Guide to Placing Urns in a Home

1. Introduction to Urns in Home Decor

Urns are a practical and attractive item to house the ashes of lost loved ones, but these are not the only use for the urn. It is quite common for people to place an urn filled with ashes upon a mantle or near a fireplace. More modernly, interior designers and decorators also see the advantages of incorporating an urn into the home. By doing so, it allows for the piece to pay tribute to someone important and hold personal value. In terms of combining modern decor with honoring loved ones, you could decorate with urns for people who enjoyed life and would not want others grieving over them. The antique urns of various types throughout history are special because the cremated remains are in the same types of containers as those used for wine, olives, and other foodstuffs, showing that nothing ever really changes no matter how modern we think we are.

The urn you use should have some kind of personal connection to the deceased, or else it is a standalone item of beauty that has no meaning and can be called a vase. As you place urns in your home, think about loved ones who once, perhaps, held or touched them. Clothing may be donated, but small items from home are often kept to hold memories of a loved one. Urns are such items that can be used as a memory marker to hold the essence of the deceased and to keep those who have passed on close. Placing urns in high-traffic areas gives everyday comfort by keeping the goodness of the people we have lost near to us, and because urns are attractive, it is an easy step to incorporate them into any style of room.

1.1. Significance and Purpose of Urns

When a person makes the decision to add an urn to their home, they are taking steps to memorialize cherished individuals or pets who have passed away. The urns will penetrate the domestic sphere, becoming living beings in their own way just as long as visitors and curators continue to relate them to the memories they represent. Such memories can take many forms depending on the wishes of the people looking to display them in their homes. For instance, an urn can forever serve the purpose of adorning the home where they were once present with their loved one. Placed in multiple rooms throughout the home, the urn serves as a departure from the remembrance of the loved one and helps denote the home as a thematic space offering comfort and escape from the sad reality of the external world.

By design, urns provide a certain amount of discretion; occasionally, the aesthetic quality the urn serves is to thematize the underlying love of architecture and the decorative arts that are meant to appeal to the human eye.

It’s not uncommon for urns to embody the ways in which individuals have chosen to tell a story. These small vessels have, for centuries, acted as tangible evidence of a physical memory that required room on a mantelpiece or a desk. Historical examples suggest that, in fact, urns are not all that unusual in the space of death and remembrance objects. Today’s families continue to fill urns to be put on display, thereby taking these objects beyond their practical functions and attributing an active emotional and communicative significance to the physical act of filling them in the first place.

2. Choosing the Right Type of Urn

Choosing an urn that is right for you is a matter of style and depends entirely on your preferences and budget. Use this guide to help get a better understanding of what you like best. While an urn's primary function is to hold and protect a loved one's precious ashes, the variety of designs and styles can also provide comfort to those who use them. This is important because it makes the task of selecting urns more meaningful. Knowing the deceased's personality or their favorite colors, hobbies, and life can often help you decide on the style of urn.

Urn options come in different sizes and may serve different purposes. Some may be just large enough to transport a small amount of ashes, while others are long-lasting to keep at home. Some urns are even made to bury and decompose with the earth or sea. They are made of various materials. The most common substances are metal and ceramic. However, you can also find urns made of stone, wood, or even wicker. While some urns are made to be displayed, there are others who prefer to act as a final resting place for the deceased or be buried with them. The style is often one of the most important factors that play a role in deciding which urn is suitable for you. While some like the simplicity and traditional look of brass or stainless steel urns, others prefer contemporary designs. If urns are to be displayed, take into account where in the house they will be located. Some may stand out more than others, while some complement different aesthetics. If you choose an urn that is disqualified as one of the functional ones, be sure to choose the one named for the assigned purpose. Some urns cannot be displayed or buried because their designs make it difficult. There are also urns designed to store specific and small amounts of ashes.

2.1. Materials and Styles

When it comes to urns, there are a plethora of options. Urns are traditionally made of wood, metal, or glass, but nowadays, some are even made of biodegradable substances. Your choice will depend on a number of variables, including what features are most significant to you. A block of wood is a naturally sturdy substance. Hardwood urns will last for years and will also be clamped with solid brass. Wood urns have a unique grain pattern and color that will add beauty to your home. An urn made of rosewood or bamboo, for example, shows an exquisite grain and rich color. Woods are available in black, green, pink, oak, walnut, and natural shades. These woods complement the black, blue, and tan shades of the people of Africa and Asia. The seven elements are the wood in which humans are deposited.

Some urns are made of metal. Bronze, silver, and gold are just a couple of the most popular elements. Metals are sturdy and long-lasting. Many of our metal urns are protected against stains and corrosion. These urns come in a variety of different styles. Metal urns are made for an elegant and classy appearance. They are available in solid colors as well as etched patterns on metals. Glass urns have a stunning appearance. They are an appealing design choice and make a stunning presentation. Only skilled glass artisans can create glass aesthetic urns. Glass urns can have a tint of pigment and are commonly sandblasted or color-laser etched. Sandblasting is done on the interior of the urn and permits the use of a transparent box or any background color without distorting the engraving. Color-laser engraving is made externally on the glass and provides shade or even sophisticated engravings. Glass front and rear panels can be added to glass urns to further personalize the choice. Glass urns can be engraved, so be sure to inquire about this service when making your purchase.

3. Placement Considerations

There are numerous spaces within most homes where urns might be beautifully displayed. Sometimes it may simply be a matter of preferring to display the urn in a space that was much loved or greatly used by the deceased. Other times it may be a matter of ensuring that the urn is prominently displayed, for example, when a decorative urn was selected with a location already in mind. In any case, above all, placement in the setting of the home is about understanding sight lines, and therefore the emotional significance of directly engaging with the urn, or choosing a more discreet location instead.

Sight lines clearly govern visibility. Some urns will be best appreciated when seen head-on, as could be managed when the urn is placed within the contents of a fireplace or beside other memorabilia on a bookshelf. In a room, sight lines could emanate from or correspond to the axis of an entryway or doorway, from a popular seating area moving toward the features of a room like a fireplace, or merely as one moves through or passes by a room. Ensuring the urn is visible is key to placement. Meanwhile, urns need to harmonize with rooms and homes, and in particular with the surrounding decor. Sight lines are also managed by factors like light, glare, comfort, and accessibility. Hence, placement might need to be far enough back from a bright window or constructed in such a way to minimize glare so as to be best understood and appreciated. An urn hidden on the bottom shelf of a dark and difficult bookcase could easily be forgotten about.

Surely, an urn could be placed anywhere within a house, and whether or not people are inside is entirely a matter of preference. But when it comes to finding meaning, with thoughtful decision-making, one can easily understand the importance of considering where to place a beloved urn.

3.1. Design and Aesthetic Harmony

Many loathe their urns as they bear the likeness of death. An edifice of grief, an urn in a home might seem deathlike, unmoving, and cold—a matter, therefore, of functional need rather than design. Yet, design and aesthetics drive mindful discussions of place, and often, the disparity between gleaming new ashes lent in sharp polymer and a well-worn couch brings the concern of design into vivid and crucial relief. These new artifacts would need to flow spatially and artistically with the rest of the pieces housed there. The great task would be one of judgment in the work of art. What, as we place urns within the internal display of personal property, is the balance between the design of a cremation urn and the space we place it in?

At the most basic level of design, urns must blend cohesively—in material and color—within their environment. A smooth wooden urn, for instance, might pair well with other natural materials like woolen blankets and hardwood floors. Likewise, a stone sculpture of an urn may work well atop other hand-carved stepping stones. Some might choose urns that match other centerpiece décor: evergreen plants for kitchens, vases of red for black grouted bathrooms. Many, especially those who entertain with the attendance of mourners in mind, might let urns stand alone: pedestals so as to best be seen by guests. Particularly decorative pieces stand well under photographs and paintings and in communal spaces, erring on scale to fill emptier walls. Likewise, larger urns add a lovely statement to an uninterrupted space, or an uncluttered layout. It’s a matter of a more obvious focal point, a point of discussion for friends and family.

4. Ideas for Incorporating Urns in Home Decor

There is something about an urn that immediately elevates the area. It is where the dead rest, but constructions and styles are beautiful enough to be eye-catching focal points in homes. The top of a piano or a decorative accent to a bookcase? Done. Highlighted on an entryway table or as an optional centerpiece for the dining room? They do not look out of place. When incorporating urns into home decor, there are no wrong ways of using them. Let them be reminders of a loved one or ancestors who have died while serving as striking design elements. Add some greenery, bittersweet, or twigs to make use of open containers, but otherwise, leave them alone. Their multiple uses, after all, are part of their appeal. Make a modern urn the focal point of a mantel or a dining room table, pairing it with tall candleholders, lanterns, or vases on either end. Or, position two on a dining room table, with a tray of accoutrements in the center. Shocking as it may sound, urns may be placed anywhere. A powder room, bathroom, bedroom, or hallway are all unexpected spots that can benefit from an eye-catching urn. Think about where an urn can transform dead space into an eye-catching display while fitting in with the surroundings. Wherever the urn ends up, let it speak in its own beautiful native tongue. Whether they are located near a collection of pool towels in a powder or guest bathroom or in a hallway or bedroom, the functionalities of sourcing and displaying urns are without end. While designing a space is exciting and having different seasonal decorations around holiday settings will always be fun, remember that the things that hold memories have functions. His alabaster urn was placed near his favorite reading room—an affinity for books and, of course, nice things was thought!

4.1. Columbarium Decorations

Columbaria in churches, mausoleums, and cemeteries may offer a more limited range of decorative options, although it has become more common in recent years to include options for customization, both within the columbarium and in surrounding spaces. In diverse columbarium settings, communities can adapt impersonal niches provided with architectural decor like stone floors, walls, or ceilings; furnishings such as chairs, benches, or kneelers; artistic accents such as murals, stained glass windows, chalices, crosses, flowers, books, angels, or sacred vessels; and services such as recorded prayers or background music.

In several columbaria, there are simple wall niches opening into chapels, or 'niche walls,' lined with small urns or photographs, each inscribed with the name of the deceased and holding personal mementos that the owner of the niche feels reflect the decedent's lives, interests, or personal qualities. There may be draped pictures or tiny silk flowers on tops of the niches or luminous candles beneath or beside. A serene, simple decor enhances the mingled message of support and love. In planning your columbarium decoration, balance your desire to beautify these meaningful spaces with your expectation of (and respect for) the simplicity of a columbarium setting. The beauty of your decorations will serve as a benefit to you and the other participants in the years to come when you visit. Keep your initial purpose in mind when planning your decorations, and honor your deceased loved one by expressing devotion and appreciation to others. After installation, continually maintain your decorations. Dust and shine photos, pottery, rings, and figurines, and replace flowers as needed to keep them fresh. When decorations get dusty or don't appear to be well-kept, visitors can sometimes question if the deceased is being regarded adequately.