It’s Day 18 – Everyone has something they love to collect. Vintage prints, rocks, china, clocks, snow globes, ceramics, etc. What do you collect? Are you displaying your collection in your home? Putting your collection on display adds so much personality and character to your home. Here are some ideas to help you create a well-styled arrangement, the key to keeping your display looking curated is to minimize the clutter and chaos.

Don’t Display It All

If you have a very large collection, consider curating the items on display, so that it doesn't take over the room. Plan to rotate items in and out of the display throughout the year. 

_{Image from Crate + Barrel} 

Focus on One Area

A grouping of like objects in one specific area creates a dramatic effect, but groupings of like objects everywhere can overwhelm a room. Concentrate your collection in one area for the biggest impact, like in bookcase or built-in. 

_{Image from Hannah Puechmarin} 

Mix it Up

You don’t need to dedicate an entire area to just one collection. Mix your collection in with other items to create a visually interesting display.

_{Image from Elle Decor}

Sort It By Color

Organizing a collection by hue is a great way to unite your items, no matter how different the items are in size or shape. Here you can see that equal space is reserved for each color group, filled in as new pieces are added to the collection.

_{Image from A Beautiful Mess}

Create a Gallery Wall

A gallery wall is great for items that can be framed such as vintage maps or concert posters. You could also consider framing items that aren't traditionally found in frames such as butterflies, pressed flowers or even concert tickets. A gallery wall also works for other items such as clocks, plates, or bread boards, items that wouldn't be framed but are best enjoyed displayed vertically. 

_{Images from Adrienne Breaux and Penny Wincer} 

Box It Up

Small-sized objects can add to visual clutter if scattered about. But corralling them in a larger container, such as a tray, unites them into one cohesive group.

_{Image from The Spruce}

Elevate Your Collection

Consider highlighting smaller items by placing them on a pedestal, it could be a traditional pedestal or you could use a stack of vintage books as a pedestal. Glass cloches are a great way to both highlight and protect small items. If the items in your collection are very small, for example matchbooks, you could put them in floating frames to give them more presence and then create a gallery wall.

_{Image from Shelley Zatsky} 

Glass Jars To The Rescue

For small, irregularly shaped objects that can't be stacked or framed, consider a glass vessel. You could use apothecary jars like these, or a modern glass vases, or even wide-mouth mason jars.

_{Image from Apartment Therapy}

In The Background

Don't let the backdrop interfere or distract from your display. Busy wallpaper, for example, would distract from the object you're trying to highlight and add visual noise to your display. Most often, a soft, solid color serves best as a background, although a bold color would be perfect if the objects in your collection were soft colors. The key to making your collection standout is contrast.

_{Image from Lisa Romerein}  

What do you collect and how do you display it?