How to Style a Collected Vintage Glass Collection

A matched set will always look like it came from a store. A collected one looks like it came from a life. On a console in our own dining room, six small vintage glass pieces — a Murano confetti bowl, a faceted crystal dish, a deep cobalt heart-shaped bowl, a green Murano piece, none of them found together, none of them matching — sit beside a stack of dried flowers, a textured stone bowl, and a portrait painting that's hung there for years. That mix is what makes a space feel considered rather than decorated.

A few principles for building your own collection:

Mix color and clarity. Pair clear crystal with colored glass — a deep cobalt or amber piece next to something pale and translucent creates contrast without clashing.

Vary the era, not the aesthetic. A 1950s piece and something contemporary can sit beautifully side by side if the overall feeling — warm, considered, a little imperfect — stays consistent.

Give every piece room to breathe. Resist the urge to line them up. Cluster two or three together, then let one stand alone nearby.

Let other textures join in. Glass looks best when it isn't styled in isolation — a stack of fresh or dried flowers, a stone or ceramic bowl, even a piece of art leaning nearby all give the eye somewhere else to land.

A few pieces to start with:

A vintage Seguso Murano Bullicante bowl is a beautiful place to begin — the trapped-bubble technique alone makes it a quiet conversation piece. Pair it with something smaller in the same family of craft, like the Murano Bullicante ashtray, or go bolder with a mid-century Murano Sommerso ashtray in yellow and blue for a pop of color against more neutral pieces. A signed art glass bowl in teal and cobalt rounds things out beautifully, its painterly color doing exactly what a collected grouping should do — surprise you a little.

If you're drawn to this kind of considered, collected styling but aren't sure where to begin in your own home, that's exactly what a CASA CDM styling consultation is for.

— Jasmina, CASA CDM