Styling Nature

Spring has Sprung, its flowers abound, & so too the new book~Styling Nature- A Masterful Approach to Floral Arrangements.

While formal floral arrangements have lightened up- and loosened up in a return to Constance Spry days, Lewis Miller, New York based designer, has filled this book with his Grand Masters.

Styling Nature: A Masterful Approach to Floral Arrangements with arrangements akin to 17th century still-life paintings by Dutch masters, is photographed by Don Freeman. In Styling Nature, techniques & inspirations are shared, and captured in natural light and backdrops. Having collaborated for years, Lewis Miller and Freeman capture the beauty and elegance of flowers, and it's a delight to pour through the pages to just look-and to be inspired.

"I am inspired by many things that bring me great pleasure in their simplicity and order- English gardens, French potagers, even the uniform rows of tulips outside the bodega on the corner nearest my East Village office; but still-life paintings, especially works by the old Italian and Flemish master, are some of my greatest sources of inspiration"- Lewis Miller

I love growing flowers, but love even more bringing them in to the house-getting out my favorite containers, some stashed away, others in bookcases or holding place on mantles and tables. It's one of the real pleasures of having a home. I've collected and inherited formal -and humble containers and love them all-adding to my collection with at least one new piece every year. Containers are irresistible-as Lewis Miller finds as well.

While perusing the pages of Styling Nature, I saw many things I grow in my garden, or are in an obliging neighbor's garden. This is one of the things that makes the book so inspiring- not just the glorious arrangements that can be reproduced for special occasions, or for your own pleasure. Miller's masterpieces can be adapted to your own growing habits. Looking at shapes, heights, and containers in the book-take cues from these elements to bring flowers into your life.

With clients that include Givenchy, Chanel, the Whitney Museum & the Met, Miller works on his masterpieces in his New York shop LMD.




Styling Nature: A Masterful Approach to Floral Arrangements by Lewis Miller with Irini Arakas, Rizzoli New York, 2015. Images by Don Freeman were provided by Rizzoli and used with their permission.