Flower Power

Doorscaping: the seasonal trend to inspire and excite

Throughout London, businesses and private homeowners are saying it with flowers. The trend for entrance arches and external installations made with beautiful blooms has become a growing craze, not least because of their powerful impact on Instagram.

“It all started with Christmas,” says Mathew Dickinson, founder of London based florist, Dickinson & Doris. “I was doing a festive installation and said to the client that we should decorate outside the windows as well as inside, and from there it has grown and grown.”

FLORAL FANCIES

Bespoke doorscaping is now a quarter of Mathew’s work and one of his favourite clients is Peggy Porschen, whose two cake parlours in Chelsea and Belgravia have never been more popular thanks, in part, to the stunning floral displays that decorate the front of each shop.

Peggy says, “Looking back, our first installation was a defining moment for our little pink corner of London. We were already famous for cakes, but the creative installations put us on the map as a global destination. Visitors have flocked to us not just to satisfy a sweet tooth but to delight in our visual aesthetics. Naturally, this has been a heady cocktail for social sharing platforms such as Instagram and we have greatly broadened our customer reach.”

Doorscapes have snowballed on social media in the last few years

To maintain the element of surprise, Mathew and his team like to install new displays at night. He says, “You get used to working in the dark, cold and rain. Everything has to be cable tied in and secured. There are usually between four and six of us on-site, and it takes about seven or eight hours.”

PORCH GOALS

INSTA SUCCESS

Mathew agrees, “If there is an entrance arch round a door, people tend to stand and take a picture, and then they will post the photograph and tag the business in their Instagram stories. Doorscapes have snowballed on social media in the last few years.”

During lockdown, when home became the main focus for us all, high profile celebrities such as Amanda Holden, Abbey Clancy and Peter Crouch, and Tom and Giovanna Fletcher called in the professionals and went big with their Christmas porch decorations, causing a stir on social media.

The trend now extends to other times of the year – Valentine’s Day, Easter, summer, autumn and Halloween.

The creative installations put us on the map as a global destination

Jonathan Ross regularly commissions Poppy Belle Florals to create fabulous autumnal front door displays which include flowers and foliage in shades of orange and red, pumpkins galore, straw bales and even ears of corn.

For weddings and other events lasting a single day, florists usually choose fresh blooms but, for doorscapes, which tend to be in place for several weeks or months, designers will use dried or silk flowers and foliage. The quality of artificial blooms has improved considerably in recent years and the benefit is that they can be reused.

DIY DOORSCAPES

On a smaller scale, it is easy to create your own installation using wreaths, garlands, baskets and lanterns which look particularly

lovely at the front door as the nights draw in. The trick is to pick a complementary colour palette and arrange items in groups of three for maximum impact.

“Each doorscape feels a labour of love,” says Peggy. “Our most talked about theme was Forage Fever, which saw a forest of giant toadstools suddenly appear outside the parlours one morning in early autumn.”

A statement doorscape will always make people smile, so have some fun with your front door and spread a little happiness.