Using Vases in the Home: Dos and Don'ts

Introduction
You might consider vases as objects to put flowers in, however, modern interior decorating has created a whole subset of themes for vases, from center pieces to decorative prices as well as for flowers. Due to this change in the purpose of vases, the industry has become bloated with many different styles, designs and materials that are used to create them, and in some instances, are actually produced not for flowers.
You need to remember that taste is highly personal, so one’s idea of beauty might be another vision of ugly. So, the first Don’t is Don’t buy anything you don’t like, always buy only what you like. Having stated this, remember that whilst fashion is eclectic, there are certain styles that centralize design, giving a conformed and comfortable view.
For instance, a modern stainless steel spherical vase would look out of place in a French period room as much as a beautiful Lalique glass vase would look out of place in an 18th century American pioneers house.

Materials
Vases come in a variety of materials such as glass, ceramic, porcelain, stone, metal, plastic, wood and paper. Yes, paper vases do exist. Most contemporary vases for flowers will come from non-porous materials or porous materials that have fluid sealed sides such as varnishes and acrylics. Materials options have increased in the last thirty years as more and more modern materials become available on the market.

Shapes
What was once set to a number of standard shapes in ancient times; Amphora, Hydria, Krater, Lekythos, Oinochoe, Olpe have grown into an infinite number of variations of Bottle, Cylinder-shaped vase, Flower brick, Gourd-shaped vase, Jar, Pitcher, Rotund vase, Turnip-shaped vas, Urn, V-shaped and very recently due to materials; amorphous. These shapes also come in small, medium and large variations.

Colors
Colors have always been in ample access. Chinese and Japanese vases depicted exquisite scenes whilst Lalique would create beautiful abstract art in glass and Moorcroft produced wonderful floral designs at the beginning of the 20th century.

Designs
There are literally thousands of designs from over three-thousand years of collected vases. As time went by, more styles were added until we hit the 20th century boom of modern styles. However, styles were controlled by a few central manufacturers and artisans. With the introduction of the internet, home designers can now share their products online globally, giving us an exceptional variety of options to chose from.

Do’s:
Always pick a vase for the occasion. An occasion maybe a standard flower presentation, or a center piece or a side piece.
Always place a solitary flower in a single flower vase and a bunch of flowers in a vase that suits their size, in other words, don’t put tall flowers in a short vase and don’t put too many flowers in a tight fit.
Try to either complement the flower with the vase design or give an opposite. For instance, a solitaire red rose will look exceptional in a slim fluted glass or crystal vase. So too would it look in a white vase, anything else will detract from the colors of the flower; green and red.
Always make sure your center piece vase breath taking but not overpowering. You don’t want the center piece to totally distract everyone from the other display items, however you do want it to be a centerpiece, so balance is the challenge here.
Try to match colors with the theme of the room and/or with the theme of the bouquet.
Try to match the vase design with the theme of the room and/or with the theme bouquet.
Try to use different materials on different surfaces. For instance; use glass or colored ceramics on a wood surface, use metal or porcelain on a glass surface, use large pottery or glass vases for floor space side pieces and use small metal or porcelain vases for shelf side pieces.
Always clean your vase, dust can cover them very quickly and there is nothing sorrier looking than a dusty forgotten vase, it makes the whole area around it look unkempt.
Try to match the shape of the vase to the table or surface.

Don’t
Don’t limit your imagination, let your creativity flow.
Don’t Clash, or overpower side pieces. Side pieces are vases put to fill in empty spaces, they are not center pieces, they are meant to merge in with their surroundings.
Don’t leave used flower water in the vase, always wash it with soap. Flower water tends create a smell of rot due to the high fiber content of the water.
Don’t handle heavy glass vases alone, especially when wet with water, they tend to slip out of your hands and break.
Don’t scrub metal vases, they will scratch, only lightly rinse them with a damp cloth and make sure you dry them properly. (The exception is Gold/Gold plate which won’t tarnish)
Don’t use rough washing pads when cleaning glass vases, sometimes they scratch the surface and that ruins the vase completely.
Don’t limit the number of vases you need to put on a large or long surface.
Don’t mix too many varieties of vases on a large surface or long table, try to keep them identical, if you don’t have identical sets, try to match them as much as possible or create a theme, such as small, medium and large in the same shape.

Summary
As I mentioned above, ever since the internet opened the world to every artisan and artist, and global transport allows us to buy anything from anyone, vases have now become a sought-after and sometimes collectible item. Modern technology allows vase designers to create some of the most magnificent pieces and some of them, especially glass vases are now integral parts of museums and art galleries.
A final do: when you feel you need a vase, search the internet first, go crazy with the unlimited variety can be found. Then go out and search in all the local shops, 2nd hand stores and markets. Sometimes buying a unique vase can turn out to be also a lucrative investment.
A final don’t: don’t stop enjoying vases by turning the process into an investment process. Buy what you like, even if it is simple and cheap, at the end of the day, you have to enjoy your vase, not suffer it.