Press flowers

Use dried, pressed petals to add a pretty country cottage vibe to any room in your home

The fresher the flower, the brighter the final dried bloom. Flowers that don’t have many layers of petals, such as pansies, daisies or poppies, tend to dry better. A good tip is to choose a flower that can lay flat and will keep its shape.

The flowers need hydrating and then drying quickly to help preserve their colour. Firstly, cut the stem at an angle and place in a vase of water and flower food, out of direct sunlight, then leave for a few hours. Choose a paper with high absorbency, such as newspaper or kitchen roll, to press the flowers.

Open a book, place a few layers of kitchen roll on the page and put your flower on top; cover with more layers of kitchen roll, and close the book. Place some heavy books on top and leave in a warm place. Check after a day and remove any paper that has absorbed the initial moisture. Then leave for a week or two, checking every couple of days to see if all the moisture has been removed. Remove from the book, handling gently as the final flower may be brittle. Dried flowers are great for framing or used as a decoration in homemade vintage-style cards.

‘This home is all about the seasons. In summer, the garden becomes part of the house, and in winter it’s all about snuggling up in front of the fireplace’

‘I dried the flowers in these frames myself simply by pressing them inside a book. It was really easy, though a bit hit-and-miss as some flowers didn’t really work, but I love the natural, country look they add to the room’ ‘I find inspiration everywhere and saw the idea of the rattan pendant lamps grouped together in the Watergate Bay Hotel. They were really cheap to make as most of the parts came from Poundland’