Urn Decorating Ideas

Use urns throughout your home and garden space.

Urns add elegance and sophistication to the home and garden. You can decorate with urns or decorate the urns themselves to fit your aesthetic or to meld with your home's architectural style. Urns can be purchased new from home design or hardware stores. For a historical touch seek out antique or secondhand vessels from salvage suppliers.

Style for the Holidays

Fill urns in the garden, entryway or home with holiday specific decor to celebrate the season. Fill your urn with round reflective Christmas ornaments to create a modern, bright and reflective design. You can choose a simple color scheme with bulbs in one color family for an understated and modern look. Various sizes can be incorporated to add dimension and visual interest. For autumn place a selection of gourds or one large pumpkin atop your urn. For added color and texture in the cold months plant winter kale.

Planned Placement

Group urns together for dramatic effect. Place a grouping of three urns in varying heights flanking a fireplace or open doorway in your home. You can use two identical urns to add emphasis to your entryway, or use the urns to flank the door and change the plantings or decor with the seasons to keep your design fresh. Set small urns atop a bookcase or dresser, and store small items inside to reduce clutter or fill them with fresh cut flowers.

Create Movement

Urns make attractive and functional containers for do-it-yourself water fountains. With their structural presence and vessel shape, they will add drama as well as soothing water sounds to your space. You can use a bubbler pump for a subtle sound and minimal water flow in small scale spaces. Larger locations, such as an atrium or formal outdoor garden, can accommodate a larger urn with a stronger fountain.

Add Plantings

Use urns -- whether iron, concrete, fiberglass or resin -- as containers for garden plantings or house plants. Line the bottom of the urn with pebbles to allow for proper drainage, and fill with soil or place a freestanding pot inside the urn for dramatic effect. Large urns filled with dramatic foliage can create a focal point indoors or out. You can weight down lighter urns with rocks in the base to prevent them from tumbling and potentially injuring your plants.

References

• This Old House: How to Turn a Salvaged Urn into a Water Fountain
• This Old House: Garden Urns
• RestyledHome.blogspot: Show me Your Urns