As a lover and collector of vintage objects and vessels, I always find myself with these items I love but never really make use of. I'll get that vintage bowl set from the flea market, a tiny brass trophy, or a beautiful Japanese tea kettle only to see them collect dust because they're not functional on a daily basis. So we decided to finally use them for something…holding flowers and plants! This is an easy and beautiful way to keep those vessels around but also actually use them every day. Here are a few ways we used a few from my own collection….

My friend, Jihan, gave me this tiny vintage brass trophy a couple years ago, and I love it. It's perfectly suited for just a couple blooms and great when when you come across a flower that fell off a nearby bush and deserves to be celebrated.

I bought these beautiful Japanese tea kettles a few years ago in Kyoto, but now I find myself using an electric kettle when I need hot water fast. They're too beautiful to get rid of, so I used the shorter one for holding a pre-potted plant and the larger one for holding fresh florals. The taller vessels are better suited for fresh flowers while shorter ones are best for plants that might need to hold soil.

I fell in love with this set of vintage dessert bowls and look at them every day but have yet to use them for actual dessert. So we turned one into a little succulent garden.

Finally, we removed the top of this ice cream cone piggy bank and it turns into a quirky vase for a fresh set of blooms. 

Quick tip…In terms of drainage for plants, if you're using a plant that needs good drainage, consider drilling a hole at the bottom of the vessel if you're okay with making that permanent change to the piece (ie. in plastic or metal). But if you're using a glass vessel or something you can't drill a hole into, then stick to flowers or use succulents where you can place rocks on the bottom for drainage.

{Photos by Casey Brodley, styling by Julia Wester and Joy Cho… Table Runner from Pom Pom at Home}