Why I’m putting all my favourite trinkets under glass cloches

Home decorator Ammarah Hasham is one of Ideal Home's new Open House contributors, sharing her thoughts infusing her rental house with plenty of personality. See the rest of her articles here.

The money I spend collecting trinkets could probably add up to a terrifying amount, but the borderline maximalist in me has a GIANT weak spot for them. I mean, they do feel like a harmless little guilt-free treat.

Not proudly admitting this, but I kind of have an inability to leave an antique shop empty-handed. The china plates need a home, and I am always happy to adopt any silver or brassware I find, usually with absolutely no idea where to put it and completely ignoring the family’s raised eyebrows as I bring yet another piece home. That’s why I love a glass cloche.

They are basically a safe space for all my knick-knacks and a very convincing way of making my random finds look like they had a purpose all along. Think of it as an upside-down bowl. Anything you would pile into a decorative bowl can probably go underneath a cloche, except under a glass it suddenly feels more like a miniature museum display.

So where can you buy them from?

There was a time where I would wishfully look at magazine photographs of these beautiful glass domes and hope to own one without spending a ridiculous amount of money.

Depending on your taste and budget, you can now easily find them in shops in all sorts of shapes and sizes. Personally, though, I still prefer hunting for them second-hand.

Older glass just feels so much better to me. I love the weight and thickness you often get with vintage pieces, and a good one feels totally worth the money.

Bootsales, antique shops, eBay and my recent favourite, Facebook Marketplace, will surely generate some fruitful searches. And don’t worry if your cloche comes without a proper base. A decorative plate, your old wooden breadboard or even a stack of books can work beautifully underneath one.

How to clean them

Once you have secured the goods, vintage or new, give them a good, but gentle, clean.

Your display would look a hundred times better when a cloche is cleaned properly before displaying any items. Make sure to avoid anything abrasive, and go easy with the kitchen sponge too. If it needs a proper wash, gentle lukewarm water with a little washing up liquid is enough.

Dry it with a lint-free, microfibre cloth. I use the good old newspaper and window cleaner trick for a streak-free finish. All prepped and peppy.

And now comes the fun bit.

What can you actually put underneath?

Everything except the kitchen sink. Historically, these glass cloches were practical objects with a purpose. Garden cloches protected young plants from cold weather, while glass covers were used to protect delicate objects especially specimens collected by naturalists. But as they found their way into our interiors, their elegant appeal and timeless charm became quite hard to ignore.

If you are creating a display, I would suggest using different heights. A group of cloches in varying heights can look beautiful together, but equally, you can dot a couple around your home. And because they are so versatile, you can keep changing what sits underneath to match the colour, theme or the mood of your space. Which, for someone like me who is always switching things around, is rather alluring.

Display your apothecary collection

We all love an apothecary moment, don’t we?I have been collecting these vintage earthenware medicine and apothecary bottles for a while and putting them under a cloche has created this little vignette.

It is almost like a 360-degree frame, drawing your eye in and giving each item its own spotlight. The bell shape allows me to be creative and lets my collectibles become the main character.

What do you think?

Add a touch of greenery

As cloches were originally designed to protect plants, adding greenery underneath them feels almost naturally correct. Display a plant and notice how instantly elevated it would feel.

Tiny ferns, mosses and humidity-loving plants look beautiful under a cloche and, if you’re feeling particularly creative, you can even create a small terrarium. Since my skills at keeping plants alive are fairly basic, I am happy giving one solo plant all the spotlight.

Display your matchbox collection

I am currently on a mission to collect vintage matchboxes and I have no sensible explanation for that. Probably it's their nostalgic charm that I love, but putting them underneath the cloche gives it all a touch of sophistication.

Even my slow growing collection actually feels thoughtfully accentuated under the glass.

Give your shell collection a home

My family loves collecting shells and we have this mix of beach and second-hand finds. For quite some time, I kept it all in a bowl, but their unique shapes were hidden underneath one another.

Filling my cloche with these shells has literally brought each piece into the centre stage. And I can actually admire their colours and savour an unobstructed view of the whole display and, I must say, it looks incredibly chic.

The possibilities really are endless here. I am actually curious to know, what small finds would you put sous cloche?