Learning the most attractive ways for positioning a vase of flowers is usually just a matter of patience and trial and error. What pleases you may not look attractive to someone else, but there are a few helpful tips that relate to color and scale that you can try when adding vases of flowers to your rooms. These include keeping the scale of the filled vase with that of the furniture or mantel you place it on and deciding whether a symmetrical or askance placement approach is best.
A symmetrical or evenly balanced positioning of a flower-filled vase usually works best when it's flanked by two matching pieces. For example, positioning a vase of flowers in the center of a fireplace mantel between two matching or coordinating statuettes can be a tastefully classic approach. The opposite effect, by purposely placing the vase off-center or at one end of the mantle allows for another item to be used to balance the effect.
When balancing the look of a vase of flowers at one end of a mantle or table, it may take some experimentation to find the best accompanying accent piece. Something the same height as the flower-filled vase may look right, but its width may need to be substantially narrower. Another option for positioning a vase of flowers in this way is to choose a shorter but wider object for the other end of the table or mantle.
Of course, the color of the vase and its flowers are going to make a difference in how you position this piece in your room. A no-fail tip is to pick one of the flower colors for the accent pieces. For example, positioning a silver vase of pink, lilac and yellow flowers on a table next to a pinkish ceramic bowl could make an attractive presentation. Another approach to positioning a vase of flowers is the monochromatic one, which involves keeping everything to shades of one basic color. In this look, the flowers, vase and surrounding accents could all be done in shades of white that may include creams and soft yellows.
The scale and size of the flower arrangement itself is important when positioning the vase. For instance, many flowers in a large vase can look properly proportioned in itself, yet not well-balanced at all when positioned on top of a small occasional table. When positioning a vase of flowers of any size on a table, it's usually best to avoid an exact center approach. It's often much more interesting to place a flower-filled vase at least a little off-center or at one end of a rectangular, oval or round coffee or other table. The vase may even be placed on a stack of books or on a tray to create an interesting tablescape.