Bottle It Up!

Use old bottles, clear or colored, to create quaint vignettes throughout your home.

More from Country Style
Filed under: Recycling, Art, Decorating

One of the real flea market bargains these days is old bottles. They're everywhere, they cost next to nothing and they can make the coolest country accents. Design expert Matthew Mead shares his ideas for accenting your home with old bottles.

Slip white holiday lights into various bottles and use as a table centerpiece or place outside to illuminate a walkway before a dinner party.

Slip old photographs, special papers and cherished mementos inside a bottle to act as a shadow box of sorts. Or fill bottles with sand, shells and sea glass from a beach vacation.

Create your own mini-ecosystem by placing plant life, soil and stones inside a bottle. Place a lid on top (or cover with plastic wrap) and set on a sunny window sill.

If you never got around to planting your spring bulbs, use them in bottles instead. Fill the bottles with water and set bulbs like hyacinth, narcissus and daffodils on top.