BEAUTIFUL VINTAGE PLANT POTS TO MATCH YOUR DECOR
VINTAGE PLANT POTS COME IN A HUGE RANGE OF STYLES AND DESIGNS - THERE REALLY IS SOMETHING FOR EVERYONE!
We introduce you to some of the different styles of vintage plant pots and how they fit into modern decor trends.
THE JOY OF VINTAGE PLANT POTS
Life is too short for boring pots. That is definitely something we believe at Queens of Green Design. What inspired us to start Queens of Green Design was the fact that we couldn’t find anything other than dull indoor planters for our ever growing plant family - we scoured websites and garden centres without success.
And then we bought our first vintage plant pot and we realised just how fabulous vintage ceramics were. We are both vintage furniture and decor fans - Jess is the enviable owner of a mid century ladderax and many, many vintage chairs and Lucie has a number of mid century paintings. And so Queens of Green Design was born. We scour the country to bring you a curated selection of beautiful, quirky, fabulous vintage planters, vases and plant furniture. Our stock includes some of the finest ceramics from all over the world and you will find planters in every shape and size imaginable. The absolute beauty of vintage planters is their individuality and personality.
We genuinely can’t imagine buying a plain mass produced plant pot now!
We all know that post lockdown indoor plants are a big trend and they’re here to stay (yay!). Matching it to the right pot, cachepot or jardiniere can show off your plant baby to its full potential and by choosing vintage the selection and choice of different styles is limitless.
CHINOISERIE CHIC PLANTERS
Simply put, chinoiserie is western aesthetic inspired by eastern design.
The chinoiserie plant pots that we stock are most likely to be beautifully hand painted with fantastical oriental scenes or stylised flowers and birds. Chinoiserie has had a huge upsurge in popularity over recent years, you only need look at current wallpapers and fabric trends to see that chinoiserie with its bold colours and patterns that often encapsulate the enduring beauty of nature feature heavily in today's interior design.
We love chinoiserie - the rich romantic style of a chinoiserie jardiniere can add a touch of luxury to any room without the commitment of a full feature wall of chinoiserie wallpaper.
When you think of Chinese ceramics you might instantly think of the beautiful oriental “fish bowl” planters.These large beautiful Chinese or Japanese porcelain jardinieres were traditionally used to display lucky goldfish or Koi but now make the perfect home for a large house plant.
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Many Chinoiserie planters and vases come in striking blue and white designs. Blue and white patterned pieces can be a great way of adding a little more pattern without being overwhelming and they're guaranteed to look fantastic with greenery.
Chinoiserie porcelain is in keeping with the current trend towards "maximalism" in interior design - a vase or a well placed fine porcelain jardiniere with a pattern you adore can add a touch of exotic or luxury without feeling over the top. Oriental patterns tend to have a natural and timeless elegance which is why they’re still so popular.
PLANT POTS FOR MAXIMALIST INTERIORS
For a long time interior design trends were dominated by minimalism, but recently being "maximalist" with your interior design style has taken hold.
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Since the pandemic this feels even more true - it appears that spending more time in our homes has meant we have wanted to surround ourselves with the things we love and perhaps we’ve felt more freedom to express ourselves - perhaps with less people visiting our homes we were liberated to experiment and with more time we paid attention to decoration that we truly love.
Or perhaps we’ve wanted to use our interiors to invoke memories of happier times with knick-knacks, ceramics, sculptures, vases, artwork, colours and fabrics that feel more luxurious and exotic.
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Maximalism is all about surrounding yourself with the things that you love. It can be anything you want to bring together to express yourself!
Photo by @s.e.w.athome
Plants and plant pots can be a fabulous way to bring maximalism elements into a room or space. Placing plants at different levels with hanging planters or using climbing plants can really add drama and visual interest.
Unique, unusual, quirky and colourful planters can really come into their own when styled with plants of different heights and shades of green.
Incorporating plant furniture such as a torchere or porcelain plant stand can bring a striking maximalist feel to a room - helping to create a show stopping interior which is full of personality!
PLANT POTS FOR MID CENTURY MODERN DECORS
In stark contrast design-wise to maximalism, mid-century modern is a design trend that remains popular thanks to shows such as ‘Mad Men’ which celebrates the 1960s as an iconic era. As you might have guessed, mid-century modern is the name for design and furniture ranging from the 1940s to the late 1960s.
In the post-war era people moved away from inherited collections and dark heavy furniture and ushered in modern, bright futuristic designs and materials. Design at this time embraced clean lines with organic curves and shapes. Functionality was key and spaces were uncluttered without being minimal. A range of materials were popular and the emphasis was on the new so plastic, fibreglass, metal, wood and plywood were all prevalent as well as more modern materials such as lucite, plexiglass and vinyl.
The trend was towards open plan living spaces with the occasional use of room dividers. Floor to ceiling glass windows and doors were desirable and wall colours were often muted and downplayed to contrast the bold design and shapes and colours of the furniture and ceramics.
The colours orange, olive green and mustard yellow were popular accents and you can see these colours reflected in the upholstery during this period as well as in the glass and the pottery.
When you think about mid-century interiors it would be hard to ignore the impact of house plants. In the 1950s there was a trend for the exotic - the longing for travel and a sense of escape inspired the popularity of exotic plants such as bromeliads, birds of paradise, philodendrons - these complimented the era’s trend for ‘boho’ or ‘tiki’ which made bamboo furniture and plant stands popular - think of it as the era where everyone was wearing hawaiian shirts and had a tiny wooden umbrella in their cocktails!
The growing consumer culture of the 1960s meant that there was a wider variety of houseplant available so snake plants, begonias, rubber plants, golden pothos and african violets all bloomed in peoples’ living rooms during this time; but nothing screams mid-century more than the classic ‘swiss cheese’ plant (monstera deliciosa) with many welcoming these big, sculptural, statement plants into their homes. The rich green and dark glossy foliage helped bring a fresh modern and energetic feel to a room.
As well as plants, many also embraced formica plant stands - these ‘atomic’ plant stands are incredibly desirable today as people recreate the mid-century aesthetic. Some Scandinavian furniture from this time even had in-built plant shelves which goes to show just how important plants were during this period. We wish people made furniture with plants in mind now!
MID CENTURY CERAMICS
Pottery and ceramics from this time are distinctive - often they have thick glazes and bold colours. A lot of the ceramics and pottery from this time originated from West Germany as well as Italy and Portugal.
In particular, there is a growing craze for ‘fat lava’ pots - these are pots that were often made in West Germany during the fifties, sixties and seventies. The term ‘fat lava’ is used to describe quite a wide range of styles but drip glazed pots of this period are often most commonly referred to as ‘fat lava’.
These pots have often been made using several glazes with at least one being especially thick and dripped down over the other glazes to create a lava-like effect. These were often in bold colours such as fiery reds and oranges adding to the lava effect.
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Mid-century ceramics in general were experimental with shapes, colours and glazes and were made to stand out in homes that were sleek and minimal. They could also be quirky, an interior might have a few unusual ‘stand out’ objects - often planters or vases displayed to complement a muted colour palette. The great thing about bringing in colour with unusual ceramics is that you can change the look of the room easily with relatively little expense.
DARK DECORS & METALLIC PLANTERS
Just as some interior designers have been shunning "minimalism" for "maximalism", we've also seen a move away from "white-on-white" colour schemes to darker and more intense palettes. Inky blacks, blues, greys and dark green paints are increasingly being used to make rooms cosier or more dramatic. Dark interiors are a great background for art, sculpture and plants and they look great with metallic accents like brass and copper plant pots and vases.
Photo by @home.plants.and.three.cats
We love the variety of metal planters - they come in all sizes, they are a range of ages and there are many different finishes - the beauty of metal is that it can be polished or brushed or left with a vintage patina.
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Copper and copper-tones have been the go-to metal colour for a long time and there is a reason it is so popular. Polished copper looks elegant and sophisticated and can really elevate a space and give it a luxurious feel. Brass has often felt like Copper’s younger less desirable brother but this isn’t the case any longer, brass has had a huge surge in popularity recently - the gold tones really pop against a dark wall and brass looks fantastic against green shades so brass plant pots come into their own filled with luscious green foliage.
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We often find our copper and brass pots are antique which means they have beautiful design features such as claw feet or intricate engravings. Many of our antique metal planters come from the far east and we are often humbled by the craftsmanship involved in the decoration.
These stunning metal islamic brass or indian metal planters often made in the 1900s really complement period homes or if you’re looking for something to go with a dark gothic or dramatic vibe.
Metal is a great choice as it is incredibly versatile and will fit into almost any home, we often recommend bigger plants and trees are housed in metal pots for their practicality and versatility.
QUIRKY KITSCH VASES AND FLOWER POTS
Kitsch is a thing - it’s a trend and love it or hate it, it is here to stay. There’s some discussion about where the word kitsch came from but it is generally agreed it emerged in Germany, possibly in the Munich markets and described things that were popular and cheap - most likely pictures and sketches. The word itself could have derived from the German word ‘verkitschen’ meaning to cheapen.
Kitsch conjures images of gauche gaudy animals and mass market loud colourful prints and it was seen as being cheap and low brow - it was used to describe things that were unsophisticated and for those without style or taste; however now more than ever the previously ‘uncool’ has become cool.
What might once have been described as kitsch has become more mainstream and there’s been a much bigger appreciation for bringing more fun into interior design.
It has been recognised that decor does not always have to be tasteful and serious - in our homes, as in our lives, a sense of humour is required! In recent years we’ve seen flamingo lamps, animal prints and pineapple ceramics become the norm and this trend seems to be on the rise.
Photo by @thehexagonalhouse
Vintage plant pots and vases can be a great way to add a quirky kitsch element to your home. There are great examples of kitsch design from across the last century and beyond - the Victorian period, the 1950s and the 1970s were all times when kitsch made an appearance in design.
Choose from mid-century cat planters to Victorian majolica corn on the cob shaped vases - there is something to tickle even the most serious of people.
Here at Queens of Green we have a real soft spot for vintage kitsch.We are both huge fans of adding a little whimsy to our homes - it can be a joy to unexpectedly delight visitors with a quirky vase or animal planter - something we all need from time to time!
