DIY A Simple Rustic Centerpiece That's Sure To Impress Your Guests

Centerpieces pull a table together and create a focal point. They act as a center of gravity that enhances the open space, making it feel at once stylish and inviting. The secret to creating a great centerpiece isn't to spend a lot of money or add gaudy embellishments; the key is using elements that draw the eye and create something unique that people won't forget. You can easily add to your rustic decor by creating a centerpiece with just a few supplies, and the finished product will impress anyone who comes by to visit. If you fill a vase with small blooms held in place by a foam flower base and then add your bouquet on top, your centerpiece is sure to become the talk of your friends. By filling the vase's top and bottom with blooms, the whole thing becomes visual art rather than a glass of water, just featuring stems at the bottom and blooms on top. 

The first task is to find your vase style. One Instagram user, @littlepettittpad, opts for a tall cylinder shape that can easily accommodate longer stems, or in this case, double amounts of flowers both at the bottom and top of the vase. You can use baby's breath or stick with other smaller blooms, like Genista or Misty Blue Limonium, that won't look overly crowded, especially if you use a slimmer vessel. Should you decide to go for a different shape, take the vase's neck and interior into consideration. 

Once you've found your vase, cut out a piece of flower foam (available on Amazon for $16) in the shape of the opening of the glass. This foam will hold both the inner florals and the bouquet in place. Alternatively, buy precut circle foam for cylinder vases at Target for $13. The foam just needs to be large enough to stay put when tucked into the neck of the vase but small enough to be pushed down about a quarter of the way into it. Start by adding your smaller flowers into the foam stem first. Fill up as much as you can before adding water to the vase — about three-quarters full. Insert your foam piece with the flowers pointing down into the water and push until your foam is a couple of inches below the top of the vase.

With your smaller blooms fully submerged at the bottom of the vase, it should look like a floating garden. Add more water almost to the top, then stick your top bouquet stems into the foam facing the top of the vase. These can be blooms in seasonal floral colors for a rustic color palette or match the smaller inner flowers for consistency. Ensure the stems are cut short enough that the top flowers aren't too tall, or they could tip the vase. Add scented items like cinnamon or lavender to the floral centerpiece to make your home smell delicious.

Once you've inserted these, it's time to disguise the foam piece. You can do this in a number of ways, and if you're looking for rustic embellishments, canvas or thick silk ribbon are both great options. You can cut off a piece that will wrap around the portion of your vase that holds the foam, then tape or use a dot of super glue to hold it in place. If you want to get more creative, you can find a rope and tie it around the glass as many times as needed to hide the foam, which will also produce a rustic aesthetic thanks to the rough texture of the rope. 

You can substitute these options with a scarf or bandana for a more country vibe or purchase fabric that you can cut to fit around the middle/top portion of your vase. Find material that matches your room's design so the colors and patterns flow throughout the space. Once the flowers begin to wilt, you can gently remove the top blooms before pulling out the foam piece with the inner florals. Replace weekly or however often you need to keep this rustic centerpiece fresh for guests, and watch as they ooh and ahh over both your creativity and your style know-how!