How to Decorate With Glass Compote
- 1). Study the compote and use its colors and patterns to inspire your finished design and help you decide what to put into the bowl. Stained or art glass that's ornate, patterned and complex can appear busy, if not overwhelmed, if you fill the bowl with objects that reflect too many colors. Crackle glass, invented in the 16th century, looks Old World, so modern objects d'art will look out of place. On the other hand, a fused glass compote dish is bound to look elegant if you find the right mix of enameled and metal accessories.
- 2). Decorate the compote with flowers. Silk flowers are perfect go-to fillers because you can change out the blossoms by the season. Tape a foam base to the interior of the compote dish and poke short-stemmed flowers into the foam, tallest in the middle. Crocus, daffodils, tulips and iris plus grass picks are ideal for spring, silk daisies and fern are summer-perfect, chrysanthemums paired with silk autumn leaves and dried cat's tail make a little fall magic, and if you fill your compote dish with evergreen, pine cones and holiday ornaments you'll start winter off on the right foot.
- 3). Arrange food in your glass compote. Not the real thing; realistic props that look as though they've been plucked from grocer's displays can turn a formal compote dish into a festival of whimsy. Line the bowl with a lace doily or cloth napkins with fanciful edging. Arrange eggs in the bowl and then poke kid-size kitchen utensils into the arrangement. Achieve more formality by piling glass grapes into the compote and adding silk grape leaves. Stress simplicity with a display of lemons or fill your footed vessel with faux croissants or mini-muffins. You may have to check kids' backpacks to make certain a pastry or two isn't heading for "show and tell."
- 4). Fill the compote with eclectic pieces. Your room may be sleek, ultra modern and no frills, but it does have a theme. Capitalize on it by choosing eclectic objects d'art to make your glass compote dish look sensational. Red glass tomatoes spell whimsy and sophistication. If you're looking for glitz, silver metallic balls look spectacular when artfully arranged in a compote dish. Reflect light by filling the compote with small, mirrored Moravian stars or make a stained-glass compote dish look amazing by filling it with white porcelain flowers. The design of your compote dish must always be your guide. Your decorating acumen will handle the rest.