· Updated on
Which vase size should you choose for the living room? How to determine the right dimensions
Which vase size suits your living room? Discover the rules of thumb for floor vases, table vases and sets, and how a handmade mosaic vase from Masr Potten & Vazen makes every detail a little more special.
A large floor vase looks best around sixty to a hundred and twenty centimetres tall, while a vase for a table or sideboard usually stays between twenty and fifty centimetres. Choose the size based on where the vase will stand, not in isolation.
Which vase size suits the living room?
At Masr Potten & Vazen we often get asked which vase size works best in a living room. The answer mainly depends on where the vase will stand. A vase on the floor, next to the sofa or in an empty corner, can be considerably bigger than a vase that sits on a table, sideboard or windowsill. For a floor vase, aim for a height between sixty and a hundred and twenty centimetres. For a table or sideboard, a size between twenty and fifty centimetres usually works best, so the vase does not tower over everything else on the piece of furniture.
How much space does a large floor vase need?
A freestanding floor vase looks best when its height is roughly a third to half of the height of the piece of furniture or wall next to it. If the vase stands next to an eighty centimetre sofa, a vase of fifty to eighty centimetres fits the picture well. In an empty corner or next to a French door, the vase can go towards a hundred centimetres or more, especially if there is little other decoration nearby. Give the vase literal room too: allow at least twenty centimetres of free floor space around it, so it does not feel like an obstacle.
Small vase or a set of vases: when does that work better?
Not every spot calls for one large vase. On a sideboard, coffee table or shelf, a set of two or three smaller vases often feels livelier than a single piece. Vary the height, with jumps of around ten centimetres between the vases, while keeping the shape or colour scheme related so the set reads as one whole. A vase of twenty to thirty centimetres is usually the smallest size that still holds enough presence to work as an accent, without disappearing among other items.
Where in the living room does a vase look best?
A vase deserves a fixed spot where it does not get in the way, yet still stands out. A few spots that work well in practice:
- Next to the sofa, on the floor, as a quiet accent beside a reading lamp or plant.
- In an empty corner of the room, where otherwise little else stands.
- On a sideboard or side table, combined with a small set of smaller vases.
- In the middle of a dining table, in a compact size so the view of your table guests stays clear.
- In a wide windowsill, where backlight makes the mosaic colours glow even more.
Pick the spot first, then match the vase size to that spot: that works better than the other way around.
Why is a mosaic vase from Masr Potten & Vazen different?
Every vase in our collection is laid by hand, piece by piece, with small hand-cut pieces of glass we call tesserae. The collection is inspired by the centuries-old Egyptian mosaic tradition: Masr is the Arabic word for Egypt and refers to that source of inspiration, not to a factory or location. Because no mould is involved, every vase differs slightly from the photo in the collection: that is not a flaw but the signature of handwork. That craftsmanship stands out even more on a large floor vase, since the layered glass shows more depth and shine at eye level than a printed or cast piece.
How much does a mosaic vase cost and how fast is it delivered?
The handmade vases in the collection start from one hundred and thirty five euros, with larger sizes available on request. We deliver in the Netherlands and Belgium right to the spot where the vase will stand, so you do not have to carry it in yourself. Want a vase made in your own colour, size or shape? Request a no-obligation quote: you will receive a proposal within two working days, and a custom piece typically takes six to ten weeks from approval to delivery, with photos along the way.
Still torn between two sizes? Choose the larger vase the space allows, it almost always looks fuller and calmer in a living room than a vase that is just a touch too small. Browse the collection of handmade vases from Masr Potten & Vazen and discover which size suits your spot in the house best.
What size table vase works best on a table or sideboard?
A table vase behaves differently from a floor vase: it does not need to catch the eye from across the room, but it does need to stay in proportion to the piece of furniture underneath it. On an average dining table or sideboard, a compact to medium vase tends to look calmest: large enough to act as an accent, small enough to stay out of the way when the table is set. Going for a small set, pick vases of different heights so they form a silhouette together instead of a row of identical pots. Because every mosaic vase from Masr Potten & Vazen is laid by hand, the exact size varies slightly piece to piece, even within the same design, a mark of craftsmanship rather than a flaw. Still unsure between two sizes for a table, it helps to also look at shape, the same way a vase for dried flowers works differently with a narrow neck than with a wide, open form. If nothing in the standing collection fits your table or sideboard exactly, a table vase can also be custom made, with an average lead time of six to ten weeks from approval to delivery.
Can a table vase also be left empty as decoration?
Yes, a table vase doesn't need to be filled to look good. An empty mosaic vase works just as well as a sculptural object on a sideboard or dining table, especially in a small group of two or three vases with differences in height and colour. That's exactly why many customers deliberately choose a table vase without flowers: the mosaic itself then gets all the attention, without needing fresh water or wilting flowers to worry about. Prefer to switch it up? You can simply fill the same vase whenever the occasion calls for it, an empty vase doesn't rule out a filled one at another time. Curious how to put together such a group of standalone vases, in terms of number, height and colour combination? The article on styling vases as decoration walks through the concrete rules of thumb for that.
