Inside design: Tricia Guild

In her latest book, Flower Sense ($40 US, Rizzoli), Tricia Guild, OBE, creative director and founder of Designers Guild, offers tips on selecting, arranging and caring for what she calls "one of earth’s miracles." Here are a few of her secrets for bringing life and colour into full bloom, in any room.

Use flowers to create drama or calm. For excitement, pick a variety of  omplementary hues that correspond to the bolder accent colours in a room (usually the colours in cushions or art); for a serene effect, choose flowers in only one colour.

"It's fun to display familiar flowers in a completely new way," Tricia says in her book. Daffodils, for example, look sculptural and modern when trussed and laid on an angle.

Branches of flowering trees make highly architectural arrangements. Tricia's tip: Bring branches inside when they’re just budding. “The flowers will soon open in the warmth and fill the room with their fragile, ephemeral beauty," she says.

Would you like a fresh take on modern? Select blooms that have old-fashioned appeal (like violets and hydrangeas) and reinvent them with minimal styling and contemporary containers. The key lies in keeping things simple.

Read more in Decorating & Design and Inside Design