For collectors, acquiring hard-to-find pieces is only half the battle. Displaying your trophies in a thoughtful way is just as important. Here are some tips from experts:
– Integrate: For a subtle approach, one way to blend a collection into a home is to display it with other objects.
“If the collection isn’t of fine-art caliber, I’d suggest interspersing the objects on bookshelves with books or space them between some vases, baskets or photographs,” says Marlene J. Rimland, a Chicago interior designer. “By mixing up the objects … you make them more interesting,” says Rimland. “You integrate the collection into the home environment instead of trying to bowl over visitors by saying, `Wow, here’s my collection.”‘
– Use lights: To enhance visual appeal, try high-intensity spotlights, which typically are recessed in the ceiling or positioned on tracks. Agustin Fernandez, head of the Chicago interior design firm Fernandez and George, says, “(Spotlights) give a crisp, jewellike sparkle to objects with shiny surfaces.”
To make the most of available lighting, Fernandez recommends displaying collectibles on glass shelving.
“The glass should be at least 3/4 inches thick,” he says. “Something happens to the light as it passes through thick glass. . . . It makes everything look a little sharper.”
For objects displayed inside a cabinet, Mark Knauer, a Highland Park interior designer and president of Knauer Inc., an architectural and interior design firm, suggests that lights be used inside the cabinet.
– Keep it clean: “I’m into low-maintenance displays,” says Knauer, who collects Fiestaware plates with his wife, Jane.
He says they used to display their plates on open shelving but had a problem with dust. Now, he says, the collection is displayed in a cabinet with glass doors. “All you have to do is wipe the (cabinet) glass clean,” says Knauer.
For objects displayed in the open, dust can be removed with an old-fashioned feather duster.
“You can get dusters that are very long, and they’re ideal for miniature objects because they’re so delicate,” says Mary Donaldson, associate director of Ann Nathan Gallery in the River North neighborhood. “They’re real life-savers.”
– Try boxes: Besides shelves and cabinets, smaller collectibles such as brooches, cameos or watches can be placed in shadow-box tables, which were popular during the Victorian era.
More Top Picks Best Amazon Prime Day Le Creuset Deals 2026
“When you use a glass-topped table … you’re leaving a nice clean surface and you avoid a cluttered look,” says Fernandez.
A contemporary variation on these tables are the acrylic shadow boxes available in picture-framing shops, which Rimland says are especially good for “craft-type art like masks or vintage musical intruments.”
– Create balance: “The key is to organize your objects with a sense of balance, so it’s not a mishmash,” says Fernandez. “With lighting, for example, you don’t need to illuminate every object equally. Create pockets, shadows, to create interest, curiosity.”
– Be selective: Donaldson says if you want to keep your home from turning into a museum, edit your collection.
“I’ve walked into homes where it’s obvious the owner just acquires and acquires more. There’s layer after layer of shelving units that don’t even relate to the furniture. As your collection grows, cull the most beautiful … or most unique objects. If you have 10 objects and only seven are great, put the other three in storage.”
How to know when enough is enough? Donaldson’s rule of thumb: “If you have people over, and there’s no room for anyone to set down their drinks, the time has arrived to reorganize.”
– Read a little: “Designing with Collectibles” (Simon & Schuster, $25), by Candace Ord Manroe, interior design director at Country Home magazine, provides display ideas. Manroe guides readers through what to collect, principles of arrangement, displaying collectibles with a consideration for texture, size, color and the guidelines for choosing cabinets, niches, custom shelving and other showcases.
Filled with color photographs, the 143-page book shows how collectors have displayed everything from old radios to old typewriters.