Whatever your home’s aesthetic, the smallest details often have a big impact on the tone and style of a room. This is especially true when renovating older homes—especially if you want to give the space a modern feel but still have some details that are reminiscent of the home’s original style and age. On a recent episode of “Good Bones,” hosts Mina Starsiak Hawk and Karen Laine showed the dramatic transformation of an older home in Indiana. The result of the renovation was a beautiful open-concept home with a soft color palette that features plenty of texture and unique details like rubbings of antique wall ornaments, original woodwork, and other small touches that the owners liked. These details included various tinted glass bottles, jars, and vases in soft amber and sea glass colors scattered throughout the home.
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Not only do the jars add vintage flair and a beachy, casual vibe to the new space, but they also evoke the old house’s former greens and blues on the crumbling walls. Colored glass containers can be a great element to create a similar effect in your home, where there are many ways to use them as an inexpensive but impactful decorative element.
Colored glass as a decorative element
Colored glass accents can add texture and dimension and add a pop of color. This is especially important in otherwise neutral spaces as it prevents them from looking too monotonous or sterile. Glass is reflective, meaning it’s a genius way to add decor that doesn’t look as cluttered, dark and heavy as more massive objects. Colored glass is also a nod to the past when glass bottles in soft or bright hues were often used for both decorative and functional things, such as aquamarine mason jars and sleek green glass lemonade bottles.
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The jars and bottles are great for adding layer and height, especially when grouped in a selection of coordinating colors. Colored glass ranges from the sea glass-inspired pale blues and greens that Mina Starsiak Hawk uses in “Good Bones” to deeper, more saturated colors like garnet and cobalt. They even come in neutral colors like amber, brown or gray. Large pieces like pitchers and taller decorative bottles can make a statement, perfect for filling awkward spaces and adding a vintage touch.
How to find and use colored glass pieces
Tinted glass bottles, vases and jars are often sold new at home improvement stores or can be found used at flea markets, estate sales and thrift stores at an affordable price. You can also make your own colored glass containers by using a solution of Mod Podge mixed with food coloring or acrylic paint to coat the inside of any glass. This way, you can transform any piece, like a repurposed drinking glass or an old marinara jar, into vintage decor.
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Place these containers grouped together on a table as a centerpiece, or place them on a shelf or windowsill in your kitchen to create beautiful reflected colored light. Get a few colored jars and use them as storage for bathroom essentials like cotton swabs and cotton balls. They also make great votive candle holders that create soft ambient light, or stunning vases for bouquets of real or artificial blooms.
