It doesn’t matter what you collect.  It could be teapots, bottle caps, toy cars, ceramics from the 1950′s, crystal, or those childhood baseball cards…the list goes on and on.  What does matter is how you display your treasured items.  Here are just a couple of guidelines that will allow your collections to take center stage in your home.

• A collection can only be seen if it is grouped together.  If you spread it all over the house it loses it’s impact as a collection.
• Just because you have it does not mean you have to display it.  Too much of a good thing they say.  Determine how and where you want to feature your items and then pick those that work the best in the spot based on color, size etc.
• Don’t crowd your items.  Allow enough room between them so they can be seen and appreciated.

Check out these collections and see if these displays would work for you.

courtesy of Conspicuous Style blog
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These teapots provide a spot of color to the kitchen or dining room.  Notice how they are not crowded together making it possible to enjoy the unique shape of each one.

Cecilies Lykke
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Something as simple as a grouping of colored bottles has real impact, especially when placed on a windowsill to catch the light.

Designed by Martyn Lawrence Bullard for Architectural Digest
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If clear glass is more to your liking, these bottles with their cross shaped stoppers add a personal touch to the mantle of Sharon and Ozzy Osbourne’s Los Angeles home.  A more affordable version is available from artist Artie Vanderpool if you would like to start your own collection.

courtesy of Jackie Rueda
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Items found in nature such as an assortment of seashells you may have picked up on your travels adds personality and individualism to your home.  They can be a real conversation starter as well.  Toss them in a bowl or glass hurricane or glue them to the back of a shadowbox and turn them into wall art.

source unknown
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Okay…if you have been collecting Pez dispensers for this long I say, display them.  They almost look like abstract art when hung on the wall this way.  Great fun for a family room, game room or casual dining space.

What do you collect?  Please share your photos of your Grandmother’s china hung on the wall or those paint by number portraits you find at garage sales.  These are the items that make your home truly unique and you should share them with all who enter. (and us)

Side note:  The US postal service just released a collection of stamps that celebrates 20th century American designers, check it out here….stamp collecting is one of the most popular hobbies around and makes a wonderful display in a family room, den or young boy’s room.

• The stores are full of mirrors, candlesticks and lamp bases covered with real or faux seashells.  Check out this lamp from Lamps Plus.  How pretty on a bedside table!  Pottery Barn even sells bags of shells for those of you who do not live near a beach (or just don’t like sand stuck between your toes) as well as lots of other sophisticated beachy accessories.
• Fabric is a perfect way to add a touch of sun, sand and shells to your home.  Fashion a couple of pillows from this Robert Allen fabric for a cool summer feel.  Quick and easy summer projects such as easy to sew window valances, a border on bath towels or crisp summer bedding can all be made from fabrics featuring shells and other symbols of the sea.
• Furniture with shell motifs can add a whimsical as well as traditional touch to any room.  In fact, the shell is a very popular symbol found on Queen Anne and other furniture styles.
• Accessories are a fun and easy way to highlight any season, including summer.  Place a large conch shell on top of a stack of books to remind you of that vacation at the beach.  A fun project with the kids is to glue seashells around picture frames for photos of last year’s trip to the Bahamas.  Or you can simply fill large jars or hurricanes with all the shells you have collected over the years as a  fun reminder of past trips.

Replace all of your 4th of July decorations with this symbol of summer and your home will be decorated for the rest of the season.  That leaves plenty of time for you to visit the beach to collect more shells!