Decorating with Collections
Q: Can I Use My Collections When I Decorate?
If you're like many people, you like to collect odd things like old photos, paperweights, Hummels, or imported beer cans. Now that you've done the packrat thing, we see no reason not to incorporate these treasures into your decorating scheme. Nicola and Irwin, our Design2Share co-hosts, take you inside a home proudly displaying collectibles to cover a few decorating basics: how to use collections to express your personality, how to entertain with collections, using flea markets and eBay to add and subtract to your collections, how to group collections for best display, and how collections can enhance your home's color scheme and style. Irwin also waxes poetic about collectible insects, so please don't miss the buzz!
Download Episode 13 of Design2Share Q&A (M4V 35MB)
We Love Collections: Collections are ideal ways to fill the void in any room. They add interest, spark conversation, allow homeowners to relay the story surrounding each purchase, and bring the personality of the collector into what could otherwise be a sterile decorating scheme. Here are some decorating tips pertaining to collections. Give these ideas a whirl, and put collectibles to good use in your home.
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We think it's a shame to keep collections hidden away in storage spaces or drawers. Display them and place them carefully in your rooms. You don't need to put everything out at once. In fact, it's wise to hold back and keep some items in storage; when you want to freshen up the collection, rotate the items by bringing some out of storage and tucking some display items away.
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If you get completely tired of any item in your collection, sell it or give it away. Don't keep something you don't love. Don't hold onto the old simply because you have it.
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Displays are versatile and they can be arranged anywhere. Here are a few inspirations -- (a) You can display a collection of items on a coffee or side table in a classic "tablescape."
(b) Use a vitrine (see photo), a beautiful piece of furniture that displays collections behind glass, or a biblioteque to show off your more valuable treasures and keep them safe from dust and handling. (c) For most collections, you can be less formal. Old corner cabinets, funky hutches, antique pie safes, desks and secretaries, and fireplace mantels make excellent display areas for your treasures. Try shadow boxes for showing off your miniatures or small collectibles like thimbles. -
Use unusual and fun collections to add zip to your rooms. There's a steak house in Manhattan with a collection of old Dutch clay pipes hanging down from the ceiling. I've seen a home where antique musical instruments are suspended from tall ceilings. An artist friend displays zillions of different rubber duckies in his bathroom. Model trains can run in suspended tracks around a family room. Use those large antique apothecary jars to display rocks, shells, marbles, and lots of other small objects that you want to consolidate into a single dust-free display.
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Do you travel? Are your souvenirs piling up? You really should be displaying them. It's lovely to add exotic items into your everyday living situation. Bring back those great trip memories by proudly decorating with your travel pottery, decorative tiles, artwork, and other memorabilia.
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Hobbies can lead to displays that inject your interests squarely into your living space. Frame and display your photographs along a hallway wall, and use ceiling spots and/or art lights to showcase your subjects.
You might be a rockhound or seashell fan; if you are, purchase mounting stands and use small display cases to highlight your finds. In one neighborhood, a nearby family set into concrete the beautiful rocks they had collected on their world travels along their front porch stairs and surrounding their indoor fireplace. We remember one rock that looked like a strip of bacon. Do we remember anything else about their house? Not a chance! Their rock collection, however, will always stay with us as a fond childhood memory.
Photo credits: Stephen Bennett Auctions, Facets Gem & Mineral Gallery, Flickr