Where to place curios and how to choose? A few simple tips

Earlier curios were mostly placed in the showcases of living room. Now special spaces are reserved in walls to make space for curios. You can place curios anywhere – in living room, kitchen or bathroom. It gives a modern look to your interior. Now curios are fashionable pieces available in different materials, shapes, colours etc. You should find the suitable spaces for placing your curios, and most important is to care them later too. Here are a few important points.

Classic ceramic curios

Ceramic curios marked the beginning of western desires in Indian interiors. Birds and angels found a place in showcase. Though hundreds of curios with different stuff have come out, small ceramic curios still find a place in houses with western designs or classic English style. Though ceramic curios are classy and beautiful, they can easily break if not handled with care – its main defect.

You can clean ceramic curios using moist cloth. If they are not cleaned at regular intervals, it becomes difficult to clean them. You can also clean them using soap solution.

Trendy metal curios

Metallic shades are always trendy, and the only change is in its design. Copper and black silver shades are elegant. Every one prefers dull finishing curios rather than choosing bright and shining metal pieces. While purchasing metallic curios, choose those which won’t fade easily. If it is of low quality, the outer coating may easily peel off. When metal finishing reduces, its charm also fades.

Curios with painting and art works

Decorative pieces made from clay can be made attractive by giving colours. While drawing pictures on such curios, choose colours matching with home interior and wall paint. You can turn a creative person and draw designs as you please.

You can fill clay pot with water and light candles or put a few flowers. But occasionally you should remove water from pot and dry it completely before reuse. Earlier flower vases had only two choices – glass or metal. Now terracotta pots with decorations are also used for the same.

The beauty of terracotta

Earlier clay curios were mostly used for homes built in traditional style.  But now modern works in terracotta material well suits contemporary homes also. Now clay pots are bought by many as decorative pieces, rather than as cooking pots. They add a royal touch to the interior and give a traditional look too. Cup & saucers, vessels, pots and glasses can be placed in kitchen and dining hall as curios.

Statues and sculptures in terracotta, art pieces that can be hung on wall or placed inside niches, curios are different. When they are less exposed to sun and moisture, they have a long life. Soak cloth with water and clean curios occasionally. Thus they can be maintained properly.

Curios in kitchen

Earlier curios were placed in the showcases of living room, vising rooms and dining areas. Now they have conquered modern kitchens too. When we spent majority of our active time in kitchen, why shouldn’t we beautify this place – many housewives may have the same question.

Two types of curios can be chosen for kitchen – Crockery that can be used for daily use or bottles for decorative purposes. Choose items which hold some kind of beauty and fill them in kitchen. You can also buy curios in the shape of kitchen equipment and use them to decorate your kitchen. You can reserve one portion of your kitchen for this purpose if it’s spacious.

Decorative items may not be in kitchen themes. Yet interior look gets a perfect finish if it well suits the purpose of the room. While choosing curios for kitchen, choose ones which won’t break easily. Wood and metal are the best choices. When you are busy in kitchen, there are more chances that careless handling of objects can destroy your curios. So better choose unbroken ones. Decorative items should be placed in safe areas of kitchen, not easily reachable with hands. Breakfast counter, the centre portion of kitchen island, corner space of countertop etc are a few such safe spaces.

You can place ceramic plates on the walls of dining area. Choose those plates which you don’t use. You can also furnish such spaces with broken plates in Wabi-sabi style. Funky designs can also be tried by painting them.

Animal plant pots

Ceramic animal plant pots with the shapes of animals have a unique beauty. Till recent times, plants are placed in pots. Now pots of different shapes are available, and if it’s the case of indoor plants such unique shaped ceramic pots are simply the best. Pots with shapes of animals and birds are trendy. Such ceramic planters can be placed anywhere in your interior – table top, window side, head board of bed, kitchen etc.

Indigo in style

Curios with indigo shades are high in demand. When white and off-white shades have become trendy in the present times, shades of blue and indigo have become their best buddies. Indigo colour can be blended with any style of interior architecture. The colour with desi look suits contemporary, classic and Victorian styles of interior. When you choose curios with indigo shades, choose only cool colours for your interior. Yellow lights and soft furnishing with bright and vibrant colour shades should be avoided.   

Where to place curios?

We have a habit to full unused space with some sort of decorates. But know it better, all spaces never suit curios. We need to pre-decide the spaces for curios during construction phase itself. You can also ask your interior designer about the best choice of curios as per your design and architecture. According to the style of design, furniture chosen and colours used, choice of curios can also vary.

Each piece of curio is an art work. You can place them at highlighted positions of your room, and keep them under spotlight using proper lighting technique. Lighting can be done in the wall, floor or roof based on the LED used.

Big curios can be chosen for living room, and reserve spaces which get easy attention from guest. A painting hung on the highlighted wall is a good example. Instead of placing so many pictures, a single highlighted one is sufficient.

Heavy curios should never be placed at high spaces or tables. They can cause accidents if kids play in such rooms.

Old makeup brush can be used to clean curios. Brushes with soft bristles are the best. Clean curios at least twice a week. You can also use moist cloth for this purpose. The curios will completely dry in room temperature. There is no need to place them under direct sun.

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