16 Ways to Showcase Your Collections

June 01, 2012
Give collectibles the spotlight they deserve by displaying them in an appropriate setting.
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Tell a story

Put the past in front of you. Frame covers from your children's favorite storybooks-or your favorite playbills-and hang them for inspiration above a writing desk.

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Spotlight collected pieces

An heirloom hutch (or one picked up for a song at the local flea market and revived with a coat of paint) adds an air of history to your home, especially when it holds your favorite collections. Use it like a mini gallery to evoke favorite memories and infuse a room with color. To ensure harmony, group your treasures by hue.

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Vanity will out

An antique vanity is a pretty setting for vintage jewelry, perfume bottles, mirrors or any other beauty accessory.

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Hang it up

Let the items in the collection determine the method of display. Here, a collection of antique street signs still hangs high, this time grouped in one frame.

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Big and bright

Old game boards and folk art pieces brighten simple shelves constructed with openings large enough to accommodate these graphic elements.

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Period appropriate

Bauer pottery from the 1930s-50s mingles with pieces of similarly shaded pottery on a period-perfect end table.

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Suitable framing

This collection of majolica surrounds a simply framed mirror, doubling the impact of the subtle shades.

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Stirring collection

Tumblers hold a vast collection of swizzle sticks. State souvenir glasses are the perfect containers for these inexpensive travel mementos.

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Fun function

Rocking choppers fill an old-fashioned wood bowl on a butcher-board counter. Antique kitchen implements are a natural fit for the kitchen, especially when grouped in a period-appropriate container.

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Let it shine

Blenko art vases shine in front of glass block windows. Any collection of glass looks even more lovely with sun streaming through it.

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Dispense with mess

Marbles, bouncy balls, tiny kid's toys. Corral hard-to-contain items in a device sized for the job, such as this gumball dispenser.

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Double impact

Shelves in front of a mirrored wall hold a horde of purses, making both sides of the pieces easy to admire.

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Suitable setting

Vintage children's watering cans get a shelf along a fence in the garden. Maybe you have terra-cotta pots or birdbaths that deserve the spotlight in your yard.

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Perfect placement

There is nowhere more appropriate for a collection of old oil cans than on a nice shelf in the garage! Put your collection in the room where it belongs.

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Pegged it

Pegboard has always been perfect for hanging tools. Use it to display a collection of tools of your favorite craft-sewing, knitting, etc.-or, as pictured here, the signs of your hobby.

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Back to nature

Duck decoys and framed leaf prints fill the wall with earthy decor in this nature-inspired room.

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