I don’t have many collections, and I’ve never really felt compelled to start one, with one exception. Every time I came across a collection of blue and white pottery I stopped and stared for a little while. It’s a classic, timeless look and that cobalt blue drew me in every time. A couple years ago I bought a small potted plant at Whole Foods that was in a little blue and white pot, and I also acquired a teeny blue and white pot at some point as well. And there my “collection” stood for years. In the meantime the bay windowsill in my dining room sat mostly empty for the past couple of years while I figured out what I wanted to put there. And then I was looking through my friend Mallory’s spring home tour and her blue and white pottery collection hit me like a ton of bricks. That was exactly what I wanted to do in the bay window.
I had those two little blue and white pots already and bought four other jars to give a respectable start to my blue and white pottery collection. I did not want to break the bank on this collection though, and so spent some time combing different sites to find the best prices on styles I liked. I also found a couple at my local Home Goods. You can shop the online pieces here:
There were so many great ones at One Kings Lane, I stopped linking them all, but if you click HERE you can see all of my search results. There are so many beautiful choices and some really awesome prices.
So now my only dilemma is this. I sometimes have to fight the urge to arrange everything with near-perfect symmetry. It’s just how I’m wired, but I’ve come to appreciate asymmetry as well. My first instinct was to arrange the blue and white jars in a symmetrical configuration with the lamps and plants I already had on the windowsill.
But then as I was photographing the window, I started thinking maybe it would look better with all of the blue and white jars clustered in the center together.
And now I have stared at both of these arrangements for so long trying to decide which is the better look I am starting to go crosseyed and can’t make heads or tails of it anymore. So I would love to know…does one jump out at you? Tell me in the comments below, or I may actually drive myself crazy arranging and rearranging my pretty little pots.
Either way, it makes me happy seeing this bright little cluster when I walk past the dining room, and I’m glad to have started a blue and white pottery collection after thinking about it for so many years.
If you’re looking for a unique Mother’s Day gift idea, starting a small collection for your mom with three jars in different sizes and patterns would be a great gift, and you could spend well under $100 on it.
I know I will be keeping an eye out for new pieces to add to my collection, perhaps a few vintage ones to round out the new.
Do you have things you love to collect? How do you display them? And don’t forget to tell me which layout you prefer. I need a fresh perspective!
So pretty, you can’t go wrong with blue and white. :)
Blue was always my favorite color as a kid and teenager and then I kind of moved away from it for awhile but it sure is coming back in full force for me. I’m loving every shade of it lately!
Loving the arrangement with the pots between the lamps.
Thanks for chiming in…I have still moved those little pots around a couple times in the last 24 hours!
Love them all! I think I would chose A
Thanks :) Funny how looking through a camera lens can sometimes make you start to question the way something looks!
I prefer A! I have a similar bay window in my dining room and love your idea to dress it up. Right now, it’s filled with toys. If you have suggestions for how to keep your kids from knocking over the lovely blue & white jars, I’d love to hear them! :)
Ha! Well it is sort of high up and there is a buffet in front of the window so it’s tricky to get to. My girls are 5 and 7 now so pretty good about respecting what is okay to play with and what isn’t!
I’m a symmetry lover, as well, but I actually think I prefer B. I just love how the whole collection looks together!
I *think* I might be leaning toward that one as well. I have walked into the dining room an insane number of times the past couple of days looking at this area!
I like B the best–very pretty! I have a bay window also and have always struggled a bit with what I should decorate it with. I really like this idea!
They are hard! It’s so easy to make them look cluttered. I’m really loving this collection on it though. Very classic look but eye-grabbing too because of the bold colors.
I have my own little collection too in my front room! I’m obsessed and I think we have a couple of twinning vases. :) A- all the way! I love the asymmetry– the general heights are the same so at quick glance it looks balanced but the different jars on each side makes me look at each one a little longer.
I bet you I move these stinking jars at least twenty more times over the next month ;) I suppose these are good “problems” to have! Love that we are twins :)
I much prefer the collection gathered all together ~ it feels much more impactful to me.
I just love the blue and white designs, but my collection is of spheres ranging from three to ten inches in diameter which began when my daughter gave the first three to me for Mother’s Day one year.
Your collection is beautiful!
What a beautiful start to a collection, coming from your daughter. I have a thing for spheres too :) Thanks for the input too – as of today they are still grouped all together!
I like them clustered in the middle. Maybe try pushing the lamps out a little so they look apart from the collection and more their own piece. I am loving how all the colors in your dining room have come together :)
I’m going to try that with the lamps today! I had been thinking the same thing and forgot to actually go try it out. Thanks for the reminder!