19 Ways to Style a Dough Bowl

This post may contain affiliate links.

If you know me, you know I love a good dough bowl! They are beautiful decor that come in various sizes and colors, from tiny to huge, and black to white– and they go with just about any decor! 

You can use them on an entryway table, coffee table, dining room table, kitchen island, and so many more! The real beauty in them is what you get to put in them, or how you use them! Now don’t get me wrong, the dough bowl, even by itself can be beautiful, but filling it with your favorite collectibles or decorating them for the Holidays, that’s where the fun comes in. 

19 ways to decorate a dough bowl

Keep it simple with a little bowl filler– nobody said you had to complicate things! These are little tiny artichokes made from palm leaves, and I think these look gorgeous in here! 

I’m located in Texas, and we love Pecans down here– not just in pie, either! I crumpled up some book pages as well to put underneath and give it more of a vintage vibe, just my style! 

DECORATIVE SHOE MOLDS! These are little baby decorative shoe molds, and any time I can incorporate something vintage, or even something that just looks vintage, I will do it! 

…And here’s the shoe molds but with some vintage books thrown in too! Nobody said our dough bowls had to be traditional! Think outside the box, make it a little a-symmetrical– why not!? 

Here’s a fun situation that’s beautiful AND useful! In my family, we always have apples around, so it’s nice that we can keep ’em close by and show them off! 

So this could be useful OR purely decorative.. I think it depends on what type of person you are. I personally, use my fine china and the nicer things! I believe you only live once, so why save all that stuff? But, I know many people who don’t feel that way– and that’s ok, to each their own! But the point here is, for me, this is decorative AND useful– I can quickly grab a plate out of here if I ever need one, simple as that! And a soup tureen!? The answer is always yes to those! 

I put some raffia palm in the bottom of this dough bowl, with some GIANT moss balls on top! I think this is sweet for Spring or Summer, and so easy! Definitely something you can do when you want to make a statement! 

Ahhh, this beaded cross garland has my heart! And in green, too!? I don’t know if it gets any better! But seriously, I took the same decorative shoe molds from before and mixed them in with a little color and a different texture, BOOM, interesting to the eye and easy to do! 

Here we get a little crazy with the shoe molds, books, and tureen from before, but we stack and pile a little, plus we throw in a garland I made a while back from leaves in my backyard and fruit! Gotta love it! This one definitely gives me Holiday vibes and I’m here for it! 

As you may or may not have noticed by now, I love the little baby shoe molds! Here I simply threw them on top of some old ties I thrifted, but if you have a husband, brother, son, dad, whoever, that you can steal a couple ties from, this is a cheap and fun way to mix it up! And for the holidays, you could even stick to fun Holiday ties!!! I honestly love that idea! 

In this one we kept the ties, but added some PINECONES!!! Pinecones are such a favorite of mine (if you know me, you know I love nature in general to be honest), and this makes the dough bowl feel a little more Fall-oriented! I’m living for it! 

If you do want to keep it a little more classy or traditional, you can always stick with JUST the pinecones! Ain’t no shame in the classy game! 

As for me and my home, we are hunters– and so these little shed deer antlers not only make this that much cuter, but also represent us a little, and I love then I get the opportunity to throw that in! 

Here we get into a little more light, Summer/Spring Fun! To me, this still feels classy but keeps it interesting! I love the mix of everything– we’ve got some greenery, a beautiful lavender towel, Baby’s Breath, a soup tureen, and a candle! This right here is a mosh pit of some of my favorite things and it looks gorgeous if I do say so myself! 

This feels very Fall to me, maybe even Summer, and we just kept it really simple here! I got this from my backyard, threw a couple feathers into the gathering, and it’s fresh, bringing nature inside, and so beautiful! 

This is the PERFECT example of showcasing who you are or who your family is, while keeping it beautiful! My family collects sea shells on vacations (honestly, what family doesn’t!?) and instead of keeping those memories locked away, we display them sometimes! Not only does it remind me of amazing memories from trip’s past, but it’s FREE decor! That’s a win if I’ve ever seen one! 

This variation just gives me vintage yumminess! The cotton paired with the tiny broom heads– it may be a favorite of mine, just sayin’!

Ah, and we’ve come full circle! Here I’ve got some more bowl filler— only this time it’s sweet little flowers, and they’re on top of some dried Jerusalem Pea Pods I got from a friend’s yard a long time ago! The light with the dark here is so beautiful, and of course the tureen just brings in a little more texture! I also love that we have some real nature here, mixed in with the fake flower bowl filler! I’m not opposed to fake flowers, but if they’re fake, they need to look fake! I don’t like the fake flowers that try to look real– you can tell!! 

Last, but certainly not least, I’ve got the same flower bowl filler on top of some dried black beans, and a candle in the mix because why not! Once again, I love the contrast in color with black on the bottom and ivory on the top! And the candle gives it a little bit of a romantic touch– this dough bowl feels like it belongs in a spa! At least that’s the vibe I get from it! 

If you’ve made it to the end of this, first off, thank you!! What I’m about to say next is the most important part!

I know you may not have all of this decor, and by no means am I telling you to go out and buy it! While I did want to simply give you dough-bowl decorating inspiration, the main goal here is to show you there are no rules!!! This is true with the dough bowl, as it is true with all decor! Your home is the place where you can let your creativity run free, no limits stopping you! It’s the place your family lands at the end of the day, your safe haven! So the next time you’re decorating, don’t ask what would Kim do, or what would Joanna Gaines do, do what YOU would do!!