Amphora 13-inch large terracotta vase with four loop handles and a mottled brown and white finish

How to Style Terracotta Amphora Vases

Some shapes never go out of style because they were never about fashion in the first place. The amphora is one of them. For roughly two thousand years it was the shipping container of the Mediterranean. It was a clay vessel with two handles that carried wine, olive oil, olives, grain and honey from port to port. The name comes from the Greek amphiphoreus, "carried on both sides", a reference to those two handles. Most held somewhere around 20 to 25 litres, about as much as one or two people could lift (World History Encyclopedia).

Our new Amphora range keeps the silhouette and the earthy terracotta colour, then finishes each piece with a dripping whitewash that makes it look as though it has spent a few summers in a courtyard. Here's how to use them. It's less about rules than about a few things that reliably work.

Meet the four shapes

Amphora 10-inch round terracotta vase with two sculpted handles, brown fading to whitewash
Amphora 10" Round: the smallest, with a round belly and narrow neck.
  • 10" Round: a round belly, a narrow neck and two sculpted handles. The one for a shelf, a side table, or the end of a kitchen counter.
  • 11" Two Handle: the classic amphora outline. A little taller and more upright, so it suits a console or a bookshelf with a few dried stems.
  • 13" Four Handle: the statement piece. It has a wide body, a flared neck and four loop handles, and it's big enough to stand on the floor beside a chair.
  • 15" Jug: the tallest, a pitcher shape with one handle and a wide lip. It's made for long, loose grasses.
Amphora 13-inch large terracotta vase with four loop handles and a mottled brown and white finish
Amphora 13" Four Handle: big enough to anchor a sideboard or a corner.

Where they look best

On a console or entry table. One large vase standing alone is often enough. As the team at The Sustainable Living Co. puts it, "a clay vase doesn't always need flowers or greenery to make an impact" (The Sustainable Living Co.). The 13" Four Handle carries a hallway on its own.

On a mantel. Put two or three shapes at different heights, slightly off-centre, rather than a matching pair at each end. The 15" Jug at one end with the 10" Round a little in front of it gives you a stepped line that looks collected rather than bought as a set.

On open shelving. Terracotta looks warmer next to things that aren't terracotta. Mix in glass, stone, a woven basket or a stack of books with the spines turned to neutrals.

Down the centre of a table. For a long, relaxed dinner, cluster two or three vases of different shapes and heights down the middle of the table (The Sustainable Living Co.). Keep the stems low enough that guests can see each other. A casual table setting is the right partner for this look.

On the floor. The two larger shapes are big enough to sit beside a sofa, an armchair or a fireplace. Fill them with pampas or tall branches and they do the job of a floor plant with none of the watering.

What to put in them

Amphora 15-inch tall terracotta jug vase with a single loop handle and a textured brown, beige and white finish
Amphora 15" Jug: the tallest of the four, made for long grasses.

These are terracotta vases with a chalky whitewash finish, and they are happiest with dried stems. Some combinations that suit the earthy colouring:

  • Pampas grass in the 15" Jug or the 13" Four Handle. Let it lean and fan out. Pampas looks best a little untidy (Thursd).
  • Olive branches, real or faux, in the 11" Two Handle. It's the most literal Mediterranean pairing, and it works because it's true to where the shape came from.
  • Dried eucalyptus, bunny tails, wheat or reed grasses in the 10" Round. Keep it short and tight for a shelf.
  • Autumn branches: dried oak leaves, wheat and a few seed heads. With Thanksgiving on October 12 this year, a vase of wheat and branches on the sideboard is an easy seasonal change that lasts well past the holiday.
  • Nothing at all. The 13" in particular is sculptural enough to stand empty.

How tall should the stems be? The standard florist's rule is that an arrangement should be at least one and a half times the height of the container (Floral Art School of Australia). Dried grasses can go taller than that. On the 15" Jug, stems of 60 to 90 cm are not too much.

Can you use fresh flowers?

Yes, with a liner. Terracotta is porous, and water on the outside will lift the whitewash. Put a glass jar or plastic liner inside, fill that, and the vase stays dry. A tall drinking glass fits inside the 10" and 11". A jam jar is fine for short stems.

How to group them

Amphora 11-inch terracotta vase with two side handles and a brown-to-white whitewash finish
Amphora 11" Two Handle: the classic outline.
  • Odd numbers. Three vases look more natural than two or four.
  • Vary the heights and the shapes. One tall, one wide and one small is a reliable formula. With four shapes in the range, there is always a combination that works.
  • Let them overlap. Set the smaller vase slightly in front of the larger, not in a line.
  • Repeat the colour elsewhere in the room. A cushion, a throw or a wooden bowl in the same warm tone makes the vases look as though they belong there (The Sustainable Living Co.).
  • Add texture, not more colour. Linen, raw wood, rattan and stone all sit well next to terracotta. Glossy, bright colours tend to fight it.

Looking after them

  • Dust with a soft, dry cloth. Keep water and damp cloths off the outside, because that is what marks the whitewash.
  • Keep dried stems out of direct sun, which fades them, and away from steam and radiators. A hairdryer on its coolest, lowest setting, held about 30 cm away, blows dust off dried flowers without damaging them (Atlas Flowers).
  • Natural grasses and seed heads can last one to three years. Air-dried flowers last closer to six to twelve months (Atlas Flowers).

The whole Amphora range is in New Arrivals, alongside the rest of our Home Decor. You can see them in person at our Toronto store, or order online with free shipping on orders over $50.

References

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