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Vintage French Wine Carboys

vintage french wine vessels
vintage french wine vessels from homebarn

We have been talking recently –  in the Five Ways to Revamp a Room series – about how little things can make a big difference. One of those little things being accessories. Now I’m not advocating you rush out and buy a load of meaningless stuff but the odd piece – often vintage – can really bring character to a room.

I visited a client in Putney recently who had three large glass jars like this on a shelf in her sitting room. Hers were brown and mercurised glass and she wasn’t sure about them but they looked great. Not least because they were a little different. I’ve always had a soft spot for these old carboys (no idea why they’re called that) which were for keeping wine in. My Grandmother had a huge one that she had had made into a table lamp that now lives in my mother’s sitting room. My mother-in-law found one by the the side of the road near her appartment in Italy and bore it triumphantly up four flights of stairs. Sadly, the flat is so tiny there isn’t really room for objets of this size and it has languished on the landing. I have brought many a thing back in my suitcase, including a folding wooden chair from Africa, but I think I might struggle with a round glass jar.

Happily you can find them in the UK from Homebarn and they are great for any room of the house. Fill them with fairy lights, talk to someone clever about making a lamp, use them as vases or just group them in a corner to add a splash of colour. Especially in a monochrome space like the ones from yesterday’s 10 Beautiful Rooms.

Prices start at £45 and the shades of green will vary. Move around the house as the will takes you.

 

 

Kate Watson-Smyth

The author Kate Watson-Smyth

I’m a journalist who writes about interiors mainly for The Financial Times but I have also written regularly for The Independent and The Daily Mail. My house has been in Living Etc, HeartHome and featured in The Wall Street Journal & Corriere della Sera. I also run an interior styling consultancy Mad About Your House. Welcome to my Mad House.

4 Comments

  1. Nicky, my trick is baking soda and white vinegar. I’ve got similar bottles in an amber hue made in Spain. I mostly use them as vases.

  2. I’ve got two which I bought in France for 10 euros each…but I cannot get the grime out of the inside. Does anyone have a tip on how to clean a bottle you can’t reach inside of?

  3. Love em! I’ve got a large dark green one that has been made into a lamp, with an Orla Kiely shade atop. I know it sounds all wrong but it looks fab.

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