Collector’s favorite to use

12 clever ways to use your Iittala Mariskooli—tips from an interiors editor

Multiple Mariskoolis hiding in your cabinets? Take a look at our tips for putting them to use—in the kitchen and the bathroom, for everyday and for celebrations alike. In a new role, the classic bowl looks fresh again.

Author Natalia Rehbinder

Images Kristiina Kurronen

December 11, 2025Lue suomeksi

1. Fancy something savory?

No get-together is complete without a little something to nibble. Serve cornichons, cocktail onions, and olives in style in Mariskooli bowls. Cheese cubes and dips look delicious in the bowls.

2. Sugar on top

A Mariskooli is the perfect vessel for sugar cubes. If you like to use granulated sugar, pour layers of white sugar and cane sugar into a clear Mariskooli. The stripes look especially sweet!

3. Ready for a celebration

Jewelry, makeup, nail polish—what won’t a Mariskooli carry with style? There’s no need to tuck these out of sight.

4. All about onions

Why keep small onions in a bag when you can display them this beautifully?

5. A pedestal flower bowl

Place a flower frog on the bottom of the bowl and arrange a few roses and a green leaf or two. Add water and the arrangement is ready. Complementary colors like red and green set each other off beautifully.

6. It’s an herb garden

Move your herbs into Mariskooli bowls to grow. You’ll get flavor and a feast for the eyes on the kitchen windowsill. Remove the plastic pots from the herbs and set them into the bowls. You can add a little decorative top dressing.

7. Get the craft cabinet in order

No more ribbon rolls, wooden beads, Styrofoam eggs, and pencils scattered everywhere. Put your craft supplies in order and group them in Mariskooli bowls of different colors. That way the craft cabinet stays ready to use—and so pretty you can even leave the door open.

8. A bowl for Christmas

Gather ornaments in different colors and elves looking for a home into red Mariskooli bowls for a sweet holiday arrangement. Trendy decorative apples also look good enough to eat in these classic bowls.

9. Dessert, a notch fancier

Spoon dessert into the bowls for little ones and grown-ups alike and decorate with a rosette of whipped cream. These are worthy of the festive table!

10. Do you have a candy cupboard too?

A cupboard full of treats—is there anything better? Mariskooli bowls are perfect for storing and serving candy.

11. Nuts for nibbling

It’s healthy to eat nuts every day. You’ll keep up the habit when you set out nuts in Mariskooli bowls. Bowls in similar shades make a beautiful grouping.

12. Bathroom eye-catchers

Organize hair accessories, bobby pins, and hair rollers in their own bowls so they’re easy to grab. The bathroom cabinet will look instantly more refined.

Did you know?

Originally, the Mariskooli was a German pressed-glass model that apparently came to Finland with Central European glassblowers. The design may also have been purchased or copied. The earliest inspirations trace back to Italy and the Middle Ages.

The current Mariskooli has stayed the same since 1965, apart from small changes—for example, those caused by wear in the pressed-glass mold. Its predecessor is the Onni sugar bowl, featured in Iittala’s 1892 catalog. Read more about the Mariskooli and its history here. [in Finnish]

Design & Decoration Vintage Scandinavian Interior Interior Design Ideas Retro Finnish design

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