Modern Alternatives To Using Mason Jars As Home Decor

Mason jars have a long history of usefulness, from their original canning and storage purposes to awesome DIY projects you can make to decorate your home. The internet is filled with tutorials for turning these jars into rustic lighting, vases, or cute storage solutions for everything from toothbrushes to kitchen spices. While Mason jars are inexpensive, plentiful, and add a ton of rustic charm to your home, there are also some more stylish alternatives that fill a similar role, just with a different vibe. This is especially true if you are working toward a more modern and contemporary space. Objects like tumblers with straight sides, cylindrical vases, apothecary jars, pitchers, and ribbed glasses have a distinctly more sculptural and modern feel. They can be used in your home similarly to Mason jars but with a more minimalist and chic aesthetic.

You may be wondering, are Mason jars going out of style? Overall, there's some disagreement on this point. While there will likely always be clever ways to reuse these old glass jars in many decor aesthetics like farmhouse and cottage styles, trends within them may change and evolve, calling for fresh takes on today's storage and decor. Those who want a more glamorous or contemporary look may desire alternative solutions to Mason jars that have less of a country feel, which many feel is overdone. The suggestions below serve the same purposes and still give the same vintage charm of Mason jars with a streamlined look that doesn't feature the decorative fruit design or lettering.

For storage, Mason jars are often perfect for stashing items in any room of your home. But you can use other items that fill the same function with a sleeker and more contemporary style. Great options include basic glass tumblers or vases with straight sides or cylindrical shapes (that are either vintage or from a discount store like Dollar Tree). These can be used to hold pens on a desk or toothbrushes in a bathroom. For storage, you could also opt for trendy glass apothecary jars, which feature a glass-handled lid in lieu of a screw-on and look more chic and sophisticated than Mason jars. While harder to find, they make a stunning way to hold soaps or other items on a bathroom counter with a more modern look. 

More streamlined and simply-designed glass vintage pitchers, often available for a steal, can be a great storage alternative to larger Mason jars for holding flowers or kitchen utensils. If you often make Mason jar centerpieces or use jars as vases, swap them for a cylinder vase. If you love the look of blue or green sea-glass colored Mason jars, large glass jugs can be a great alternative with a sleeker style that befits a more modern aesthetic. For Mason jar DIY projects like hanging lanterns and candle holders, consider using ribbed glass dishware with a mid-century modern feel. These can be turned into beautiful hanging and tabletop light fixtures with the addition of candles and LED bulbs.