Cleverly display your collections with these simple ideas that will show off your most prized possessions.

Whether you collect antiques, vinyl records, or vintage Star Wars toys, it’s a given that you are proud of your collection and want to show it off. While some kinds of collectibles need to be kept in their original packaging and are not suitable for display, most of the things we collect are intended to be put on display and not hidden away in the closet.

But it can be difficult to come up with clever ways to incorporate your collections into your home decor. Some collections have inherent display challenges–your items are too small, too big, or too unwieldy–but no matter what you collect, we think there is a way to fit it into your home decor. From guitar picks to vintage teacups, don’t hide your collection away, display it proudly.

Here are some creative solutions for how to display various types of collections.

Display Your Collections Cleverly

1. Frame It – Turn those postcards or vintage sports banners into framed works of art. Curate small items together in one large frame or frames larger items on their own. Framing can also have the bonus of preserving your collections.
2. Picture Frame Hanger – Use repurposed distressed frames and small nails to hang and display everything from vintage necklaces to holiday ornaments.
3. Gallery Wall – If you collect colorful plates, tea trays, or illustration prints, create a stunning gallery wall to show off your pieces. Not only does it highlight your collection, but it creates a very cool effect.
4. Shelve It – For breakable collections that you want to display, but keep out of reach, consider adding a shelf all the way around the room just below the ceiling. Of course, adjust the height according to your collection.
5. Create Vignettes – Don’t be afraid to mix and match your collections to create vignettes around you home. For example, display your owl figurines on a table with framed floral and feather prints on the wall above the table.
6. Birdcage Storage – Use vintage tabletop birdcages to display and store your knick-knack collections. Not only is it a smart idea, but it also has the added benefit of keeping your collection items from getting swiped onto the floor.
7. Type Cabinets – If you are lucky enough to find an old typesetter’s cabinet, snap it up. They are perfect for hanging on the wall and displaying tiny collectibles.
8. Use Other Unexpected Containers  – Repurpose and use other unexpected display props. Display vintage Nancy Drew books in an old suitcase, store marbles in a fishbowl, or Pez dispensers in apothecary jars.
9. Hang From the Ceiling – Depending on what you collect, consider hanging your collection items on invisible fishing wire from the ceiling to make it appear as if your collection is suspended in the air. This technique would work perfectly for everything from globes and retro thermoses to driftwood and stuffed animals.

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Colored Plates on the Wall Image from Shutterstock

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Shop ’til you drop.

When I travel, the first thing I do in a new town is check out the local flea market. Nowhere am I better able to get a sense of a place’s culture than by hobnobbing with locals while perusing dusty antiques, trying on secondhand clothing, or sampling bizarre street foods.

The world’s most famous markets are a kaleidoscope of sights, sounds, and smells. These 40 photos provide a taste, just enough to jog that wanderlust.

(above) Bazar Mora, Valparaiso, Chile

Camden Passage Market, London, England

Feria de San Telmo, Buenos Aires, Argentina

Izmailovsky Flea Market, Moscow, Russia

Otavalo Market, Otavalo, Ecuador

Chengalpattu Market, Chennai, India

Monastiraki, Athens, Greece

Santa Fe Indian Market, Santa Fe, New Mexico

Buleshwar, Mumbai, India

Place du Jeu de Balle, Brussels, Belgium

Boxhagener Platz, Berlin, Germany

Anjuna Market, Goa, India

Jaffa Flea Market, Tel Aviv, Israel

Le Marché aux Puces, Paris, France

Food Market, Mopti, Mali

Tsukiji Fish Market, Tokyo, Japan

Alemany Flea Market, San Francisco, California

Otavalo Market, Otavalo, Ecuador

Night Market, Luang Prabang, Laos

Central Market Hall, Budapest, Hungary

Flea Market, Amsterdam, Netherlands

Flea Market, Nairobi, Kenya

Kolaportið, Reykjavik, Iceland

Khan-El-Khalili, Cairo, Egypt

Montmartre Street Fair, Paris, France

Ubud Market, Bali, Indonesia

Grand Bazaar, Istanbul, Turkey

Christmas Markets, Barcelona, Spain

Food Market, Lake Atitlan, Guatemala

Panjiayuan Market, Beijing, China

Porta Portese, Rome, Italy

Chinchero Sunday Market, Urubamba, Peru

Portobello Market, London, England

Brooklyn Flea Market, New York, USA

Floating Market, Ratchaburi, Thailand

Flea Market, Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan

Flohmarkt, Calw, Germany

Setagaya Flea Market, Tokyo, Japan

Brooklyn Flea Market, New York, USA

Grand Bazaar, Tehran, Iran

SEE ALSO:

40 Gorgeous Photos of Europe

40 Gorgeous Photos of North America

40 Gorgeous Photos of Latin America

40 Gorgeous Photos of Asia

40 Gorgeous Photos of Africa

25 Photos of Islands Threatened by Climate Change

25 Images of Female Adrenaline Seekers

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The new antiquarian tends to live in a world of mystical, sometimes macabre, always evocative objects from times long past.

This year saw the continued proliferation of the new antiquarian, a special breed of inquisitive human characterized by intense nostalgia, an appreciation for simple pleasures, and a preference for taxidermied animals. The new antiquarian reads Victorian literature while sipping on cocktails with bitters. The new antiquarian would never click through a Timeline to recall memories when there are precious keepsake boxes on hand for that task.

From the coffers of 2011, a review of some of the coverage that best exemplifies this aesthetic.

Anatomically correct décor

The design world’s love affair with sourcing inspiration from the mechanics of the human body was in full swing this year, as demonstrated by Scott Campbell’s upholstered armchair.

Strange taxidermy

Enrique Gomez de Molina is reinventing taxidermy as a surrealist art, mashing up insects, birds, animals, and found objects into quirky one-of-a-kind pieces.

Keepsake Boxes

Mementos deserve homes as precious as the memories they preserve. WE-ARE-FAMILIA has engaged cross-disciplinary artists from around the world to contribute found mementos to one-of-a-kind Keepsake Boxes that sell for up to $10,000.

Animal Farm glasses

Some glassware is definitely more equal than others, like these Orwell-inspired tumblers hand-sketched on glass from recycled wine bottles.

Typewriters

There’s nothing like the clickety tap tap of a vintage typewriter to make one feel like a modern-day Hemingway. Donna Brady and Brandi Kowalski restore classic typewriters like the Remington, the Corona, and the Royal Standard at their Brooklyn studio.

Antique sitting chairs

This 19th-century French sitting chair, made entirely of tree branches, is just one of many lustable antique objects available at Obsolete in Venice, California.

The good china

This hand-painted collection of bone china from New Orleans artist Shelley Hesse for Anthropologie is fit for formal dinners. You could even get away with using them year-round.

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Albertine’s one of a kind, antique enamel brooch ring is calling your name (or mine).

In 2003, the “inimitable Kyung Lee” opened Albertine featuring talented, young designers in need of showcasing their work.

Albertine soon became a place for customers and friends alike to sit and talk and mull over beautiful things showcased throughout the shop. Kyung even grew into a new title as a New York City “Tastemaker.” In 2009, Kyung grew her store’s following and debuted Delphine, an in-house line, creating one-of-a-kind garments for all occasions. This past year, she opened Albertine General, featuring antique, contemporary, and custom jewelry from a wide array of designers.

This antique brooch ring from Albertine has been on this writer’s radar for some time, and well, there’s only one so…

$225

Look for Lustables daily at EcoSalon. 100% gorgeous green finds, and never sponsored. Submit your favorite to tips@ecosalon.com

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Curl up in this Primitive sitting chair, and don’t forget your imagination.

Like something out of a Brother’s Grimm tale, this antique sitting chair is fantastical in price and origin. The cost is $2,400 – a bit, shall we say, on the whimsical side – but the chair is one-of-a-kind, adding to its lustability. Origin-wise, it’s a French piece dating back to 1880.  The reason for its moniker, meanwhile, is that it is made entirely out of tree branches.

You can find this chair, surrounded by other primitive objects, at Obsolete in Venice, California.

Look for Lustables daily at EcoSalon. 100% gorgeous green finds, and never sponsored. Submit your favorite to tips@ecosalon.com

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White Owl jewelry melds vintage laces and chains to create heirloom pieces.

White Owl’s Anais Lace Necklace with lacy swirls of taupe, is hung by an antiqued brass chain and petite vintage beads. Dip dyed and ready for your most simple shirts or dresses.

($34)

Look for Lustables daily at EcoSalon. 100% gorgeous green finds, and never sponsored. Submit your favorite to tips@ecosalon.com

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The latest issue of Rue (an online shelter magazine) is charming me with two hundred and ninety-seven pages of gorgeous images accented with just the right amount of thoughtful text. A feature on Angela Stone’s Chicago home (page 277) is utter perfection. The aesthetic of the space is Farmhouse Modern; Adrienne Murrill described it with eloquence, “It’s the juxtaposition of storied, character-rich pieces with minimal urban elements.”

I love the idea of carefully curating each piece in your home.  As the feature in Rue boldly asked, “Why not bring a little more story and individuality into our homes? Why not know who made the dining table you share so many memories at or the bedside table you wake up next to?”

Ms. Stone is a curator for the Chicago-based design collaborative Hinge. “The goal is to give people an easy alternative to the mass-produced big box design stores that have become second nature to many people,” Angela said. “The Hinge aesthetic is very much centered on seeing the beauty in what is commonly discarded or overlooked.”

I fell in love with Hinge the moment I read this on the website:

“It is our need to connect that makes us tick and our innate desire to link our past to our present that makes us human. Hinge is a design community of local Chicago artists, furniture designers and antique dealers. We are inspired by our surroundings and the places life takes us. In each piece created our purpose is to tell the untold story.

At Hinge, we like our furniture with a little soul, from unadorned farmhouse antiques, to sleek vintage pieces and sustainable custom furniture.

Nothing about you echoes mass produced or generic. Why should your home?”

Now that you undoubtedly love Rue and Hinge – pay them a visit!

Live in Chicago? Visiting the windy city? Don’t miss a great list of Angela’s favorite local resources in Rue (page 291).

(Original story by Adrienne Murrill for Rue. Photography by Emily Johnston Anderson for Rue.)

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Each week here at EcoSalon, I beg my favorite bloggers and designers to hand select a beloved green product, whether it’s a finish, furnishing, or accessory. The end result? An endless anthology of aesthetically perfect products for your perusal.

This week Coryanne Ettiene, of Housewife Bliss glory, is here to share her love of Antique Mercury Demijohn Wine Bottles. Coryanne adores how these antiquities are an amalgamation of her three passions – texture, light, and design, “I can see myself enjoying these in every room of the house and never tiring of them.” Coryanne’s lust for these antique wine bottles is woven with her imagination of sunlight and candlelight and gracefully bouncing off the metallic sheen of each curve.

Housewife Bliss is a bundle of domestic knowledge cleverly embellished with the wildly informative and unabashed wit of Mrs. Bliss (as Coryanne is known to Housewife Bliss followers). Don’t let your fear of “˜domestic’ keep you from visiting Housewife Bliss. Housewife I am not, Housewife Bliss follower I am. If you are female – a wife, a mother, or breathing – you will find a little bliss. Devour Mrs.Bliss’ helpful hints on stress management or peruse her store brimming with everyday function. If you have a hankering for acquiring new skills, you will love the tutorial session occurring now on Housewife Bliss (each week an expert gives a light lesson on everything from sewing, herb gardens, décor, needle point, jam making, etc.).

Catch Mrs. Bliss on her blog, Facebook, and Twitter – tell her EcoSalon sent you.

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If you’re like me, you have a soft spot for vintage hardware, such as these classic hex glass knobs, an American favorite from 1900 to 1940. I love marrying these to bathroom cabinets and drawers. And while reproductions are readily available (i.e. Resto), you can locate the good oldies and many other pulls at House of Antique Hardware.

This site is a valuable remodeling resource, not only for the glass but also for iron, wood and brass. I used the drop pulls on my media wall unit to add some depth. The rings are ideal for sprucing up an old dresser, the finishing touch after a few coats of low VOC white paint.

The old Eastlake ring pulls, Victorian metal, and ebony and brass drops are among the varied selection I found at this site.

You can even locate replacement pulls and hinges, icebox accessories, wheel furniture casters and toe caps. Casters are ideal on English country furniture, giving sofas and ottomans a little boost in flair and height.  While many of the hardware styles are associated with antique and retro interior design, they mix easily in a modern setting, providing a reminder of our charmed past. Plus, it’s better to recirculate the old, rather than always buying shiny and new.

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