An easy idea with high impact …

If you read a lot of shelter magazines like I do, maybe you’ve noticed what seems to be a staple in many beautifully styled homes …

Ellen Pompeo’s house via Elle Decor

Branches … and bottles, or even just a simple glass vase.  The larger the better.  I love this idea because it can be so dramatic, yet so easy and inexpensive. (Those three words don’t often go together, right?)

In the warmer months, you can just snip something from your garden, but for now I turn to my local florist. For the past couple weeks she has carried beautiful golden forsythia and white cherry blossom branches … a sure sign of spring! I couldn’t resist the cherry blossom.

It’s a great idea for a place where you need something BIG: a fireplace hearth, a dining room buffet, a corner that feels empty …

Of course, you need a large bottle or vase too.  I found the large bottle above at Hobby Lobby for only $20. And the vase above and the green bottle below came from HomeGoods. $10 each!

I love the imperfect, hand-blow look of this green one.  And by adding just a few simple branches of almost anything, I’ve got an instant arrangement.

Once you invest in the bottles or vases, you can create these dramatic centerpieces for only a few dollars, and they last for weeks … if not longer.

Ironically, as I was writing this post, I got an email from Horchow with this picture in it:

Their bottles cost a little more than I spent for mine, but still, not too bad.

Definitely something to keep an eye out for as you shop. And at this time of year, when the branches are still bare outside, it’s nice to have some that are full of color and life inside, don’t you think?