A vase is one of those objects that reveals a great deal about how someone thinks about their home. It is small enough to be an afterthought, but significant enough, when chosen well, to anchor an entire surface. It can hold flowers, or it can hold nothing at all and still be worth looking at. It can be the quietest thing in a room or the most arresting. The range of what a vase can be is wider than almost any other decorative object, which is exactly what makes choosing one both interesting and occasionally overwhelming.
At dwelly amsterdam, vases are among the objects we think about most carefully. The vases and planters collection spans a wide range of materials, forms, and scales, from compact ceramic pieces designed for a shelf or side table to large sculptural floor vases that command a room. What connects them is a commitment to form that goes beyond function: these are objects designed to be looked at, to contribute to the atmosphere of a space, to hold their own in a considered interior. Here is how to think about them.
Why the Vase Deserves a More Considered Approach
Most people buy vases reactively. They receive flowers, realise they have nothing to put them in, and buy the first thing that seems adequate. Or they see a vase they like in a shop and buy it without thinking too carefully about where it will go or what it will do in the room. Neither approach is wrong, exactly, but both tend to produce results that feel slightly accidental rather than intentional.
The more considered approach starts with the room rather than the object. What does the surface need? What scale will feel right? What materials are already present, and what would complement or contrast with them in an interesting way? Is this a surface that calls for a single strong statement, or one that benefits from a grouping of smaller pieces? These questions, asked before you start looking, make the process of choosing a vase much more productive and the result much more satisfying.
It is also worth separating the question of flowers from the question of the vase itself. Many of the most beautiful vases in the dwelly collection are designed to be displayed empty, or with a single stem, or with dried botanicals that require no water. The Otaru bronze-to-black ceramic sculptural vase and the Rudal matte black microcement vase are objects that exist on their own terms, independent of what they contain. Thinking of a vase as a sculptural object first and a vessel second opens up a much wider range of possibilities.
Understanding Form: What Shape Does for a Room
The form of a vase is its most immediate quality. Before you register the material or the colour, you register the silhouette: whether it is tall and narrow or wide and low, whether its lines are straight or curved, whether it has a single opening or multiple, whether it is symmetrical or deliberately off-balance. These formal qualities determine how a vase relates to the space around it and to the other objects it shares a surface with.
Tall, narrow vases draw the eye upward and create a sense of vertical movement in a room. They work particularly well on low surfaces like coffee tables and sideboards, where the height creates contrast with the horizontal plane of the furniture. The Earthline tall brown ceramic vase and the Hou floor vase in antique beige metal both use height as their primary formal quality, and both benefit from being placed where that height can be fully appreciated rather than obscured by surrounding objects.
Wide, low vases have a different quality: they feel grounded and stable, and they work well on surfaces where you want to add visual weight without adding height. They are also more forgiving in terms of placement, since they do not compete with artwork or mirrors on the wall behind them. The Aeris sand ceramic dual-opening vase is a good example of a form that is interesting precisely because of its width and its unusual dual-opening design, which creates a sculptural quality that a more conventional vase shape would not achieve.
Sculptural vases, which prioritise form over function, occupy a category of their own. These are objects where the vessel quality is almost incidental: the point is the shape, the texture, the way the piece occupies space. The Segura beige stoneware sculptural vase, the Lumira white ceramic sculptural vase, and the Chu black rock-texture ceramic sculptural vase all fall into this category. They are pieces that would look at home in a gallery as easily as in a living room, and they require very little styling support to make an impact.
Understanding Materials: The Texture of a Room
If form determines how a vase relates to space, material determines how it relates to light and to the other surfaces in a room. Different materials catch and reflect light differently, age differently, and carry different associations that contribute to the overall atmosphere of a space.
Ceramic and Stoneware
Ceramic is the most versatile material in the vase world, and the dwelly collection reflects this with a wide range of ceramic pieces spanning very different aesthetics. At one end of the spectrum, pieces like the Evara white ceramic wavy vase duo and the Liora white and green ceramic vase have a clean, refined quality that suits minimal and Scandinavian-influenced interiors. At the other end, pieces like the Verdant green and blue ceramic organic vase and the Midnight Wave dark blue ceramic vase bring colour and organic form into the equation in a way that feels bold without being aggressive.
Stoneware has a slightly rougher, more tactile quality than fine ceramic, and it tends to suit interiors that favour natural materials and earthy tones. The Terra brown ceramic compact vase and the Bambora ribbed ceramic vase both have this quality: they feel handmade and grounded, and they sit naturally alongside linen, wood, and stone.
The Ulfur and Otaru Series
The Ulfur and Otaru series deserve particular attention because they represent a distinct design vision within the collection. Both series use a bronze-to-black gradient glaze that creates a surface of extraordinary depth and complexity. The colour shifts depending on the light and the angle of view, moving from warm bronze tones to deep, almost matte black. This is not a finish that photographs easily, which means it tends to be even more impressive in person than it appears online.
The Ulfur architectural vase is the most dramatic piece in the series, with a form that references architectural structures and a scale that makes it a genuine statement object. The Ulfur 35cm and 28cm versions offer the same glaze in more compact forms that work well on shelves and side tables. The Otaru sculptural vase and its taller counterpart take the same glaze and apply it to a more organic, sculptural form that feels almost geological in its presence.
The Cuzco Series
The Cuzco series offers a different kind of surface interest: a speckled glaze that creates a texture reminiscent of natural stone. Available in black, white, and matte white, these vases have a quiet complexity that rewards close attention. The speckled surface catches light differently at different times of day, and the sculptural form gives them a presence that goes well beyond their relatively compact scale.
Microcement and Architectural Materials
The Rudal matte black microcement vase represents a different material sensibility entirely. Microcement has a raw, architectural quality that suits interiors with an industrial or brutalist edge, but it also works surprisingly well in warm, layered spaces where its matte surface provides a counterpoint to softer textures. The Rudal is a piece that looks best in a room where it has space to breathe, placed on a surface where its form and material can be fully appreciated.
Glass and Mixed Materials
Glass vases bring a lightness and transparency that ceramic and stone cannot offer. The San Marino waterdrop teak and glass decorative vase combines the warmth of teak with the clarity of glass in a form that is genuinely distinctive. It is the kind of piece that works particularly well with a single stem or a small arrangement of dried botanicals, where the transparency of the glass becomes part of the display rather than just a container for it.
Colour: How to Use It Without Overcommitting
Colour in a vase is one of the easiest ways to introduce a new tone into a room without the commitment of painting a wall or reupholstering furniture. A single coloured vase on a shelf can shift the entire feeling of a space, pulling together tones that are already present in the room or introducing a new accent that changes the dynamic.
The key is to choose colours that relate to something already in the room. The Azure Bloom light blue ceramic vase and the Capri blue ceramic vase both work beautifully in rooms that have blue or grey tones in their textiles or artwork. The Faces two-tone blue porcelain vase takes this further with a graphic, figurative quality that makes it as much an art object as a decorative piece. The Linea beige ceramic diamond pattern vase uses pattern rather than strong colour to add visual interest, which makes it easier to integrate into a wider range of interiors.
For rooms built around a neutral palette, the safest approach is to choose vases in tones that are already present in the room: warm beiges, earthy browns, soft whites, and deep blacks. These colours will always feel considered rather than accidental, and they give you the flexibility to change the flowers or botanicals you display without worrying about clashing.
How to Style Vases: Principles That Work in Practice
The principles of styling vases are similar to those that apply to any decorative object, but there are a few that are particularly relevant to this category.
The first is the odd number rule. Groups of three or five objects almost always look more natural and considered than groups of two or four. This is because odd numbers create a visual hierarchy, with one object reading as the focal point and the others supporting it, whereas even numbers tend to create a symmetry that can feel static. A grouping of three vases of different heights and scales, arranged on a shelf or a sideboard, will almost always look more interesting than two vases placed side by side.
The second is the importance of negative space. Vases, particularly sculptural ones, need room around them to be fully appreciated. A shelf crowded with objects will always make each individual piece look less significant than it would if given more space. If you find that your vases are not making the impact you expected, the solution is often to remove objects from the surface rather than add them.
The third is the relationship between the vase and what it contains. A sculptural vase like the Otaru or the Segura often looks best empty, or with a single dramatic stem that does not compete with the form of the vessel. A simpler vase, on the other hand, can support a fuller arrangement without the flowers overwhelming the object. Matching the complexity of the arrangement to the simplicity of the vessel, and vice versa, is one of the most reliable ways to achieve a result that feels balanced.
The fourth is surface context. A vase placed directly on a wooden table will look different from the same vase placed on a marble tray or a linen runner. The surface beneath and around a vase frames it and gives it context. A tray is particularly useful because it creates a defined zone for a grouping of objects, making them feel like a considered composition rather than a collection of things that happen to be on the same surface. Our guide on where to place a table lamp covers similar principles of surface composition that apply equally well to vases and decorative objects.
Room by Room: Where Vases Work Best
The Living Room
The living room is where vases have the most opportunity to make an impact, and also where the temptation to overdo it is strongest. The most effective approach is usually to choose one or two surfaces and style them with real intention, rather than distributing vases across every available surface in the room. A coffee table grouping with a sculptural vase, a candle holder, and a small stack of books creates a composition that feels genuinely curated. A sideboard with a tall floor vase and a smaller companion piece creates a focal point that anchors the room.
For shelving, the approach is different. Shelves benefit from a mix of object types and scales, with vases playing a role alongside books, smaller decorative objects, and perhaps a plant. The key is to vary the heights and leave enough negative space that each object can be seen clearly. A Cuzco matte white vase on a shelf of books, or a Lumira sculptural vase at the end of a shelf run, creates a moment of visual interest that draws the eye without overwhelming the overall composition.
Lighting plays a significant role in how vases read in a living room. A vase placed near a lamp will catch the light differently from one placed in a darker corner, and the material of the vase will determine how dramatically this affects its appearance. Glazed ceramics and glass vases respond particularly well to lamp light, developing a warmth and depth that they do not have in flat daylight. Our piece on how materials shape light explores this relationship in more detail and is worth reading if you are thinking carefully about how your decorative objects will look at different times of day.
The Dining Room
A vase on a dining table is one of the most classic applications of the object, and also one of the most demanding in terms of getting the scale right. A vase that is too tall will obstruct sightlines across the table and make conversation difficult. A vase that is too small will look lost on a large table surface. The sweet spot is usually a piece that is wide rather than tall, or a grouping of smaller pieces arranged down the centre of the table that creates visual interest without creating a barrier.
For a sideboard or console in a dining room, taller pieces come into their own. The Hou floor vase or the Earthline tall ceramic vase both have the scale to anchor a larger surface and create a focal point that draws the eye as you enter the room.
The Bedroom
Vases in the bedroom work best when they are small and refined rather than large and dramatic. A compact ceramic piece on a bedside table, or a small sculptural vase on a dresser, adds a layer of considered detail without competing with the restful quality that a bedroom should have. The Terra brown compact vase or the smaller Cuzco pieces are well suited to this kind of placement. A single dried stem or a small sprig of eucalyptus in a simple vase is often all a bedroom surface needs to feel complete.
The Entryway
The entryway is one of the most underrated locations for a statement vase. It is the first thing you see when you come home and the last thing you see when you leave, which means a well-chosen piece here has a disproportionate impact on how the home feels. A tall, sculptural vase on a console table, perhaps with a single dramatic branch or a bunch of dried pampas grass, creates an immediate impression of considered style. The Otaru tall sculptural vase or the Ulfur architectural vase both have the presence to make this kind of entrance statement work.
Vases with Flowers, Dried Botanicals, and Nothing at All
One of the most liberating realisations about decorative vases is that they do not need to contain anything to be worth having. A beautiful sculptural vase displayed empty is a perfectly valid and often very effective choice. It keeps the focus on the form and material of the object itself, and it removes the ongoing commitment of sourcing and replacing flowers.
Dried botanicals offer a middle ground that has become increasingly popular in design-forward interiors. Dried pampas grass, cotton stems, eucalyptus, and seed heads all have a natural beauty that complements the earthy materials in the dwelly collection, and they last for months or even years without any maintenance. They also tend to suit sculptural vases better than fresh flowers, since their more restrained forms do not compete with the vessel in the way that a full floral arrangement might.
Fresh flowers remain the most immediate and transformative option, and there is nothing quite like the combination of a beautiful vase and a well-chosen bunch of flowers for making a room feel alive and cared for. The key is to match the scale and character of the arrangement to the vase: a simple, generous bunch of tulips or ranunculus in a wide ceramic vase, or a single dramatic stem in a tall, narrow piece. Avoid arrangements that are so full they obscure the vase entirely, unless the vase is purely functional and the flowers are the point.
For those who want the look of fresh flowers without the maintenance, the Natural Bouquet faux flowers mix and the King Protea Bouquet in bordeaux offer high-quality artificial arrangements that work beautifully in the vases from the collection. This approach pairs naturally with the philosophy behind the dwelly faux plants collection: choosing quality over constant replacement, and investing in pieces that will look good for a long time.
Building a Vase Collection Over Time
The most interesting vase collections are rarely assembled all at once. They grow over time, with pieces added as they are found, as rooms change, and as tastes develop. This gradual accumulation is part of what gives a home its character: the sense that the objects in it have been chosen over time, each one for a specific reason, rather than purchased as a set and placed according to a plan.
If you are starting from scratch, the most useful approach is to begin with one or two pieces that you genuinely love and that work in the rooms you spend the most time in. Choose pieces that are versatile enough to move between surfaces and rooms as your needs change. A sculptural ceramic vase in a neutral tone, for example, will work on a coffee table, a sideboard, a shelf, or a dining table, and it will remain relevant as other elements of the room change around it.
From there, you can add pieces that introduce more specific qualities: a coloured vase that responds to a new textile, a tall piece for a surface that needs height, a glass piece that brings lightness to a room that has become too heavy with matte materials. Each addition should feel like a considered choice rather than a gap being filled, and the collection as a whole should feel like it reflects a consistent sensibility even as it spans a range of materials and forms.
The Vase as a Reflection of How You Live
There is something revealing about the vases in a home. They are objects chosen almost entirely for aesthetic reasons, which means they reflect taste and sensibility more directly than most other things in a room. A home with beautiful, considered vases is a home where someone has thought carefully about how they want to live and what they want to be surrounded by. That quality of attention is what distinguishes a house from a home.
The dwelly vases and planters collection is curated with exactly this in mind. Every piece has been chosen because it contributes something specific: a material quality, a formal interest, a scale that fills a gap in the range. Together, they offer a vocabulary of decorative objects that can be combined and recombined to suit a wide range of interiors and a wide range of personal styles.
If you are thinking about how to bring more considered detail into your home, the vase collection is one of the most rewarding places to start. And if you are working on the broader atmosphere of a room at the same time, our guides on creating ambiance with portable lighting and doing more with less light cover the principles of atmosphere and layering that apply as much to decorative objects as they do to light sources. A room that gets both right, the light and the objects, is a room that feels genuinely complete.