Cremation is gaining in popularity as funerals become more expensive, and that often leaves people with the question of what to do with the remains. Scattering them or placing them in a columbarium are two options, as are burying the urn or turning the cremains into unusual items like cremation jewelry. But many opt to get a nice display urn and keep the ashes in their homes as part of a memorial instead. You could just set the urn on a table or ledge, but if you want to make it a permanent fixture, you need to take a few more steps.
Quake and Pet Safety
No one wants to see a cremation urn fall over and spill everything. If you live in a quake zone or have pets like cats that like to knock things over, place quake putty on the bottom of the urn. If the lid of the urn is loose, add putty there, too. You may want to keep the urn locked in a cabinet with see-through doors (like glass or plastic) so that curious pets really can't reach it.
Labeling and Pictures
Rather than have people think the urn is just a decoration (which opens the urn up to theft and to people constantly picking it up and looking inside), create a true memorial with the deceased's photo and name. Make it obvious that the urn contains the deceased's ashes so that people aren't tempted to pick up the urn and possibly drop it. You don't have to go overboard and make the memorial garish; a simple headshot of the deceased that you really liked (look in photo albums and have good photos enlarged by a developer) and mementos of the person's life will do.
Prominence and Focus
Decide how prominent you want the memorial to be. Sometimes people want it to be the focus of that part of the room and decorate accordingly. Other times people just want the memorial to be obvious to those trying to find it, but they don't want the urn to be the major focal point of the entire space. Keeping the memorial in the same color scheme as the rest of the room and giving it a reasonable amount of space creates a nice balance between focus and blending in.
You can talk to a funeral director about how to display urns so that the urn and cremains stay safe and in one place. Cremation services have people who can help you choose an urn and decide exactly what to do after the cremation is done. To learn more, contact a cremation services company like Romero Family Funeral Home Corp.
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