Circle Vase – How to Style a Nordic Donut Vase

Donut vases, also called circle vases, are a really popular home decor item.

With a hole in the centre, they add some playfulness and fun to your home decor and give variety in shapes to style your shelf with.

I have been following the trend but always questioned if the popular ceramic vase really is practical at all to style. That’s why I bought one myself and played with the options.

So here are my proven styling tips for a donut vase!

Donut Vase Styling Tips

These ideas will help you decorate your donut vase with ease!

How to Style a Circle Vase

When arranging flowers in your doughnut vase, no matter which type of flowers you go for, you want to pay special attention to the hole.

The space that it takes and the fact that all the stems have to fit around the hole make a donut vase trickier to decorate than any other vase.

Luckily, doughnut vases typically are made from ceramic so just do the best you can – no one sees the mess in there ;P

When you arrange stems, there is naturally an X-shape forming, from the stems fitting around the centre hole. You want to pay special attention to how the stems fall to either avoid or embrace the look.

Arrange Flowers With Narrow Stems Around the Hole in the Ring Vase

Narrow, soft stems are the best to style in a donut vase. They fit around the centre hole and are bending into the right shape.

For example wildflowers, daisies, or lavender.

Alternatively, select flowers that are bushy on top, going off from one stem. Like the Wax flower that I used.

The advantage of narrow stems: You can shape the flower bouquet on top and make it look cohesive.

Tip: If needed, use a hairband or thread and tie the arrangement together for a beautiful arrangement. That’s the best way to get rid of that typical X-shape with the gap in the centre.

Showcase Single Flowers in Your Donut Vase

If the flowers have thicker stems, go for a minimal look and style one or two individual flowers.

I realized that crooked stems sometimes work better than perfectly straight ones. Just try how the flowers best hold in the doughnut-shaped vase.

When styling thicker flowers, you might need to cut the stem and balance the flower. It might take a bit of time to find a position that works.

Not all flowers can be arranged the way you would like to place them though! Sometimes, the flower heads just fall to the side (the power of gravity is ruthless) so either buy a few extra or just go with the flower’s nature…

Decorate With Dried Flowers and Pampas Grass in Your Circle Vase

Going with a dried flower bouquet is a great choice for your ring vase!

Dried flowers don’t need water so you save yourself the tedious work of arranging all flowers in a way that they look good and still reach the water inside the vase.

With a handmade, tied dried flower bouquet, you can shorten the stems and have them rest on top of the centre hole.

What also works well is single stems of dried grass.

Pampas grass would be the classic – I feel it’s been on trend just at the same time as circle vases. But you can also find beautiful types of grass in a meadow, near water, or in a flower shop.

In my example, I went for a smaller type of grass, to add variety to an arrangement of dried lavender. I loved a minimal look as much as a full bouquet.

You can really play with the arrangement and fully make it your own!

Decorate Your Donut Vase With Branches

Fresh or dried – single branches make an amazing look inside a donut vase!

Especially in spring and autumn.

If you can, get a small branch in a nearby forest, from your own garden, or alternatively in a flower shop. In this example, I went with a bunch of pussy willow branches, for a spring decoration.

Style Your Ring Vase Without Flowers

Lastly, what about not even arranging flowers but styling it by itself?

Seriously, the round shape is so unique and plays so well with other vases and sculptural decor pieces that your doughnut vase will perfectly balance out an arrangement, adding an unusual shape to the mix.

Style an Empty Donut Vase With Objects at Different Heights

Your ring vase will look amazing when you use it as a decor item and simply style it with other objects.

Level up your shelf, coffee table, or dining table in no time with this unique piece.

Tip: Make sure that you’re combining the vase with a few objects in different heights and shapes – for example, a large, narrow object and a few smaller ones.

Style It With Books, on Your Coffee Table or Dining Table

A popular way to style a donut vase is with a stack of books. I like this combination because the circular shape breaks the book’s clean lines and adds variety to the arrangement.

Pull out your favourite coffee table books or recipe books, stack them, and then add the ring vase on top or next to the stack.

This post gave you a review of different ideas on how to style a circle vase (also called ring vase or donut vase) with pampas grass, flowers, or simply by itself.

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