Crate and Barrel Peony Flower Stem

We finally got the sideboard we needed for the dining room. We haven’t had a dining room since we moved to DC sixteen years ago. But when we relocated to northern Virginia we had a dining room with an empty space that was replaced with a plant console. After a while it became a bit unruly looking. So we searched for a replacement and it the sideboard would also add a bit of storage to our 1000 square foot space. The sideboard is basically a place for the lamp in the corner of the room. Aside from the lamp there is a set of books with bookends and tiny ornate frames of our two tiny grandsons when they were infants. Then there is the tall turquoise glass vase that actually comes in a metal stand, but looks a bit too masculine. So we removed the stand and left the very heavy vase. It was filled with the bamboo shoots that used to be on the plant stand. But it was missing something. We tried a couple of wild flowers and it didn’t look very good. So I had the idea of a single flower that would add a pop of color to all of the  greens. After our morning walk we went to Crate and Barrel to check out their artificial peony stem that I eyed the week before. We did get one and I put it in the vase trying several different options until I think I figured out the best height and angle. One of the bamboo shoots was cut back and the single peony stem was placed at an angle so the flower was facing sideways towards the light rather than forward. The nice thing about it is that when artificial items are mixed with real ones you might be able to get away with it. For now it looks okay. We may end up going back to a single live flower? Who knows.