canisters

I’m going to bet you have not really thought about ideas to decorate your home with ceramics. Did you know that ceramics is an option? Did you know you use some form of ceramics every day?  Or are you just asking what do I mean by “ceramics”?

Here’s what I mean.

There are probably more ceramic products decorating your home or being used in your home than you realize. Ceramic products have, over time, been a mainstay in most homes. Now, although the products have changed, ceramics is a main source of purchase, use and display to make your home functional, practical, and pleasing to the eye.

I would describe my ceramics home decor style as a farmhouse, rustic, vintage with a little boho.

Ideas to decorate your home with ceramics
Annie Spratt – Ideas to decorate your home with ceramics

What about you?

Exploring Ideas to decorate your home with ceramics

This is the start to what I hope will be suggestions, ideas and pictures for uses of ceramic products in your home to create one of the following home decor styles;

  • ceramics for the Bohemian (Boho) home style
  • ceramics for the Farmhouse homestyle
  • ceramics for the Victorian homestyle
  • ceramics for the Rustic homestyle
  • ceramics for the Vintage homestyle
  • ceramics for the Southwest homestyle
  • others will be added on a regular basis

These will be under the Title  – Ceramics for the ___________ homestyle!

Ceramics from days gone by til now!

Going back over hundreds or even thousands of years, there is great evidence of ceramic use for survival and sustenance.  The ages of pottery, as can be seen here at “Pottery Timeline (c.26,00 BCE – 1900) Chronology of Ceramic Art Around the World.” sheds some light as to how people used ceramics to make rudimentary pots, bowls and jug type containers in order to gather, make and consume food and water and probably had storage containers too. Most of these would have been basic earthenware.

It all started with pots and bowls

The first ancient pottery art appeared in the Moravian basin of Europe in 26,000 BCE. This sculpture called the “Venus of Doimi Vestonice” is the oldest clay-fired sculpture and where the first known pottery kiln was found. Many more sculptures and pots have been found all over Europe, Asia, Russia, Croatia, Ukraine, and in North America from times long, long ago right up until 100 to 200 hundred years ago. Pottery and ceramics are still being found today.

From several hundred years ago until now the process has gone from basic need pots and dishes to all kinds of earthenware to stoneware to porcelain to enameled pots, pans, and casserole dishes.

There are many people today that still create their own ceramic/pottery items and some even make a living providing their product to others.

Basic areas in your home with ceramics

When we talk about ceramics in different home decor styles we are looking at what ceramic products are or could be used in the main areas within a home.  The following will be the basic description used for each of the home decor styles and incorporating ceramics into each.

Kitchen

The kitchen and dining room are usually the most predominant area of ceramics.  The kitchen is more casual with tables and chairs, upper and lower cupboards, a stove, fridge microwave, and small appliances. Dishes for mixing, baking, cooking, serving and eating can be any form of ceramic. This is where the cool coffee mugs are found. Pots and pans could be enameled as could baking dishes. There is more likely to be an earthenware or stoneware ceramic canister set, salt and pepper shakers, a spoon rest, sugar and cream set in the kitchen.

Dining Room

The dining room is home to fine china porcelain or stoneware. It is more like fine china porcelain and what most people will use as their go-to “good china” and the go-to “good crystal.” There may be a china cabinet. It’s where all the “good” china and crystal are on display.  The dining table and chairs are a lot more formal. Usually, the china cabinet is part of the set. Ceramic wall art may be on display here.

Living Room

The living room is a more formal setting in most homes. Along with the couch and/or loveseat and a few chairs, end tables and coffee table there will be lamps and soft indirect lighting. There may be a curio cabinet or two with porcelain trinkets on display. Flower/plant pots and vases will work in these areas as will wide shallow bowls on tables.

Family/Recreation Room

The family or recreation room is the “let loose” space sometimes with a fireplace, or wood stove, or now an electric fireplace.  Couches, chairs and coffee and side tables are the basic furniture.

Bedrooms

Bedrooms are the sleeping quarters and allow for quiet, privacy, rest and downtime. Most will have a bed, dresser, desk with chair and possibly a comfy chair and a bedside table with a lamp that probably has a ceramic base.

Bathroom

The bathroom(s) in the space of privacy and self-cleansing. This space can include jars and small bowls to store things, with shelves to have containers for bath bombs or bath salts.

Entranceways

The entranceway says welcome and is a place to hang your hat. Ceramic vases with flowers or branches, umbrella stands, wall decor and a hallway table will be found here.

Yard and Garden

The yard and garden offer outdoor entertainment, gardening, leisure activities like bocci or swimming in a pool, a place to enjoy being outside. The gardens and walkways can use tiles and clay pots, a basic deck or patio and yard furniture are basic for the outdoor area.

Ideas to decorate your home with ceramics can help define your style

The biggest takeaway in all of this is that even though this defines a certain look there is nothing to stop you from finding your own home decor style or from combining two styles or maybe three.

ceramic table dishes
ceramic table dishes

There is nothing to stop you from using a different home decorating style in every room.

I define my ceramic home decor style as a farmhouse, rustic, vintage with a little boho.

The fun of using ceramics is that it is easily changeable. The kitchen is a good example. With little tweaks, you can change the feel of your Kitchen with new mugs, a new wall decoration or new sugar, cream and salt & pepper set

For now…

Take a leap of faith and be your own person as you express yourself through YOUR home decor style.

Leave a comment and tell me all about your home decor style.

  1. Great article. I really love old fashioned ceramics. The older the better!
    I do enjoy your description of your decor… “farmhouse, rustic, vintage with a little boho”. That’s great,
    My husband describes ours as “neo – ghetto”. I prefer the vintage rustic myself.
    Thank you for the article. Keep ’em coming!

    – Dolly –

  2. Hi there

    You know I never gave ceramics a thought for my kitchen when I moved out to the farm. Pesky rodents dont get into my glass jars, but the glass does not look as pretty as ceramic.

    Definitely opened my eyes on this one and will be keeping them peeled for ceramics for in my kitchen fro now on,

    Cheers
    Jo

  3. Hi Deb,
    Great post! I love a pretty ceramic, especially those kind of Moroccan and Spanish style bowls. I really do have too many of those already, but I just can’t stop buying things I like. Kitchenware can be a bit addictive for me haha

    • Oh how true. I was in Costco recently and they have some gorgeous bowl sets and entertainment sets that are very colourful and textured inside and out. It was all I could do to leave them there. Check it out if you live near one.

  4. Most of my ceramics around the home are decorative. I have many cookie jars that are on top of the cupboards in the kitchen. The living room have several on the bay window sill, sofa table, and fireplace mantle. I have some that my mom made and some are older than I am. This is not something I have tried to collect, it is something that just happened. You can set your decorating style by the ceramic items around the home. As the seasons change, I change all of the items in the living areas with more seasonal ceramic items that are of the season.
    I have several ceramic bowls that are used for snacks during the different holidays, do you think to have a decorative ceramic item makes the holidays more enjoyable?
    John

    • Wow, You have a collection that sounds wonderful. I do hope the cookie jars are full. HA HA. I think having decorative items for specific holidays is a great way to show how much you not only enjoy the holiday but also it shows how important that holidays is to you and how you choose to celebrate.

  5. I’m not a fan of ceramic products but my mother is and if she sees this article I think she wants to decorate her house. What I wanted to say is that the article is very good

  6. Well at the moment I am redecorating my home and my wife is really crazy about ceramics, so she is handling that job for both of us. However I think it is good to properly inform from the people who are experts in this. That is how I found your blog.

    I must say you really pointed out some valuable information and I will make sure I share your website with my wife.

    Have a nice day.

    • Hi and I am so glad you found this post and website useful. Decorating and redecorating are so much fun. I do hope you fun doing it. Feel free to share this with friends and family and watch for new posts.

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