How to create beautiful flat-lays
One thing that I think has taken me a couple years to master is the art of flat-lays… this seems like such a silly skill to have but every client that we meet with pretty much plans their materials for their renovations around flat-lays therefore it’s a very important skill for a designer to have.
This term never used to exist probably about 10 years or so ago but it’s not just for designers. Flat-lays are an extremely popular way for business owners or influencers to showcase products they offer, objects they like or even what their “day” looks like.
So, to keep this as simple as I can, I have broken it down into three “layers” of visuals. This seems to be the easiest way to build a visually interesting flat-lay. This works for most flat-lays but depending on what you’re layering it can get a little bit more complicated.
To start off, I want you to make sure you have all of your items you want to showcase laid out. I like to plan flat-lays out when I can see everything so I can make sure all objects coordinate nicely and I can identify the stronger elements.
Then from there, I take the largest objects and layer those at the bottom or back, since they are large you will be able to see them easily when you start arranging stuff on top and around them. Once you select the big items I usually either pick whether I want them arranged in more of a grid pattern or whether I want them to be arranged a bit more organically (image on the left shows more grid style and image on the right shows a more organic layout). Placing your big items down make sure they aren’t too far apart, sometimes one item can be overlapped slightly (typically for me these are sample doors, magazine images, countertops, etc.. if you don’t have a ton of objects to arrange).
Next you will want to select the medium sized objects and start arranging those on top of the large one or around them. Sometimes I like to play with turning these ones on angles if they are arranged organically and if they are in a grid pattern, I like for them to “align” with another object in the flat-lay. Medium sized objects for me are usually tile, larger hardware (pulls, bin pulls, etc..).
After the medium objects are placed, I like to take the smaller ones and stack those on top to tie in the flat-lay or in a “open” space in the flat-lay. Small objects can be things like small pieces of tile, small countertop samples, small hardware, paint chips (knobs or pendant pulls).
Now, I’ve placed all my “products” down I like to make sure the colours are balanced nicely, not placing all same tone colour objects in one spot, putting bolder stuff spread out on the board etc..
Finally, and this is one of my favourite steps is add some unrelated texture or colour. I like to arrange maybe a paint-deck fanned out or a potted plant in a corner. Sometimes I will take florals or dried florals and place them on top creating some interest and draw in a pop of colour. I also like taking items that are made of fabric and layering those in there under the corner of an object just to add a big more texture to the overall image. See below for an example of some flat-lays with little bits of interest added to them.
Last tip; If you are planning to photograph your flat-lays I always say get an oversized board of MDF, find a large countertop space, or a large section of flooring (this can even be a clean section of your flooring at home). Make sure the surface is clean, there is nothing worse than taking a beautiful photo and having random specs of dirt or dust in the background. Aim to shoot photos in natural light as well, I always try to set-up my flat-lay station near a window, natural light always reduces weird shadows and portrays the items as accurately as possible.
I hope this little blog article helped you if you’re struggling to create flat-lays or encouraged you to create new ones. I love putting schemes and materials together to create something beautiful and inspire someone to take what were showing and make it come to life.
Happy creating and don’t forget to like, share, and follow us on all of our social channels!
Markie.