We all collect something. Art glass, old Coca-Cola bottles, dishes, teacups, doll heads, LPs, quilts, blankets, you name it. There is no telling what might strike a person’s fancy.
China sets, dishes, cups and saucers, and certain brands of kitchen items are relatively common collectibles, especially with anyone who maybe started collecting items when they registered for their wedding. They may have started collecting based on a gift they got when they moved into their first home and carried on from there.
Displaying these collections with style—and maybe a bit of restraint—is an art in itself.
Quilts, Blankets, and Textiles
Dolly Parton, for instance, has a very extensive quilt collection. In her case, to show them off, they are thrown over a hand-rail, but a lot of people have them hanging on walls like art, especially if they have a lot of wall space. We’ve also seen them folded nicely in cabinets, stacked in a curio cabinet, or placed in a glass-fronted cabinet where their diverse colors and textures can be better displayed.
For textile collections like this, leaning ladders are quite popular. They come in many styles and materials, but many feature a more rustic, primitive look. Antique or antique-looking ladders can be used as well, with the quilts and blankets folded and hung nicely on it.
Non-traditional Wall Art
A lot of collections can be hung on the wall, even if the items are not a “traditional” piece of wall art. For instance, if you have a china collection or special dishes, things like that, you can hang them on your walls.
Small items like spoons, bottle caps, tiny saucers, or antique keys can put into shadow boxes or frames and hung on walls. Just because it’s not traditional art doesn’t mean it won’t look great on your wall – plus, it will be a great punctuation of your personal style and a representation of the things you are passionate about.
We’ve seen baseballs in wire baskets, placed on shelves or just out on the table. Wine corks, bells, kaleidoscopes of all sizes, antique toys. If they are small enough and not too fragile, they can be placed inside a jar or even used as a functional piece to add interest.
For instance, a collection of books or graphic novels can be placed on tables and shelves or stacked up underneath a vase or a plant. You can stack the books in different sizes or at different heights to add dimension.
Exercising Restraint In Displaying Your Collections
If you are an avid collector, there is a tendency to have your favorite pieces everywhere. The trick to doing it tastefully is to not allow it to take over your house.
You can do this by choosing a receptacle to hold them in (such as your wine corks or baseballs), or simply pick the place where they’re going to go, and once that spot is filled, put the brakes on.
Keep them confined to a specific area of your home. For example, if you have your blankets in the living room, then they should live in the living room and not in every other room in the house.
Displaying Unusual Items Tastefully
Our resident designer, Megan, has a unique collection. She collects doll heads.
It all started when she was out shopping in an antique store and saw a doll head for one dollar. It was too cute to pass up, and being a crafty person, she thought she could do something with it. Next thing she knew, she saw another one – and then there was two. The restraint came reasonably quickly though, and she stopped at six. She’s done.
The interest stemmed from an extensive doll collection her grandmother had. There were multitudes of them, all displayed nicely in cases, but it was a little overwhelming in its scope as the “overflow” spilled out into a spare room, which was filled to the ceiling with dolls.
As for her newer doll-head collection, she says it’s just a tiny punctuation point in the room they are in. They are placed on top of a cabinet, so they are not the most prominent things in the space. Tasteful, and assuredly not as creepy as it sounds, this is an excellent example of how even the most eclectic collection can find a place to exist in harmony in your home.
Do you have interior design questions? We would love to help! Reach out today and let’s talk about your style.
