Scouting Blog for Cool Vintage Finds

Ways to Display Your Collection

2/7/2023

No matter what you collect, your fabulous finds deserve to be displayed. A pleasing arrangement allows you to enjoy your curated menagerie and gives onlookers the opportunity to fall in love with it, too. Plus, it's fun to share your acquisitions and earn the admiration (and envy) of an audience. But how should you exhibit your discoveries to their best advantage? Here are some creative ways to make your unique collection shine.

Stack It

The items you collect will have some say in how they are best displayed. By their very nature, dishes lend themselves to stacking. Collectors of beautiful pyrex milk glass, glow-in-the-dark uranium glass (aka vaseline glass), and other popular wares are stackable on sideboards and shelves for great effect. Take, for instance. the stunning stacked assemblages by Tanya Hughes. Aside from maintaining the awesome Mrs. Hughes vintage fashion blog and offering vintage patterns for sale in her etsy store, Tanya is a pro at showcasing her amazing pyrex collection. Follow the pyrex maven on instagram (tanyamaile) to get a steady dose of her talents.

Tanya Maile's amazing "dish-splay" (her own apt lingo) is a master class in stacking (and collecting, of course). Note the tasteful placement of vintage figurines.

Mrs. Hughe's spot-on stack of dot pyrex is a shelf-worthy smile fest. Thirsty for milk glass yet?

Photo credits: tanyamaile

Shelve It

A sturdy shelf can be home to more than stackable things. Figurines, photos, ceramics and other alike objects pack a visual punch when aggregated on a mantel, ledge or shelving.

You can see the impact of a throng of similar pieces in Susannah Carson's exquisite and otherworldly displays.. Carson has a real “eye” for artistry. Her ocular designs elevate porcelain plates, canvases and other substrates. Perched in simple plate stands, these museum-quality painted plates are a sight to behold. Start your own collection at her online shop and follow her on instagram.

Who wouldn't be transfixed by this spectacular arrangement of Susannah Carson's stunning plates?

With a deftly displayed set of Susannah Carson plates on your shelf, all eyes will be on you!

Photo credits: susannahcarson

Take a lesson from the pleasingly peculiar world of Tina at peculiarpullip for creative shelf display.. This collector of Pullip dolls had the brilliant idea to use a dollhouse to "house" her collection. A cabinet shelf does the trick too, as her overflow army of big-eyed dolls will tell you. For more info on these delightful creatures, read Tina's Peculiar Pullip blog on Wordpress.

Photo credits: peculiarpullip

Blenko glass is much beloved by collectors around the world. Since 1921, the West Virginia company has crafted hand-blown glasses in a rainbow of colors and a plethora of shapes. Our friend Chris Martyn is a premier collector, a proud owner of dozens of rare and desirable pieces. Chris was kind enough to share a few pics of how he displays his exceptional collection in his home to inspire other glass owners.

Chris Martyn does his Blenko glass true justice with color-coordinated groupings on shelves that benefit from natural backlighting.

Window-facing shelves provide a spectacular sunset view of Chris Martyn's impressive Blenko glass collection.

It's fun and interesting to cluster families of like things on a shelf. We were thrilled to acquire this group of Happy Children for that very purpose.

Our small family of Siegfried Hefner Anri Happy Children enjoy a place of honor on top of a shelf that holds our vinyl collection. Yes, that's an original serigraph of Robert Indiana's iconic Love design on the wall behind them.

You don't have to be a librarian to maintain a library of books. Tomes on shelves do more than just dress up your space—their mystical properties enrich minds and lift moods,. So put yourself in proximity to the real and imagined worlds of writers and thinkers with an artfully arranged shelf of books.. Don't forget to dust 'em off and read!

We love looking at the fancy and weathered leather spines of old volumes in our own library. A vintage bookend adds to their aura of bygone days.

This pretty pile of prized pop-up books, readily readable from their place of honor on our living room book shelf, makes a sweet sight.

Hang It

Themed artwork is especially engaging when it's displayed en masse. Consider hanging your like-minded paintings, sketches, photographs or other works of arts together on a wall. "Cluster art" isn't new, but it is timelessly appealing when it's done right.

Clusters of themed art look terrific together, like this pair of whippets by the talented Susannah Carson. Doesn't hurt to have an amazing backdrop, of course.

Whimsical hand-painted portraits by none other than Susannah Carson literally make this wall pop.

Photo credits: Susannah Carson

Wing it

There are a multitude of ways to put your treasures on display. Hey, that rhymes! The point is, forget the rules, just be guided by what works and looks good.

Tina of peculiarpullip is full of creative ideas. A repurposed vintage printer's letterpress tray holds her smaller rock and crystal collection, while larger pieces are delightfully displayed on a tiered teardrop shelf.