5 Floral-Inspired Furnishings That Bring an Unexpected Edge to Your Space
Miranda Priestly may have snubbed florals as dépassé in the 2006 film The Devil Wears Prada, but nearly 20 years later, contemporary designers are pushing the pattern in exciting directions, bringing a fresh, new, and frankly edgy take on plants—particularly ones with petals. In this case, we were inspired by the idea of a slightly spooky fairy-tale woodland: Think dark colors (winey maroons, deep browns, and yes, a classic black), edgy shapes, and blatant prints that read more gothic cool than outdated grandma. Take Scott Richler’s Harlow Dried Flowers chandelier, a handcrafted work of art that combines black steel with floret forms for a perfectly punk expression of functional design. Another flora-forward piece is Moooi’s Hana chair, which comes in a variety of colors, but is wicked cool in the company’s Extinct Animals Menagerie fabric, which has a velvet background. Another chair, Moroso’s Bouquet, has the potential to swing ultra-sweet with its petallike upholstery, but its dark palette exemplifies this trend by taking a long-standing motif and upending it through unexpected hues. Ted VanCleave’s Reflexions mirror and J McDonald’s Decomposition 2 tap into a different side of kingdom plantae: The latter shelving unit is a 60-inch-tall treelike structure with branches that have bronze detailing, while the former boasts a custom-cute, hand-sculpted leather body that suggests organic growth or windswept foliage. Groundbreaking, indeed.
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Bouquet, Moroso
The name says it all when it comes to this chair by Japanese designer and artist Tokujin Yoshioka for Moroso. Bursting with layers of hand-sewn, folded-fabric “petals,” the Bouquet chair is whimsical in spirit but grounded in subversion through its deep-red color scheme—a palette that nods to punk-rock and gothic culture without going straight for the obvious wash of all black. $8,505
Hana, Moooi
Add a little gothic garden to your home but without the hassle of regular watering. The Hana wingback chair, conceived by young Italian designer Simone Bonanni for Moooi, is an eye-catching option for any space, but two in an office or a bedroom sitting area will bring a splash of the unexpected, especially when upholstered in the brand’s Extinct Animals Menagerie fabric in Velvet Raven. The chair’s form invites lounging, but its upward-pointed back (reminiscent of Isamu Noguchi’s Akari lights) keeps things crisp and structured. The chair is available in two versions: stationary and swivel. From $4,117
Harlow, Gabriel Scott
Forget fresh florals, designer Scott Richler’s creations— specifically the Harlow Dried Flowers chandelier—make the case for something a little edgier. Handmade in Richler’s Montreal studio under the Gabriel Scott label (and part of the larger Harlow collection), this piece comes in a range of high-quality materials, but we prefer the hardcore palette of blackened steel and alabaster-white glass for a bold contrast in sharp, geometric contours. From $22,750
Reflexions, Ted VanCleave
With its dark, undulating edges, the Reflexions mirror evokes a wild jungle bloom. Created
by Florida-based multidisciplinary artist Ted VanCleave, the organic form, made from hand- sculpted leather, appears to be growing over the borders of its central mirror. A strong textural choice for a bedroom, it makes an exceptionally striking addition to a hallway or stair landing— two areas that tend to be overlooked when it comes to brazen decor. $7,800
Decomposition 2, J McDonald
Crafted in a run of eight, the Decomposition 2 shelf lacks petals and pistils but still brings to mind the vegetal kingdom—particularly fungi. Mushrooms may grow quickly in the forest, but there’s nothing swift about the creation of this piece. Inspired by far-reaching invisible networks of mycelium (essentially, rootlike structures that interconnect the toadstools we see above ground), Brooklyn designer J McDonald fashioned this shelving unit with a handmade-paper skin, capping each branch with a brass shelf. A little strange, a little fantastical, the Decomposition 2 shelf introduces just the right amount of eccentricity. $21,463
