Select a location. A good place for your lararium is in a front room or near the kitchen area as was done in antiquity, but this is not essential. The important thing is that the lararium be placed somewhere that isn't so remote that it will be ignored or forgotten, or in a place so obtrusive it gets bumped into and knocked about during the course of the day.
The easiest way to set up a lararium is to reserve a small one-tier wall shelf, or a table or cabinet as an altar. A trip to a hardware store, a department store or an antique shop will usually yield something workable. A lararium may be decorated to taste in classical style if one wishes, but it need not be any special style or color.
Equip your lararium with these essential tools: Incense, an offering to the gods. Acerra—a container for incense. It should close tightly. Turibulum—an incense burner. Salinum—a container for salt. 'Gutus—a container for milk or wine. Patera—a small, shallow offering dish. 'Lucerna—a sacred lamp. An oil lamp or a candle is fine.
A lararium traditionally includes a representation of a snake, considered to represent a guardian spirit. A simple painting or good quality photo of a snake is fine.
After it is set up, you have a duty, as an ongoing act of devotion to the deities, to keep your lararium clean. Just dust it and wash objects within and around the lararium, and properly dispose of food offerings.
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