Displaying Soaps 101

Above/Below: Master bath soaps collections are mixed and matched from fancy to fun. They are all contained by a beautiful shell dish with a brass trim to coordinate with the brass fixtures. Whether it's your bathroom or kitchen, displaying bars of hand soaps should not be daunting task. 

Below: A beaded edged, footed brass bowl holds multi sized monogrammed soaps in the master bath.

Consider your surroundings, are the faucets gold, silver or antique toned?  Do I have an on going theme of shells, mirror or porcelain?

Above:  A large green pear shaped soap is being served, regally on this master bath vanity.

With all things considered, this should be easier than you think.  My old rules, "ANYTHING GOES" and "THINK OUTSIDE THE BOX," hold true for this project too.

In the kitchen, there is a small butlers pantry where my silver collection is displayed.  In keeping with the theme, I found an intricate tiny silver basket to house some hand soap.

Soaps can be fun to display for the visually decorative aspect, not just for use.  I have a grand time finding decorative soaps, in my travels, at beautiful bath and bed specialty shops, gift shops and even the beautifully wrapped ones left in my hotel room.  There is absolutely nothing wrong with taking them as a token of your worldly travels and displaying them somewhere prominently in a beautiful bowl, basket or even on a bathroom shelf.

Below: Soap displayed prominently on a mirrored pedestal stand, wrapped and decorated with flowers, a European find.

Sound silly?  I'll not only have the last laugh, but a bathroom adorned with beautiful, unique and eye catching soaps.  I'll admit, I used to beg my mother not to take the soaps from our hotels, I was mortified but guess what?  I now how the "pick of the litter," from my mothers collection of soaps from around the word.  My mother displays hers pretty simply.  One spot is in a basket in the corner of her guest bathroom along side some decorative hand towels.  It's really not that difficult.  I love to find unique pedestals, elaborate and unusual shells, intricate silver or brass containers and even to display it inside something as simple as a ceramic milk pitcher.

Below: A porcelain transfer ware milk pitcher made for an interesting conversation piece.


I hope you will find my tips and tricks not only inspiring, but that I have left you with the idea to pick up anything you see in your travels and ask yourself, can I use this to display soap?

Above/Below: Pear shaped soaps bring in a natural element that are positioned naturally in this vintage iron outdoor soap dish.

 

Like anything else you display, something as simply as soap can be arranged and displayed like a work of art , adding to the canvas and finishing touches that tie all the elements together when creating a beautiful space that it full of eye candy!

Good luck and happy hunting!

Jamie Gottschall

IndomitableStyleTM