The art of display or how to make the most of your collections

I love finding new additions to my collection but I often have to restrain myself as I have to deal with a limited amount of space in my flat. Two weeks ago, I found a cool chicken wire cabinet that I use for my porcelain cups and saucers. It was a great find and it is a practical way of displaying my collection. I decided to look for more display solutions - and the internet is full of great ideas that I felt I needed to share here!   

This picture shows two of my all-time favourites: blue and white ceramics and plates used to decorate a wall. Love it: it is a great way of showcasing a collection and spicing up a neutral wall:

The Willow Collection at Bluebellgray.

Giving wine crates a second life by using them as display cases, for jewellery or other:

Wine crates upcycling project on the hgtv website.

Another use of upcycled wine crates:

Pretty collection of bird figurines from the HousetoHome website.

 
Got some beautiful shoes but don't know how to display them? The solution is in your garden shed:

Clever use of a vintage ladder! Picture from the Alix Rose blog.

Simple but effective: organising your items on a shelf by colour:

Stylish toys collection from the Apartment Therapy website.

What about solutions available on Etsy? Well, for the last few months the website has been full of these little glass and brass display cabinets (I even sold one myself). They are great for small pieces (like jewellery) or plants:

Vintage cases by IonesAttic, £18,00.

 Printers' drawers are also quite trendy and add a cool vintage and industrial touch to a room:

Stylish printer's drawer beautifully decorated with vintage prints by Vialila, £160.

And here is an original DIY idea to showcase old postcards or pictures:

Pictures holders made from vintage roller skates wheels by Jollytimeone, £11,50.

And finally from Etsy, a quirky way of displaying vintage books: in a glass dome.

Large vintage glass dome by Littledogvintage, £42,50.

Want more ideas? Take a look at the September edition of Homes & Antiques: they have a great article on how to make the most of your collection with beautiful illustrations. You can see some on their website here (absolutely adore the jelly moulds on a kitchen wall- very Christmassy)!

And finally, my own humble attempt at making a jewellery holder for my necklaces and earrings... I must admit that I am quite satisfied with the result! :)

5 minutes DIY project: jewellery holder! An easy way to display necklaces.

Do you know any other great way of displaying a collection? If so, please share in the comments below!

Have a great week ;-)

First car boot sales in Salisbury!

This is officially the first post I am writing from Salisbury, Wiltshire! I moved here last week as I am now working full-time for a local auction house until November (I am assisting their Departments of Asian Arts, European Ceramics and 20th c. Design). In a week, I have already learnt a lot about how to take photographs for auction catalogues and using Photoshop 10 to enhance the pictures... It is a great experience and I am looking forward to learn more!

Salisbury is a charming little town city (it has a huge cathedral, in fact) with a mismatch of architectural styles and many antiques and charity shops! I try to control myself not to spend all my free time buying new pieces for my Etsy shop, but it's quite hard! 

The entrance to the Cathedral Close, Salisbury. Quite impressive, isn't it?

For the first time today, I went to car boot sales held every first Sunday of the month at Salisbury Fire Station on Ashley Road. I was at first a bit disappointed by the size of the event (there must have been about 35-40 stalls) and the kind of articles on sale (mainly children' clothes and toys), until I noticed a table covered with ceramics and other more interesting items. I spent most of my money and time at this stall, and ended up with some very interesting pieces!

Car boot sales at Salisbury Fire Station (one side of it - there were more stalls on the other side of the road), Sunday 5th of August, 2012.

 Amongst the things I bought are a set of five Japanese pin dishes with blue and white decoration (mainly of bamboo trees and cherry blossoms) that I guess date from around the 1920s; a couple of Mason's dishes, one with flow blue decoration and the other, transferware; a small Chinese rice bowl with blue and white decoration on the outside (kids playing with butterflies), and a blue vase from Bolingey Pottery.... And all this for a fiver (including a small table and a chicken wire cabinet I will use for display)! Today was definitely a good day at the office :)

Today's purchases from Salisbury Fire Station car boot sales... And I got all this for £5!!

These pieces will be available on my Etsy shop very soon! Keep checking it for updates :-)