Learn how to display collections so that they look beautiful and organized in your home. Plus see creative ideas you can use in your own home!

For some, there are items that just make our hearts beat a little faster and we feel a little happier to have these items around us – and this is how a collection begins!  Collections are a great addition to the home. They bring joy to the owner and give personality to a home.

The fun part is searching for and acquiring the items for our collections, but the challenge comes in how to display them. If not done properly, collections can become clutter. Or worse yet, some just hide their collections away because they don’t know what to do with them!

Beautiful Ways to Display Collections

A collection makes the biggest impact when it is grouped together, as opposed to spread throughout the home, because when grouped together:

  1. The individual pieces become more noticeable because they are not lost among other, unrelated items
  2. The pieces look organized and intentional

Find the Right Place

Before you can display your collection, though, the first step is to identify the right spot to showcase it. 

You’ll need to take into account the type of collection you have so that you can find the right room to display it.  For example:

  • A collection of vintage lunchboxes might work best in the kitchen.
  • A glass collection could work well in the dining room.
  • And a vintage mirror collection would work well in either a bedroom or bathroom.
Lunchbox Collection
Milk glass collection
Vintage Mirror Collection

Once you know where to display your collection, you can move on to how to display it.

Ideas for how to Display Collections

1. As Art

You can turn your collections into a work of art simply by grouping the pieces together and hanging them directly on the wall. Or, you can frame your pieces and hang them as a group. 

Teacut collection

This spoon collection is beautifully framed and hung on the wall as art.

Spoon Collection


Either way, be sure to hang the items in a group that can grow so that you are not limited to a defined shape and can add to your collection over time.

2. On Shelves

Bookcases, dining hutches, cupboards, etc. all make for a great way to group items in a collection together and display them.

Just in case the grocery store clerk is reading this, here's a great way to display vintage handkerchiefs! By Calsidyrose, via Flickr.
By Calsidyrose, via Flickr.

This teapot collection is quite varied but works well together when grouped on shelves.

Teapot collection

Tip: If your items have a lot of color variation, consider using a colored backdrop to help provide a unifying element (in this case, color).

3. In Displays

This seashell collection uses a variety of containers that allows them to stay tidy while still on display.

Seashell Collection

You can great vignettes, or displays, with your items around the home by clustering smaller groupings in one area like this gorgeous butterfly collection.

Nature Collection

You can also add other, related items to your display for interest.

Ideas for Organizing

Once you know how you’ll display your collection, give some thought as to how you can organize it within the display, such as:

1. By Color

Rolling Pin Collection by Size

2. By Size 

Here, seashells are organized by size to create different displays.

Seashell Collection by Shape

3. By Shape

Collections can be so much fun and are a great way to let our personalities and our passions shine!  So don’t hide your favorite pieces away or leave them strewn about the house, gather them up and show them off!

Here are some of my other favorite pictures of collections.  Enjoy!

Basket Collection
Camera Collection
Camera Display in Frame
Framed Handkerchief Collection
Hat Collection Display
Hat Collection Wall Art
Hat Collection
Vintage Clock Collection
Toy Car collection

For more ideas on how to display collections, you can follow my Pinterest board {HERE}.

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9 Comments

  1. Holly Hamilton says:

    How would you display a collection of, say, Breyer horses?

    1. Hi Holly! I had to google those because I’d never heard of them but they are beautiful! They look relatively small to me, which makes them tricky for displaying. Personally, I would probably display them in a cabinet but mixed in with larger objects that are visually heavier. So maybe a large stack of books and next to it, a grouping of 5 horses. And then elsewhere, maybe a basket and next to it another grouping of horses. Does that make sense? And I don’t know about collecting them and their value, but if it wouldn’t ruin them, I think a cloche full of horses on in the cabinet would be beautiful too!

      :) Kim

  2. Janet M Fradella says:

    What did you use to attach the spoons ?

    1. I attached spoons to cardboard covered with clothe by using clear plastic thread. I came across this idea from someone who used clear fishing line.

      JP

  3. Jack Titchener says:

    I really like the example where everything is ordered by size. If I were to arrange a wall of collectibles I would probably want to start with the bigger stuff and work my up the wall with the smaller collectibles. I’ll have to keep your tips in mind if I ever reorganize my house.

  4. I adore the idea of displaying the cups on the wall. I think I’m going to try that in my house. I liked several of your organizational ideas, as a matter of fact. Many thanks for sharing your great ideas.

  5. I love this! Such great ideas and beautiful pictures as well.

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