What does one do when he’s invited to create holiday floral designs with the Queen of Christmas HERSELF, Kathy Hilton? Well, after panicking for about an hour and watching LOTS of Real Housewives edits on TikTok, you get to work! UrbanStems and I had the opportunity to create festive floral arrangements for Kathy’s infamous Holiday Pajama Party AND create a bouquet bar for her fabulous guests. We worked with our farmers and partners to send over 4000 stems of Garden Roses, Peonies, Ranunculus and more to Kathy’s home in Beverly Hills, and then the race to create merry Festivus was on. Once landing in LA and making our way to Beverly Hills, we got to prepping the florals.  We trimmed and hydrated our flowers, created more than 30 arrangements to adorn Kathy’s home, and designed dozens of plush bouquets for her pajama-clad partygoers. The whole event was a glittery whirlwind, and yet it was also a gorgeous reminder of the importance of flowers and WHY we do what we do at UrbanStems.

Fans of Real Housewives of Beverly Hills know that Kathy Hilton is a woman of extreme glamour and precise taste, so I was ready for a unique challenge. Kathy’s team let me know that she really loves flowers, and has a keen eye for detail so I knew that every stem, every bloom would need to be carefully attended to. We got the chance to pop into Kathy’s vase closets (there were more than one!) to hand select each vessel, and then began filling each one with floral confections. Kathy’s team were right there with us to go over, and sometimes over again, each design. Together, we pulled, tweaked, fluffed, and did whatever else we needed to create that warm feeling of holiday magic. Once Kathy herself made her appearance and started working with us on the florals, I got the chance to chat with her about her love of flowers and of the holidays. So! Without further ado, here’s what Kathy Hilton taught me about floral design:

The classics are the classics for a reason. Kathy Hilton loves what I would consider very classic floral designs—lush and compact arrangements full of blooms in traditional vessels (for example: footed glass compotes and bubble vases). She said herself that she doesn’t enjoy the contemporary asymmetrical style, “where one flower sticks out over here and one over there” when we chatted in her kitchen. And frankly? Kathy is right! Lush, rounded arrangements will always be classic because they show off every gorgeous bloom in the arrangement and always look very full. When you’re working with delicious peonies, garden roses, and ranunculus like we were, who would want to hide any of those flowers?

Low and lush arrangements are generally a bit easier to work with! Kathy loves working and handling flowers herself. She even knows the professional tips and tricks to keeping flowers happy (for example: trim your stems every couple of days, use a long cut on hydrangea stems and keep them carefully hydrated so they don’t wilt). Honestly, I could have jumped for joy when she said all this. However, all of these tips, like trimming stems and changing water, are easier to execute when your arrangement is on the shorter and more compact side. Trying to wrestle stems back into the perfectly artful position after a water change can be very frustrating (speaking from personal experience here). 

Going glam doesn’t mean giving up who you are! Variety is always more interesting than repetition. One of my favorite parts of my conversation with Kathy was when she told the story of a party she helped throw for her daughter, Paris where the florist designed a dozen or so identical floral arrangements to place throughout the house. Kathy told me her immediate response was, “oh no no!” because that simply won’t do; when designing flowers for multiple rooms, you should always introduce a little variation from room to room. Whether it catches your guests attention or not, it will add a richness to the atmosphere of the space that’s almost impossible to capture otherwise. For Kathy, we created some arrangements in various shades of white and cream with delicate anemone (a favorite of hers) floating above smooth callas and plush roses. For the dining room, an explosion of stems in shades of white, pink, green, and red in a low solid silver dish. For the bar, luscious velvety reds of all kinds—Kathy loves red peonies, especially. This vibe shift (as the kids say) from room to room is a powerful way to add a sense of your own individuality to your florals and decor.

Quick sidebar: I want to anticipate a question that I hear folks asking, “Justin if the arrangements are all different from room to room, how do you ensure it all looks cohesive?” And that’s a great question. There are three answers from my perspective: Stem choice, vase choice, and design style. Sure, you might be using reds upstairs and whites downstairs but you can ensure everything looks interconnected by asking.

  1. Do I have the same kinds of focals and accent flowers in every room? E.G. If you use red roses and cypress upstairs, can you use white roses and cypress downstairs? 
  2. Are my vases all similar? If, for example, you use all glass, that’s the simplest route to consistency. But, you could also play with material. Let’s say all your red arrangements are in gold containers? Put all the white arrangements into silver vessels so that the metallic note holds across all your designs. 
  3. Is the style the same across the arrangements? I mentioned before that Kathy loves a low & compact, classic looking arrangement. Designing all 30+ of Kathy’s arrangements in a similar style allowed them all to look like sisters in the same family. 

Okay, back to Kathy Hilton and floral glamour:  

When you go big, don’t forget the details! Part of what made working with Kathy so exciting was that there was always something that could be added; there’s always an additional pop of magic to add here or there. One cute example: after we finished the dining room table arrangement, Kathy asked to add little hand tied bunches of florals (that matched the larger arrangement, of course) among the other table decor. It was a minor addition but made the room feel that much more special and interesting. That, and the Moët Sparkling Wine vending machine.

A sprig of rosemary in an arrangement is good luck! This tip is less philosophical than the others, but it’s my favorite tidbit from working with Kathy. She mentioned that she believes stems of rosemary in a bouquet (or as garnish for a cute cocktail) is good luck! Of course, I immediately bolted back to my workstation to add rosemary to my designs after hearing this.

However you’re celebrating this season, remember that embracing classic beauty doesn’t mean losing yourself or the spirit of the season. We live in irony-soaked times, people, and it’s very easy to become cynical about the “magic” of the holidays. But, bringing people together matters. Sharing special moments matters. It’s why we do what we do! So take a tip from Kathy Hilton: be bold, have fun, and don’t lose your own sense of magic in the process. We encourage you all to savor the precious cozy minutes you get to share with your loved ones this holiday season and remember that a sprig of rosemary will bring you luck if (or when) it all starts to feel a bit too hectic.