Let's rethink keeping Grandma's silver in storage and only getting it out on rare occasions. I say let's play around with the silver, it's too beautiful to not! Whether you like the polished look or patina look there are so versatile ways silver can be used in our homed. Elevate your everyday using silver and don't worry if there is a ding or two it adds character.
Silver is associated with prosperity and good fortune. It is called the metal of the moon and is believed to evoke calm and balance. I'd say those are meanings that are great to warrant display in our home. Add to those wonderful qualities the memories that the silver pieces may hold and any vignette you create with Grandma's silver is sure to represent reflection and symbolize the passage of time.
Interior landscape plants like orchids, fern, herbs, seasonal bulbs, and succulents are elevated to a new level in silver. Dusty Miller and Lamb's Ear never looks so good! Remember to use a liner in your silver containers when planting, this respects the silver and helps maintain the moisture level of the plants easily regulated. I would recommend this for fresh cut arrangements in silver containers as well. Plant foods that help maintain the longevity of fresh flowers could have a negative effect on the silver over time.
Storing or displaying collections in silver is a stunning alternative to other options. It could be the tasting spoons next to your cooktop, the never-cook-without collection of wooden spatulas, that French rolling pin, basting brushes, and the cocktail stirrers on the home bar. Even everyday self-care elements like make-up brushes, cotton swabs, fragrances, lotions, and soaps become a bit more special in silver.
Although it is important to give reverence to the memories of Grandma's silver it doesn't mean there are limitations on where it can be displayed and what use we put to it in our home. An artist's painting is a bit more special when brushes are at the ready collected in a silver pot beside another silver pot of colored pencils.
Tablescapes with potted silver containers mixed in adds color and texture to pottery and reflective ambience. Imagine a mix of floral-patterned dinnerware stacked on top of cabbage ware, and a collection of silver containers in all shapes and sizes planted with blooming spring bulbs and the just-right linens. Bon Appetit!
Delicate silk floral arrangements are a winner in silver containers and can be utilized throughout the home from the night table in a guest room to the vanity in the powder room to the breakfast or dining table. Think ahead when creating these permanent botanical arrangements. If you are planning to use the silver containers for their intended purpose in the future, you won't want to affix any foam or other elements with any adhesive.
If your grandma was a simpler gal and didn't fancy silver or if her silver collection was just a few pieces, no worries this means your playtime with silver starts with vintage shopping.
Here are a few shopping tips before you grab your purse:
- Take pictures of things you are considering for your silver displays. Don't forget to include pictures of your flower and herb gardens. Set a file up in your phone labeled "Silver Display". You'll want to refer to these pictures when selecting the perfect silver containers and trays for your displays.
- Create an on-line ideas board of silver displays for inspiration.
- Grab a sturdy shopping bag and tuck a few of your favorite linen napkins, dishware pieces, silk floral stems, and other pieces to reference while shopping for the perfect silver.
- Measure! Measure the height of your wooden cooking utensils, measure the diameter of items you are wanting to display in silver containers, measure the surface you are sitting the container on, measure the centerpiece area of your table, measure the height from the tabletop to the chandelier or other hanging restriction. Jot these measurements in a small pretty journal-like book and add this to a pocket in your shopping bag.
- Pack a lunch, drink, and snacks!
- Call a friend and plan a road trip to vintage shop for your silver pieces.
- Have fun!
Silver trays of any shape or size can also be a dramatic yet fun display element. The engravings alone that can be found on most silver trays is art in itself. Keep in mind the whole plan for your silver display. The whole vignette needs to be kept in mind so that engravings, embossing, relief patterns and monograms need to be considered when creating the pairing of silver containers, so each piece is a well-selected, meaningful part of the entire display. For example, if the tray is heavily engraved with pattern and piercings then perhaps the containers sitting on the tray are of a simpler design.
Play around with the silver pieces set it up, move it around, replace one piece for another it will all come together. You might even find that you finalize the silver pieces first and then determine what is right for the collection your created.
I know how it can be when a new inspiration is found like playing around with Grandma's silver and maybe you don't have the right pieces to put in the containers for now but just can't wait to put them out. Find something temporary like a bunch of silk stems or a collection of feathers and stand them in the silver pieces for now. It might be a single silver urn for now placed on a stack of books and that may be all it will need to be. Experiment and figure out what is right for you.
The more mixed up the silver pieces are the better. The monogram on the silver picture or engraving on the silver trophy don't have to be yours or someone in your family heritage. Tarnished standing next to polished doesn't matter. A teapot used for a rosemary plant, or an ice bucket used for an orchid - that's okay. Remember we are playing around. We are finding fun ways to appreciate life and put it on full display.
Be inspired!
Sources: The Polohouse Blog, Peeking Thru the Sunflowers, Decor to Adore, Vibeke Design, Hubpages, Tumblr, Style Blueprint, Content in a Cottage, Creative Ann-tics, 1010 Park Place, The Home Envy, Designthusiasm, Wordpress, Antiques Diva, Pinterest
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