OneWorld Offers Tips on How to Display an Urn at Home

by Wendy Jacobson

"Feng Shui Desain Interior" by Anna Hape*

After a loved one passes, there are many different ways to honor and inter their remains. Many people decide to be cremated, and cremation offers many benefits, but it also raises several questions.

One issue I often hear mentioned is what to do with the ashes once they are “home.” Surviving family members have the option of displaying a cremation urn in their home in order to feel close and connected to the deceased. This may have you wondering how to display an urn in your home.

Deciding exactly where to put an urn at home so that it feels just right requires some thought and planning. In this blog, we offer advice for those interested in how to display an urn at home using feng shui as a guide. For those not akin to feng shui, we provide other planning tips on deciding where to place an urn.

Can feng shui influence the placement of a cremation urn?

Although feng shui has assumed a place of influence in our current American culture, it can be traced back several thousand years to its origin in China. The very first use of the practice was to bury deceased elders in a certain location, facing the “correct” direction so that future generations would prosper. Today, with the popularity of cremation on the rise, adaptations to feng shui can be incorporated when determining placement of a cremation urn.

According to Amy Theisen of Infinity Life Design of Minneapolis, “When incorporating feng shui principles in the placement of an urn in the home, we want to put the cremation urn in the most auspicious (positive) area.” The direction or orientation of your home and urn placement are important in how the chi or energy flows in and around your home.

“Although every case is different, in general if your home faces north, south, west or northwest, you want to place the urn in a north or south room in the house,” said Theisen. “If your home faces northeast, southeast, southwest or east, you want to place the urn in a northeast or northwest room in the house. Regardless of the room, display the urn prominently and beautifully. The urn should not be placed in a drawer or cupboard.”

Not only does this advice apply to a human loved one you may have in your home, but it can also apply to keeping pet ashes at home and using feng shui. Having an urn display case can ensure that your loved one is protected and yet also visible to everyone and anyone who comes to your house.

Other tips for finding the right spot for a cremation urn

When thinking about urn display ideas, deciding where to place the urn in the home is a big decision, but it doesn’t need to be a difficult one. Primarily, consider the following:

• Location
• Style

Thinking about these will point you in the right direction. Below we’ve outlined more specifics.

Location in your home

You might first ask: “Will the cremation urn sit in a cabinet in the bedroom, family room or den, or will it be on the mantle in your living room, or on a window sill in the kitchen?”

Think about which rooms were especially important to your loved one, and where he or she liked to spend time. Also, think about spaces in the home where favorite memories were created. If the deceased loved to cook, a spot in the kitchen might be a loving place.

Style

Once the location is determined, consider style when choosing a cremation urn. It’s important to keep a few things in mind, including:

• What are the color schemes, décor, ambience, and personality of the room in which the urn will be located?
• Is the style formal, relaxed, modern, classic, chic, country, or a mix?
• What was the style preference of the deceased?

Wherever it is displayed, you don’t want the cremation urn to stick out like a sore thumb, so the setting of the room is important.

What other items are located in the room? A wooden cremation urn has a different feel and visual component than a metal urn. Check out our guide to materials used in cremation urns. You want to ensure whichever cremation urn you choose will blend in nicely with the décor of the room in which it is displayed.

You also want to keep the style of your loved one in mind. If the deceased was an outdoors enthusiast, for instance, perhaps a wood cremation urn makes the most sense. If he or she were an artist, you might want to consider artisan urns, or the distinctive hand-blown glass cremation keepsakes.

It can be easy to get caught up in the style of the room and forsake the style and personality of your loved one. But those factors are just as, if not more, important than ensuring the urn fits within the space.

The placement of a cremation urn ideally provides comfort, closeness and a connection that will endure for a long time. When you find that perfect place in your home, you will know it in your heart and there the urn will reside.

Being Happy with the Placement of Your Loved One

While a crematorium offers a wide variety of services, the decision about what to do with the cremains is up to you. If you have decided that your loved one will be kept in your home, you have plenty of options for choosing a meaningful, respectful display that honors their life and memory.

At OneWorld Memorials, we offer a variety of designs and styles to commemorate many altar ideas. Decades of expertise, experience and craftsmanship are displayed in the urns and other keepsakes we offer. We work directly with manufacturers in order to find exquisite items at a cost below what a funeral home would offer.

Contact us today. We love hearing about people’s loved ones and what made them so special. We can help honor their memory and bring you peace through the grieving process with a thoughtful memorial display or an urn that matches your room’s décor and the style of your loved one.

Wendy Jacobson is a freelance writer living in Minneapolis with her husband, two kids and dog. She helped market her mother’s book, “Hands Off My Hope: Life Lessons on my Journey with Breast Cancer,” at the request of her mom, who died two weeks after publishing it in 2008. She also is the editor of Minneapolis Happening, a digital lifestyle magazine about what’s happening in Minneapolis and the surrounding area.