STYLING DRAMATIC DAHLIAS FOR ENTRYWAYS AND MANTELS

One of my favorite late-summer and autumn blooms is the dahlia, which I recently featured in this post about late-summer florals. For this large-scale fall flower arrangement—perfect for a dramatic entryway, a Thanksgiving buffet table, or an elegant fireplace mantel—I gathered three vibrant bunches of dahlias in contrasting autumn tones. To style them, I utilized my signature design concept, “The Power of One Flower” (arranging one specific flower variety, en masse, to create a high-impact, magazine-worthy statement).

But sometimes, I like to mix things up and create an arrangement with what I call “Dahlias and Friends.” In today’s guide, I’m going to show you how to create a lush, statement fall flower arrangement featuring dahlias.

Using those same dahlias from the previous post, I’ve created an arrangement with a decidedly autumn feel, highlighting a muted fall palette of burgundy, pale pink, pale purple, rusty-pink, and rich green foliage. And don’t worry if you can’t find dahlias at your supermarket—I’m also sharing the best dahlia flower substitutions later in this post.

STILL LIFE INSPIRATION: THE ROMANTIC FLORAL AESTHETIC

My inspiration for this large-scale arrangement came from the iconic French painter, Eugène Delacroix (1798–1863), who was considered the leader of the French Romantic School of painting. His expressive, romantic style is best showcased in his historic still life paintings of dramatic floral designs.

Below are two Delacroix paintings that directly inspired the moody, artistic aesthetic of my fall flower arrangement, “Dahlias + Friends.”

HOW TO STYLE A STATEMENT “SHOWSTOPPER” FALL FLORAL ARRANGEMENT

I call this kind of large-scale design “The Showstopper.” This is the dramatic statement piece you position on a dining room sideboard, a Thanksgiving buffet table, or an entryway console—especially if you’re entertaining guests for the holidays. (It also looks beautiful on the piano in my living room, shown below.)

I’m going to deconstruct this design step-by-step. I created it with affordable supermarket dahlias, accented by foraged greenery and unique filler plants from my backyard garden.

WHY TEXTURE MATTERS IN AUTUMN FLORAL DESIGN

Remember that visual texture is the secret to creating a sophisticated, magazine-worthy flower arrangement. You can easily find rich textures in everyday:

• Foraged greens and branches
• Unopened flower buds
• Varied leaf shapes
• Dried seed pods

Use your imagination, grab your clippers, and see what interesting textures you can forage in your own backyard. Below are all the specific elements I used for this design. You can easily substitute similar textures and plants based on what is growing around your home.

Shown below are all the players in the final arrangement, and you can substitute similar textures and plants from around your garden. Remember that texture is important to creating an interesting flower arrangement, and texture is found in greens, buds, leaves and pods (not just flowers). Use your imagination, grab your clippers and see what you can forage in your own back yard.

Here are the flowers and “fillers” I used below.

THE FLORAL RECIPE: 1) Variegated Greens, 2) Pussy Willow, 3) Variegated Brake Fern, 4) Variegated Lemon Leaves & Lemons, 5) Silvery Kale Leaves, 6) Society Garlic Flowers. 7) Trumpet Vine Leaves, 8) Bronze Fennel Flowers, 9) Rabbit Foot Fern Fronds, 10) Burgundy, Pale Purple, & Cranberry-Pink Dahlias

STEP-BY-STEP: STYLING AN UNSTRUCTURED ENGLISH GARDEN LOOK

There is no rigid, official structure to this arrangement. I simply placed a traditional flower frog at the bottom of a wide-mouth ceramic vase to secure the stems.

To build the shape, I started by alternating taller stems in the center and gradually filled outward with different greens and secondary flowers. This creates an unstructured, organic design meant to look freshly gathered from an English garden. The goal isn’t to make this “florist-perfect”—it’s meant to look rambling, romantic, and beautifully styled.

STYLING A BONUS “MINI” FALL FLORAL ARRANGEMENT

As you’re putting together your main “showstopper” arrangement, make sure to remove any lower leaves from the flower stems. You will naturally find shorter, lower stems holding tightly closed buds and fresh leaves.

Do not throw these away! Simply break off these lower stems with the closed flower buds and set them aside. You can use them to create a secondary, smaller arrangement (shown below right). Those tightly closed buds will eventually open in their vase, and ta-da!—you have a beautiful, free bonus arrangement for a bedside table or bathroom vanity.

FLOWER INSIDER TIP: HOW TO CONDITION DAHLIAS TO LAST LONGER

Dahlias require one special trick when you get them home to ensure they don’t wilt immediately. You need to condition the stems using a professional hot water treatment:

1. Make a fresh, angled cut at the absolute bottom of each stem.
2. Place the freshly cut stems into about 3 inches of very hot (but not boiling) water.
3. Leave them to condition in the water for at least 1 hour before arranging.

This quick step keeps your cut dahlias looking fresh and vibrant for four to six days.

THE BEST FLOWER SUBSTITUTIONS FOR DAHLIAS

If you can’t find fresh dahlias at your local supermarket or autumn farmer’s market, you can easily replicate this look using excellent dahlia flower substitutions:

• Football Mums
• Protea
• Hydrangeas
• Lilies
• Sunflowers

The key to making these substitutions work is sticking to the curated color palette (burgundy, pale pink, pale purple, rusty-pink, and rich green).

To honor the “Power of One Flower” principle, choose ONE type of large-headed focal flower from the list above, and accent it purely with other textures so the elements don’t compete with each other.

Keep an eye out at the market for unique, inexpensive textural flowers and greenery. Excellent budget-friendly filler options include interesting seed pod stems and trailing seeded eucalyptus.

MY FAVORITE FALL VASES FOR STATEMENT STYLING

To help you achieve this high-end editorial look at home, I’ve curated a selection of autumn-inspired vases in different styles, scales, and materials, perfect for large statement pieces.

Finding the right container is everything when you’re styling a flower arrangement. To help you achieve this high-end editorial look at home, I’ve curated a selection of my favorite autumn-inspired vases in different styles, scales, and materials.

Depending on your personal style, you can check out this rustic ceramic vase, this minimalist handled vase, this terra cotta vase, this modern olive green vase, this autumn-inspired Kit Kemp Spode vase, this textured round vase, or this antique brown ceramic vase. I also love the look of fall flowers styled in an elegant brown chinoiserie vase, or a ginger jar with the lid removed like this one. For your mini-arrangement, here are some options: a sculptural clear glass pitcher, a small rustic metal pitcher, or a wabi sabi-inspired ceramic vase. These tortoise glass candle holders can do double-duty as vases, as well. These mini arrangements would look gorgeous with one or two dahlia stems in them, styled in a powder bath, on a desk, or end table.

One quick caveat when styling your autumn arrangement, is to avoid cliched shapes like pumpkins. You want the beautiful blooms to and the vase to complement one another in an elegant way, not compete for attention. If you want to style with a couple of autumnal pumpkins, use small Fairytale pumpkins or mini ghost pumpkins displayed with your arrangement on a bronze or wicker tray as a autumnal focal point in an entry or on your dining table. Remember, the floral arrangement is the superstar; everyone else is the supporting players.

At the end of the day, making an arrangement like this isn’t about following strict florist rules. It’s about styling your home with flowers that look like they stepped right out of a magazine. When you mix autumnal dahlias with a few friends and a bit of backyard foraging, you can bring that moody, high-end editorial feel into your home every day.

I hope this post has inspired you to make your every day more beautiful with an elegant fall flower arrangement featuring dahlias and friends.

Editor’s Note: This post was originally published in Fall 2021 and has been updated with fresh styling tips and current product links.