How to Use a Vase for Interior Decoration

In the Kitchen

• Give an old vase a new life in your kitchen and dining space. A tall vase can be a decorative storage vessel for your mixing spoons and spatulas. One short vase or a series of short vases can be used on buffet table or on the dining table to corral utensils or napkins. Add a festive touch to your buffet or dining table with a vase filled with fresh cranberries. Simply fill an empty vase with fresh cranberries and then add water to just below the rim of the vase. The cranberries add seasonal color to a fall and winter table and tend to glow when placed near burning votive candles. During the warmer months, transform the vase into an ice bucket, simply place it in the freezer until cold, or use it as a decorative dish for your summer trifle.

In the Bedroom

• Decoratively display your vases in your bedroom. Tall and narrow vases, often meant for a single rose, can now be a designated jewelry holder. Drape your necklaces and bracelets around the necks of narrow vases. Use the vase to create a piece of wall art. Use a bracket to hang the vase on the wall and use the vase to hold an arrangement of flowers, faux or real. Hang the vase within an empty frame for additional artistic effect. A series of short and squat vases can make interesting displays on a bookcase or bureau. Fill the vases with found pebbles and seashells or with essentials such as extra lipsticks, spare change and rolled up belts.

In the Living Room

• A large vase, used as intended in the living room, with an appropriately sized flower arrangement is an eye-catching centerpiece on a side table or coffee table. A floor vase, either left unadorned or with a tall arrangement of decorative branches can fill an otherwise empty corner or add balance to a room with a tall media unit. Use the vases to add visual interest throughout the room. Fill wide vases with appropriately sized candles, held in place with small pebbles, or with decorative glass beads. Squat clear glass vases can display prized baseballs or be photo frames. Cut the photo to size and use double-sided acid-free tape to hold the photo in place.

In the Office

• Skip the trip to the organization store and put your vases to work as decorative storage accessories. Store office supplies such as pencils, pens and paper clips in vases. Further the usefulness and pencils in their own vase, pens in a separate vase and so on. Should the vases be cylindrical, line them with pieces of decorative scrapbooking paper. Separate the office supply vases with smaller vases dedicated to marbles or quirky erasers for an injection of fun and whimsy. For an organic display, plant small but visually interesting succulents in the bottoms of large, clear glass vases. The succulents are easy to maintain and can add life to a sometimes dull environment. Put thick and heavy vases to work as decorative book ends on your bookshelves. Leave the vases empty or fill with more decorative pebbles.