Long ago my sister and I had a small flower business, and one of the things that we loved to do was use antique and vintage containers in our floral designs. It’s a nice way to make small arrangements that can brighten a neglected space, like a powder room or a forgotten corner. What’s nice too, is that you don’t need a whole lot of expensive flowers to create this look. And this time of year, flowers are about to be everywhere: grocery stores, farmers’ markets, and your own garden. Vintage tins can be found at tag sales, garage sales, flea markets, and junk shops. Most of them range from a couple dollars to twenty dollars at the most (some rare tins are more expensive).

I’ve collected some images of arrangements in vintage tins that I think are chic and not too cutesy (which is something that you have to be careful to avoid).

And here are a few tips that I’ve learned over the years:

• Old tins often leak, so use a plastic floral liner or a small water glass inside the tin to hold the water and flowers.
• Use flowers with small blooms and cut the stems fairly short so that you can create the effect shown in the images below.
• Choose flowers that compliment the tin rather than compete with it, and experiment with the shape and color of your arrangement.

Happy flower arranging!