“We all have our favorite flowers – and very often – our favorite vases. A pretty vase is much more than just a thing to put flowers in. It can be a great decoration on its own and depending on its size, color, style and material, it can give the same kind of flowers a whole different look,” says stylist and blogger Kasia Rutkowiak.
“USING FLOWERS IS by far the easiest way to decorate any interior. Big or small, monochrome or colorful, every home feels better, looks prettier and often even smells nicer with fresh blooms. No matter if we use seasonal flowers or more universal, all year round blossoms, we always get a nice, fresh vibe.
For me, nothing gets the home ready for the weekend as well as a vase filled with flowers in the living room. As a huge enthusiast of fresh flowers and a real bloom addict, I decided to test some various vases and see how they look with the same variety of flowers. I wanted to compare three completely different vases: the Omaggio vase from Kähler, the classic Aalto vase from Iittala, and the big and beautiful Urna vase from Marimekko.
“For me, nothing gets the home ready for the weekend as well as a vase filled with flowers in the living room.”
I bought different flowers and green twigs, mostly delicate ones with thin stalks, which I trimmed to the desired length. I then arranged the flowers in each vase, one by one. Some vases are more tricky than others, but it is always a real pleasure to create flower compositions this way. It calms me down, and the final result always makes me smile.
Sometimes I encourage my children to help me, just like my mom did when I was a child. I have no doubts that it was these happy moments together that resulted in my love and appreciation for fresh flowers at home.
“The Kähler vases are some of the most popular Scandinavian vases of the passing decade.”
Graphic stripes
The Omaggio vases from Kähler, designed by Ditte Reckweg and Jelena Schou Nordentoft, are some of the most popular Scandinavian vases of the passing decade. Widely recognizable for their horizontal stripes, which are the designers' homage to ceramic artist Sven Hammershøi, the Omaggio vases are true statement pieces, especially in black. For this styling, however, I chose the grey variant, which is equally pretty but a tiny less dominant than the black one. These vases look great alone, or in groups of two or more.
“The Aalto vase in clear glass is the most subtle and extremely versatile version.”
An Alvar Aalto classic
The second choice is the famous Aalto vase in clear glass. Created by Alvar Aalto for the World Fair in Paris in 1937, its iconic shape refers to the Finnish landscape and lakes. The version in clear glass is the most subtle and extremely versatile, although its shape is not the easiest to hold delicate flowers in place. While creating the composition, you need to be gentle and focused, but the final result is very much worth your time! In the past years, the Aalto vase was my go-to choice with tulips, but now I also use it with many other types of flowers.
“Due to its generous size and lightweight appearance, the Urna vase is ideal for large displays and flower arrangements.”
A dining table centerpiece
Last but not least, Marimekko's Urna vase – the biggest and most dominant of the three. This cylinder-shaped vase, designed by Carina Seth-Andersson, is a great centerpiece for a dining table. Due to its generous size and lightweight appearance, the Urna vase is ideal for large displays and flower arrangements, but that doesn't mean that we cannot use the same kinds of flowers as before. The only thing I would suggest with a vase of this particular olive green color is to choose your greens wisely, so the different shades of green match well.
It's difficult to pick my favorite vase of these three, as they all are completely different. Still, I was able to use the same flowers, and they all look great in our home, proving the versatility of classic, simple forms and colors. It would be lovely to hear, which vase you like the best!”
Kasia Rutkowiak is a Polish-born freelance interior stylist, photographer and writer of the Scandinavian interior and lifestyle blog My Full House, which has followers and readers from all around the world. She is a mother to three Danish-born children and has lived over twelve years on the island of Bornholm in Denmark. Currently, she resides in Warsaw, Poland.
See also:
• All vases at Finnish Design Shop >
Text and photos: Kasia Rutkowiak