Columns, Urns, and Capitals

I use urns, columns, and capitals everywhere inside and out of my home and garden. I put anything from shells, to succulents, to Christmas Trees in urns. I developed an admiration for them on my travels to Italy. My dad was stationed there while in the Navy. I was already out of the house by the time my parents moved there, but I was lucky enough to spend two extended vacations with them. I fell in love with the architecture, the gardens, the food, the art, and the country side. My design tastes are still influenced by those vacation experiences 20 years ago.

I use urns to display my sea shells and elevate them on columns. Even though I don't live at the beach. I'm a beach girl at heart and go about 2-3 times a week to play volleyball. I love my shells and incorporate them in all of my decor.

I plant succulents in urns, another love of mine.

I use urns as Christmas Tree stands. I made these about ten years ago, so I don't have any pictures of the process, but it's very easy. I have helped several friends make them. You can buy them already made these days, but ten years ago I had to make my own.

You can use any container for this project. It doesn't have to be an urn. I started with a light weight urn. Cut a piece of PVC pipe just long enough to fit below the interior edge of the urn rim. Fill the urn with about 1/3 full with fast drying cement like Quikrete. Add water to the cement and mix it in the urn. It will dry in about 24 hours. Make sure your pipe is straight or you'll end up with a crooked tree. You might need to anchor it in place with some tape until the cement is set. Don't fill the cement all the way to the top or your urn or it will be to heavy to move.

This urn doubles as an umbrella stand in the summer. I plant seasonal flowers around the center pipe to hide the cement.

Roscoe gives it the sniff of approval.

Here is my Thanksgiving Tree in one of my urn tree stands.

This urn is used as a side table when not being used for a tree stand. I fill it with sea shells and add a piece of glass to the top.

I use columns to add height to my garden. This column is light weight and can be easily moved. I bought 4 of them on clearance several years ago at Target. I miss Target's garden center, they had the best end of season sales.

I use them inside too. Your garden should reflect your interior. I frequently change objects from the outside to inside and inside to outside. This column is supporting a giant clam shell with succulents.



I move them around and use them for Halloween and other holidays.

I plant dwarf citrus trees in urns.


I put seasonal flowers in urns and elevate them on columns. These are flowering fruit branches I had out in the Spring. I purchased the urn at Marshals and the column from Big Lots.

More succulents

I make flower arrangements in urns. This is an arrangement I made for my Mom's birthday dinner this past August.

On a side note about the arrangement, the pears, sun flowers, and blue daisy's were bought at Costco. The succulents, hydrangeas, and trailing vinca came form my yard. After using the succulent cuttings for this arrangement I just stuck them in the ground and they re-rooted to make a new plant. We ate the pears.



I make lamps out of urns. This is an urn I purchased at Ross. I painted it white and bought a light kit and a lamp shade. I filled the top of the urn with shells and it sits on my master bedroom dresser.


I use them for my holiday decor. This is the sea shell urn with Christmas mixed in. Check out my Halloween blog and my Terrarium blog for more urn displays.


More pumpkins

This is a painting I did in a niche over my fireplace.

My subject...an urn.

Capitals are great for adding height to any object. I put them under candlesticks, terrariums, any object I want to elevate. Here is one under a lamp that used to be my Grandmothers.

Under a finial.

Adds height under an arrangement.


You will see many different uses for these in my previous blogs.

Thanks for checking it out.