Hard To Resist Blog
Coloured Glass Gifts: Matching Glass Ornaments with Your Room
Monday 14th October 2024
Home decor is one of the most important things in any living space. It is a way of putting your own stamp on things, regardless if this is your bedroom at your parent's house, your university accommodation flat, your privately rented house, or perhaps your own house that you have bought outright.
It's human nature to want to make things our own, and one way in which we can achieve that is by decorating the interior of our own spaces.
And one of the best ways to do so is by decorating with glass gifts. Whether these are custom-made glass figurines of your favourite movie characters, or sentimental pieces which remind you of a dearly departed loved one, there are a multitude of different ways in which you can use matching glass ornaments to complement the decoration of rooms within your home.
In this article, we will provide a thorough overview of different ways in which you can use glass ornaments of all shapes and sizes to decorate your room.
A Brief History of Coloured Glass
You might be surprised to know that the history of coloured glass dates back to the Ancient Egyptians, who were known to colour glass using natural materials such as minerals to stain the glass, although it was not until the Middle Ages that stained glass began to be used widely in churches all over Europe.
It was during this boom of glass production that artists started to experiment with coloured glasses, and started to produce intricate gifts using glass. Many Italian regions were synonymous with glass production, and as the early modern period came around, more and more glass gifts were being produced.
They still remain popular today, and coloured glass ornaments are one of the nicest gifts you can buy for someone - or yourself.
Why Coloured Glass?
It's a valid question - there are lots of clear glass ornaments that look equally as beautiful, if not nicer, than some of their coloured counterparts.
Because of the transparent nature of glass, it is often used to reflect and refract light, and this creates mesmerising patterns on all of the surrounding surfaces around it.
When the glass is coloured, these patterns can become even more intricate, and create different colours on walls, units, furniture, and more.
These colours can even affect how you feel, by creating a certain mood within a room - bright colours suggest happiness, darker colours can mean a more sombre mood, but often it means deeper emotional connections, such as passion and love.
In the following section, we will discuss how different coloured glass ornaments can help to improve your home decor, including different types of glass ornaments, and what their different colours mean.
Blue Glass Gifts
Blue is an interesting colour, to say the least. Of course, there are connotations of sadness associated with 'feeling blue', and the old-school blues music certainly contributes to these feelings, too.
However, when we look at the bigger picture, we see a colour which gives off hues of calm and serenity - picture the sea and its gently rolling waves crashing lightly against the cliffs. Equally, what colour is the sky on a midsummer's day? These are generally the reasons why we think of calm, happiness and serenity when choosing blue glass ornaments.
Blue Glass Ornaments in the Living Room
The heart of every home is of course the living room or lounge. This is also likely the first place you would think of placing an ornament, right? However, not everybody's living room is decorated in blue, so you might wonder how a blue ornament can work in such a setting.
Blue glass ornaments are ideal for living rooms for the feelings of calm that they give off, as well as the fact that they can add a lovely colourful splash to most neutral-coloured spaces.
For example, a blue glass vase can act as a stunning centrepiece on a dining table, or a coffee table, given the right decor around it. The beauty of glass vases is that they can act as an ornament with or without flowers in them.
Blue vases go especially well with yellow flowers, such as daffodils or tulips, and this helps to create that summery feeling in any home, any time of year.
Blue Glass Ornaments in the Bathroom
Another room in the home which often has a couple of ornaments is the bathroom.
Because of its connotations with water, blue is the perfect colour for any bathroom.
Small decorative ornaments such as this blue sailing boat are perfect to place on top of a bathroom cabinet - just make sure that it's out of reach from any children or pets.
Furthermore, for those feeling more adventurous, why not incorporate a large blue bowl or dish as a centrepiece for the bathroom cabinet, or even on the window sill?
Blue Glass Ornaments in the Bedroom
Your bedroom may be another place to place a blue glass ornament. While vases may not be the first choice of decor for your bedroom - especially if you suffer from hay fever - there are plenty of other coloured glass gifts that can fit perfectly into your bedroom.
For example, how about a blue angel? Angels make for fantastic gifts, because they mean so many different things to different people - so whether it's for sentimental purposes, or perhaps a gift for a special occasion, blue angels invoke feelings of calm and serenity, making them ideal for the bedroom.
Red Glass Gifts
At the opposite end of the spectrum from blue glass gifts are red glass ornaments. Red is a colour which is not only bold in its very nature, but it invokes feelings of passion, love, strength and more similar emotions.
It can be used across various rooms in your house, and using red glass ornaments to decorate shows courage and a willingness to step away from the ordinary.
Red Glass Ornaments in the Living Room
Similar to how blue glass ornaments can fit in any neutrally-decorated living room, red glass ornaments also have that same advantage.
Given their ability to reflect light into beautiful deep red colours, they look even better at 'golden hour', so placing red glass ornaments on a windowsill or perhaps on a coffee table can create a wonderful glowing effect.
Red vases make for excellent table-top ornaments, and when they are filled with summery flowers such as roses they look absolutely stunning in any living space.
However, it's not just large red ornaments that look the part in a living room. You may not be aware, but glass coasters are also ideal coloured glass gifts for your living room. Red goes particularly well with wood, so if you have a wooden coffee table, why not complement it with some red glass coasters, and bring your interior decoration game to the next level?
Red Glass Ornaments in the Kitchen
A room that we have not mentioned yet is the kitchen, but for many people, the kitchen is the hub of the home - especially when hosting a party.
This also means that it is a fantastic place to decorate with coloured glass gifts - and red is an excellent colour to decorate with. Think of how many red items you already have in your kitchen, for example.
Chances are, you have a red chopping board for raw meat, possibly a red knife for the same reason - maybe your kitchen calendar has red on it, or you have some red drawings that the kids have stuck on the fridge? Either way, the chances are that you have lots of red in our kitchen - so there's no need to think that red glass ornaments would look out of place.
Even if you're not necessarily looking for a large table centrepiece, you can always go for something more subtle, such as red angels - you could even get a set of them to go together, or use them as hanging decorations on the walls.
Similar to the coffee table in the living room, you could always get a set of red glass coasters for your kitchen table, too.
Red Glass Ornaments in the Bedroom
Of course, red glass is associated with passion and love, so it makes sense that red glass ornaments would fit well in a bedroom.
Angels are a fantastic idea, as they fit well in any room, and can have numerous different meanings. However, if you really want to turn it up a notch, why not buy a glass tealight holder like this heart-shaped red one for your bedroom?
Candles can really add to creating the perfect mood before bed, so a nice red tealight holder to complement it can be the perfect matching glass ornament for your bedroom.
Green Glass Gifts
Somewhat a halfway point between the calm, serene emotions of blue, and the passionate, strong emotions of red, green typically invokes relations to the natural world, creating feelings of optimism and hope - think about how you feel after a long, cold winter when you see the first flecks of green on the bushes and trees.
Green glass may not be the first colour that comes to mind when decorating your home, but below we will list a few good tips on decorating with greens.
Green Glass Ornaments in the Kitchen
Because they are so associated with feelings around brightness and nature, green ornaments go exceptionally well in a kitchen.
Try placing a green vase in your kitchen window - the morning sunshine reflected through the green vase will light up any kitchen, even on winter days, when natural light can be hard to come by. It creates feelings of optimism and a small reminder that no matter how difficult winter is, spring will soon be on its way.
Green Glass Ornaments in the Bedroom
Your bedroom - or indeed a guest or spare bedroom - is also another good place to utilise green glass ornaments.
Sentimental pieces such as angels always work well, and because of their green colouring, they look less sombre and more positive. Check out our article on decorating with angels for some tips on using glass angels when decorating your home.
Green Glass Ornaments in the Dining Room
If you're fortunate enough to have a dining room as well as a kitchen, green glass ornaments are the perfect addition to your dining room.
Table centrepieces are always highly sought after, but how about going for something more neutral, or out of the ordinary - something like a green glass vase, or even some simple yet effective green glass candle holders?
Placing a tealight in a green glass candleholder can create a fantastic environment for a candlelit dinner for two. In addition, when the weather's nice, why not bring your tealight holder outside, and enjoy dining al-fresco in your garden for a change of scenery?
Other Coloured Glass Gifts
Naturally, there is a huge variety of coloured glass gifts available in other colours apart from blue, red and green. For instance, purple glass evokes regal feelings, as well as that of wisdom, providing a comforting feeling to any home setting.
Purple goes especially well in a living room or bedroom - especially items like this beautiful purple vase.
Alternatively, yellow glass works exceptionally well for those wanting to create the illusion of sunshine wherever they go - as yellow (and similar colours such as orange glass and amber) create feelings of happiness and joy.
Conclusion
In conclusion, there are a range of different coloured glass gifts that you can choose from to match the decor in individual rooms in your house.
Whether you want to create a passionate, strong environment in your bedroom through red glass, or make a room feel calm with blue angel decorations, the choice is ultimately yours when it comes to decorating your home - this is simply a guide to help you choose the right ornaments for your rooms.
Coloured glass has been gifted for hundreds of years if not thousands, so it is one of the best options to give to a loved one as a present - think of which emotions you or they want to create in the home and work your way from there.
Browse our full collection of coloured glass gifts and more here.