Looking for an easy idea for a centerpiece? This 10-minute flower arrangement is so easy to put together and the instructions are simple.

Yesterday, I turned down a street in our neighborhood and drove by the very first house we ever bought.

Back before we had the twins.

Back before I ever knew what the word blog meant.

Back before I really knew anything about DIY projects.

When we remodeled the kitchen and the tiniest of breakfast nooks at that house, we started with replacing the linoleum floor.

I thought it would be easy and take 10 minutes and it wouldn’t be that expensive and it would be finished before American Idol came on.

I thought wrong.

We pulled up two layers of flooring on that breakfast nook floor before we reached the original floors underneath.  It was an arduous journey, full of twists and turns and disappointment and the occasional moment of triumph.

Kind of like 20,000 leagues under the sea.

And when the final floor was revealed, my husband called me over with dismay in his voice,

“Oh no,” he sighed.  “What are we going to do about this?”

Okay.

I don’t have an actual picture of “this.”

This story took place back in the day before I had a phone with a camera and documented every step of a DIY. Back in the day we just DIY’d. We didn’t really talk about it or record photo documentation.

So instead?

I found these pictures of the boys back in the shed in the backyard.

I know it’s not pictures of a damaged floor, but trust me. These pictures are so much cuter.

And now?

Back to our floor story.

After we peeled up all those two layers of linoleum? The wood underneath was damaged and kind of had cracks in it and looked like it had been at an all-night rager.

|| faux green branches || faux white hydrangeas || similar large white hobnail vase ||

My husband stared at the damaged wood and patiently explained to me in great detail that we could fix it.  It was such a small space that we had enough wood elsewhere in the house to add wood. We could pull up wood from the closets that would match the existing flooring and hopefully have enough wood to replace all the wood in the breakfast nook.

He walked around measuring and discussing and planning and searching for a crowbar to pull up the wood.

I didn’t say anything.

I just stood there….

….looking at the floor that had lived such a life before someone covered it up with linoleum.

I stared at it in awe.

Oh….the stories that floor could tell.

Of long ago housewives and people that actually used the kitchen for cooking and horses pulling up to the house and all the life that had been lived in this kitchen and this tiny breakfast nook.

|| faux green branches || faux white hydrangeas || similar large white hobnail vase ||

Ten minutes later my husband came back into the room with a smile on his face.

“We got this,” he said.  “I found enough planks of wood to make it work.  If we replace the pieces of burned wood in the kitchen before they stain the floors, it will all blend and look like new.”

What?

New?

I shook my head.

“I can’t,” I said.  “I want to keep the existing planks.  I want the old.  I want the story and the history and the journey and the character of almost a century of living.”

(total aside:  I really wish I had put it quite that eloquently, I actually think I mumbled something like no way and then pointed emphatically at the wood and said I like burn marks, but this is my story, so I’ve rewritten it slightly to make myself sound like the Robert Frost of vintage wood planks.)

There’s a happy ending to the story.

The original wood planks stayed and I’m so thankful they did….

…because thinking about that first house and that floor reminded me of something truly important.

|| faux green branches || faux white hydrangeas || similar large white hobnail vase ||

Just like life, decorating is all about perspective.

It should be fun.

It should be what WE love.

It should make us laugh and smile and fall in love a little more with our house every day.

And it should never, ever, ever be complicated.

Kind of like this 10-minute flower arrangement.

Truth?

I was hosting Mah Jong at the house and I needed a quick flower arrangement. I had a vase full of hydrangeas, but I needed two arrangements for the party.

When I divided my beloved faux hydrangeas into two vases?

It was too sparse.

|| faux green branches || faux white hydrangeas || similar large white hobnail vase ||

So I found these faux branches I shared with you all last year.

And I just stuck them in the middle of the hydrangeas.

Yep.

That’s it.

Stick. Stick. Stick. Done.

Just kidding.

Here are a few more detailed instructions for a 10-minute flower arrangement:

1. The branches: I used three of these faux branches (they come in a set of three and look SO REAL). You can see the branches I used here. Fluff up the branches to make them look fuller and more natural. Bend and shape the branches to make them look like you cut them off the tree.
2. The faux hydrangeas: I used my beloved faux hydrangeas that look so real, too. They come in a set of six and I’m using six in this arrangement. You can see the hydrangeas here. Fluff up the faux hydrangea blooms to give them a fuller appearance. Separate the petals and adjust the shape of the flowers to make them look more realistic.
3. Create a framework: Start by adding the branches to the vase to create a base for your arrangement. Arrange the branches evenly around the perimeter of the vase, allowing them to drape over the edges for a natural look.
4. Next add the faux hydrangeas: Begin adding the faux hydrangeas to the vase, inserting them between the green branches. Start with one hydrangea at a time, placing them at different heights to create depth and dimension. You can vary the placement of the hydrangeas to make them look more real, too.
5. Fill in gaps: Once you’ve placed all the hydrangeas, step back and assess the arrangement. Look for any gaps or uneven areas where additional greenery or flowers may be needed. Add more faux green branches or hydrangeas as necessary to fill in empty spaces and create a full arrangement.
6. Shop your yard: If you don’t want to use faux flowers and branches and you have hydrangeas in your yard or you can get them at the grocery store (Trader Joe’s has the best hydranges right now) use those instead.

|| faux green branches || faux white hydrangeas || similar large white hobnail vase ||

I love a last-minute idea that turns into this.

Just in time for Mah Jong.

See what I mean?

Decorating doesn’t have to be complicated. Sometimes all you need is 10 minutes, some branches…

….and a flower arrangement that doesn’t take itself so seriously. 🙂

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