September 07, 1943

Detroit News Quilt History Project; Michigan State University Museum; Susan Salser

Detroit, Michigan, United States

An Edith B. Crumb interior design column.

Pirate the Attic Shelves for Quaint Flower Vases​
By Edith B. Crumb

Now that garden flowers are blooming so profusely, daily picking provides enough bouquets to brighten the house throughout.

Lacking vases, there are many other charming containers. Old glass, china and pottery dishes achieve unique effects, with no limit to originality.

For very small flowers, try cups and saucers of diminutive size - perhaps one salvaged from a set of doll dishes. A bouquet in one of these placed on a reading table lends a colorful and amusing touch. Even the cup without the saucer would be sufficient.

Small pitchers lend themselves for use as vases, and goblets, either old or new, are attractive.

For longer-stemmed flowers, the old-fashioned celery vase which was usually on a slender standard is a delightful flower vase. These, used in pairs, are effective as mantel decorations.

Old-fashioned bowls with a small glass or metal frog to hold the flowers are also excellent.

Of course, old coffee pots and tea pots are also ideal as vases and the old white ironstone ware seems to lend itself to colorful flowers for there is no competition for them in floral designs on the containers, which sometimes spoil a bouquet because of the confusing patterns.

Old salt cellars which have lost their tops may be used as vases. And the old ones are so very pretty - soft pink or blue satin glass, cranberry glass, milk white and clear glass.

Small bouquets such as these might be placed on end tables, the coffee table or a table at the side of a bed.

And then there is the old toothbrush holder which used to be an important part of every bedroom.

Its former use would never be guessed, and many of these were made of fine china.

Courtesy of The Detroit News Archives.