamma to be was actually a wedding planner, which was a charm! From the tableclothes, to the napkins, to the favors, everything was perfect to display our light green and purple arrangements. I personally found them stunning! What do you think? We used a mix of green hydrangeas, green cymbidium orchids, green roses, green sedum, purple artichokes and purple decorative cabbages to give a chic English garden look to the tables.

Can somebody please say ’’Cabbage Patch Kids’’ … Yes, that is absolutely the first thing that comes to my mind when I look at these pictures, what a great way to bring a child into the world; by remembering your own fabulous childhood memories!