Ep. 338: Floral Designs for the Table with Cathy B. Graham

How to Decorate

It’s all about flower power this week as we welcome award-winning artist and fashion illustrator, Cathy B. Graham. Her work has been featured in The New York Times, Rolling Stone, New York Magazine, and more. Cathy has been a contributing editor to House Beautiful and Elle Decor. In our conversation with Cathy, we talk about the inspiration behind her recently released second book, Full Bloom: Joyful Designs for the Table. She gives us her expert tips on everything, from finding the perfect flowers for your event, to picking unexpected trinkets and additions that delight you, expanding your color palette, and creative table setting ideas.

What You’ll Hear On This Episode:

• How Cathy got into floral design from a background in fashion illustration.
• A few of the many things Cathy learned from working with the late floral designer and event planner, Robert Isabell.
• Yes, even those who aren’t super artistic can learn about floral design and arrangements and surprise themselves!
• More about Cathy’s beautiful arrangements on plates and tablescapes.
• Simple ways to use florals to create the mood in your home or event.
• Flower arranging techniques and vase selection.
• How soon before an event should you buy flowers?
• Pairing flowers within a color family for beautiful arrangements.
• Adding unique elements like fruits and vegetables to create textured arrangements.
• Let your imagination run wild! If you like a bit of shine and sparkle, don’t be afraid to add things like glitter, garland, and trinkets that make you happy.
• Some of Cathy’s favorite house plants.

Mentioned:

• Ballard Designs
• Cathy B. Graham
• @cathygraham
• Full Bloom
• Second Bloom

Please send in your questions and decorating dilemmas to [e-mail] so we can answer them on our next episode!