Table Arrangement Tips From Maurice Harris

Maurice Harris is a small business owner and floral artist. He is the founder and owner of Bloom & Plume floral studio located in the Echo Park neighborhood of Los Angeles, California.

He is a judge on Full Bloom, the HBO Max floral design competition series, and the host of his own show, Centerpiece, on the Roku streaming platform. The floral designer and his team have worked with prominent luxury apparel clients like Gucci and Louis Vuitton and sportswear brand Nike. News and culture publications like The New York Times, Architectural Digest, and W Magazine have featured Maurice’s work. The Rockefeller Center in New York City and the Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles have showcased his unique designs.

Maurice brings an offbeat design sensibility to the floral world with his signature asymmetric floral bouquets. He believes that a customer’s unique style is what makes an arrangement shine brightest.

Tabletop floral arrangements can make a big difference at a dinner party or event, such as a wedding reception. Here are Maurice’s tips on what to consider when creating unique table décor:

• Complement the tablespace. Flowers, especially if they are tall, can easily become the focal point of a dining room table. However, according to Maurice, flower arrangements should complement the food. “They are the exclamation point to the dinner itself,” he says. “They should be contributing to the conversation. You want to complement the tablespace. You want to complement the company. So you want to add visual interest, but we want to keep it nice and low.”
• Style sets the mood. The style of flowers and vases you choose, as well as the color palette and texture of your flower centerpieces, can communicate a message. You should be deliberate about whether you opt for an opaque or clear glass vase, flowers like orchids or peonies, or a decorative element like pinecones or succulents. “Flowers can really set the expectation for what someone can experience when they are coming to your house or going to your event for dinner,” Maurice says. “For example, if you have all pink roses, there’s obviously something soft, romantic happening. If you have all cactuses down the table, there’s something either desert or prickly or sterile that’s happening. If you have all clear white vases or white flowers with white vases, there’s something about cleanliness and tidiness.”
• Mechanics matter. Mechanics, or the foundation of your arrangement, contribute to the overall look of your floral centerpiece. “That’s either the tape that you’re putting across the vase. That’s the chicken wire that you’re putting inside. The flat wire that you’re using,” he says. “Anything that you’re using to keep the flowers organized so that you can arrange them in the way that you see fit… You need all those secret mechanics that are keeping it all organized and together to make it look like it just woke up like that.”
• Before you start, ask yourself a few questions. Maurice suggests thinking about mood, space, environment, and more before coming up with dining table arrangement concepts. “There are several questions to ask yourself as you begin to prepare for this arrangement: Who’s it for? What’s the mood? What’s the feeling? What’s the vibe? What’s the space? What’s the environment? Is it a big long table? Is it a round table? Are we serving steak? Are we serving pasta? Are we serving salad?” he says. “All of these things matter.”

From making a bouquet to creating table arrangements, Maurice Harris will help you tap into your creativity through flower design. Gain access to exclusive lessons from Maurice with the MasterClass Annual Membership.