The whole world was enthralled in 2021 when Taylor Swift and Anna Wintour graced the red carpets with eye-catching, floral dresses from Oscar de La Renta's Fall/Winter collection. We had never seen anything like them, and that's because they were the first of their kind.
These dresses exposed the world to a stunning technique pioneered by artist Tricia Paoluccio, whereby she creates fabrics, wallpapers, and ceramics printed with photographs of actual pressed flowers, rather than drawings or paintings.
The team at Oscar de La Renta used her art and pressed flower designs to create the floral fabric that weaves the collection together. This marriage of pressed flower imagery and high design put Tricia on the map, highlighting the beauty of decorating with flowers.
As springtime approaches, Homes & Gardens interviewed the inimitable Tricia Paoluccio to learn about how we can use the natural beauty of pressed flowers in our homes to enthrall guests, much as her Oscar de La Renta collaboration captivated the world.
We discussed the timeless appeal of plants as decor and how to create the perfect Easter table decor. From her stunning Domain of the Flowerings plates to advice for how readers can dry flowers, her advice is as transformative as her work.
Editor's Picks for Easter Tablescaping
This stunning set of four plates is printed with real pressed flowers, as seen in all of Tricia's designs. They have a 10.5 inch diameter to hold all of your favorite easter treats.
Add extra flowers to your table with this gorgeous chinoiserie salt and pepper mill. The pink color would be gorgeous with a white tablecloth for Easter.
Candles don't have to be boring. A twisted design this this set of six adds a fun texture to your Easter table decor, while also adding interest with the varying heights when paired with flowers.
No floral centerpiece is complete without a beautiful vase or two to display them in. This checkered design is perfect for Spring and features classic colors you'd find on an Easter table.
Why not make your cutlery part of the decor? If it has to be on the table, you might as well incorporate it into your design. The subtle yellow hues on the handles of this set is perfect for Easter celebrations.
Take inspiration from this Easter table decor with the plaid tablecloth. We love the simplicity and timelessness of the design – it's not just perfect for Easter, but can work in schemes throughout every season.
For the perfect Easter table centerpiece bouquet, Tricia recommends combining bought and found flowers. She advises: 'My vision for an Easter tabletop is that a person could go out to their garden and pick what's growing and mix and match that with things that they purchased from the florist so it becomes this wild, natural bouquet on their table.'
'Let wild botanical beauty be the statement,' she explains of her vision.
As the foremost expert in the field, obviously, decorating with dried flowers is central to her vision. She states: 'If they press flowers, they could decorate the table with the pressed flowers that they've worked so hard on.'
She continues, 'That's what I do with my tablescapes, and I use my own pressed flowers to make a flat lay on top of the tablecloth. It's so simple and natural, and it's a way of decorating your table that's very personal. I love the idea of a person who works so hard on pressing their flowers and displaying their hard work for people to see what they've made.'
This personalization is central to what Tricia loves about pressed flowers, and the naturalness of it is what makes her floral room decor unique.
She explains: 'It looks a little bit more imperfect and wild and kind of weird and interesting because pressed flowers are not always perfect, or they show something that is kind of unique, like the inside of a flower that we might not normally see, because I cut the flowers in half. I think it's a little bit more scientific and sexy, and it's more interesting. If you study what I'm doing, it looks very different than what a person would draw.'
The beauty of these dining table decor ideas originates from the joy that natural flowers bring to everyone who looks at them. Tricia tells me, 'I don't know why Taylor Swift and Anna Wintour were so excited about Oscar de La Renta's dresses, but they were beautiful, and they were joyous, and I think flowers make people happy. So I'm just trying to inspire people with happiness and beauty.' We could all use a bit more of that in our everyday lives.
The appeal of fresh and dried flowers is alluring anytime of year, but especially in the spring. By celebrating the beauty of natural materials, anyone can create a tablescape that is completely one of a kind.
