How to choose the right vase for faux flowers
Choosing the right vase for your faux flowers can make such a difference to the finished look. It’s often the part people feel unsure about, but it’s also the detail that helps an arrangement feel balanced, natural and beautifully styled. A bouquet can be full of beautiful stems, but if the vase is the wrong height, shape or opening, it may not sit quite as you imagined. The good news is, there are a few simple styling rules that make choosing the right vase much easier.
1. Start with vase height
A helpful guide when styling faux flowers is to think about how far the flowers sit above the vase. As a general rule, your flowers should sit around one and a half times the height of the vase. So, if your vase is 20cm tall, you would usually want your flowers to sit around 30cm above the vase, giving you a finished arrangement height of around 50cm.
This doesn’t need to be exact, but it’s a useful starting point when choosing the right vase and bouquet pairing. If the flowers sit too low, they can look as though they are disappearing into the vase. If they sit too high, the arrangement can feel top heavy or out of proportion. Getting the height right is one of the easiest ways to make faux flowers look more natural, balanced and beautifully styled in your home.
2. Look at the vase opening
The width of the vase opening is just as important as the height. If the opening is too wide, your flowers can fall too far apart and the arrangement may look sparse. If the opening is too narrow, the stems can look too tight and upright, without enough movement.
A narrower opening will hold stems closer together, which is ideal for smaller arrangements, greenery or a few more structured stems. A wider opening works beautifully for fuller bouquets, but it usually needs more volume so the arrangement feels full from every angle.
If your bouquet looks a little lost, it may not be that the bouquet is too small. It could simply be that the vase opening is too wide.
3. Match the vase shape to the style of arrangement
Different vase shapes suit different types of faux flower arrangements.
A narrow neck vase is ideal for holding stems upright and close together. These work beautifully with smaller bouquets, simple greenery arrangements or a few statement stems. You don’t always need lots of stems to create impact, especially if the stems have height, shape or larger flower heads.
A wide mouth vase is better suited to fuller bouquets and larger arrangements, as it allows the stems to fall more naturally outwards. These vases are lovely for softer, more gathered arrangements, but they do need enough stems to avoid looking empty.
Bud vases and bottle vases are perfect for one or two stems. A single faux hydrangea, peony, rose or eucalyptus stem can create a simple styling moment on a bedside table, shelf, tray or coffee table.
The number of stems you need really depends on the finished look you want to create. A few structured stems can look beautiful and intentional in the right vase, while a full statement bouquet will usually need more layers, including greenery, filler stems and focal flowers.
4. Think about colour and material
The colour and material of your vase can also change the overall feel of your faux flower arrangement.
Ceramic and stoneware vases are lovely if you want a softer, more relaxed look. They work especially well with neutral interiors and faux flowers because they hide the stems and allow the shape of the bouquet to be the focus.
Glass vases feel lighter and more delicate, but they do show the stems, so the arrangement usually needs to look a little neater inside the vase.
Textured, ribbed or rustic vases can add interest, especially when the flowers themselves are quite simple. A textured vase can make a small arrangement feel more styled, even with fewer stems.
When it comes to colour, neutral vases are often the easiest to style. Soft stone, cream, white, taupe and natural tones allow the flowers to sit beautifully in lots of different rooms. You can keep the look calm and tonal by pairing soft flowers with a similar coloured vase, or create more contrast with white flowers in a darker or more rustic vase. There isn’t one right answer. It’s more about choosing a pairing that feels in keeping with the rest of your room.
5. Choose the right vase for the room
It can also help to think about where the arrangement will be placed.
For a hallway or console table, a taller vase with a fuller bouquet can create a beautiful first impression. This is usually a lovely place to add height, especially if the arrangement is sitting against a wall, mirror or piece of artwork.
On a coffee table, a lower vase or bowl-style arrangement often works better, so it doesn’t interrupt the view across the room. For shelves, bedside tables and smaller surfaces, bud vases or compact arrangements are usually easier to style.
The aim is always to choose a vase and bouquet that feel in proportion to the furniture around them.
Still unsure which vase to choose?
At Nuco Home, many of our faux flower bouquets include suggested vase pairings to help you picture how they will look before they arrive. Our bouquet and vase bundles are designed to take away the guesswork, with the height, shape and styling already paired for you.
And if you ever need a little help choosing the right vase for your faux flowers, please get in touch, we’re always happy to help. You can send us a photo of your space, and we’ll gladly suggest a pairing that feels right for your home.
Steph x
