1:35 Kytky v truhlíku

Color under a window shows that somebody lives in the house

Gray buildings and brown earth make up most of the area of any setting, and that is why a splash of color works far more strongly on them than anywhere else. Eight planters with flowers are exactly such a splash. They are not loose plant materials that you have to shape yourself but finished pieces ready to be placed.

Where to put them

The classic place is a window sill and a balcony railing, but it also works to set them by an entrance, on a low yard wall or on the shutter of a half-built house. Eight pieces make it possible not to squander them: two or three planters on one facade do more than all eight side by side. Save the rest for another building on the same board, so that the motif repeats only lightly.

The contrast that makes the greatest impression

The strongest result comes from the clash of a civilian and a wartime motif. A planter in bloom in the window of a house whose wall is marked by splinters says more about the situation than one more wrecked vehicle. It works the same way set above a trench or above a barricade in a street.

• vary the shades of the flowers, so that they are not all the same
• darken the soil in a planter, so that the container does not look empty
• patinate the wood of a planter separately, not together with the flowers
• dust some of the leaves if the setting is dry or smoky

The safe bet is to keep to two close tones in the flowers and to use a third only once. A varied mixture of every color looks like a blotch from a distance, whereas a limited palette keeps its shape even when viewed from a meter away.

The accessory assumes that you have the building and the windows from another source.