HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 1988-04-27, Page 27Home & Garden ’88
THE CITIZEN, WEDNESDAY, APRIL 27, 1988. PAGE 27.
Decorating with collectibles can be fun
BY PATTI ROBERTSON
The desire to collect is in all of us.
Everyone, from the frequenter of
fleamarkets and yard sales to the
bidder at a high-priced auction, to
the kid who picks up bottle caps in
the street. We all love to return
home with a lucky find in hand.
Part of the satisfaction and fun of
collecting comes from hunting; it’s
like finding pearls in oysters.
Once we’ve carried our trea
sures back home, we want to show
them off, to impress, to amuse, to
teach others and have the pleasure
of looking at our treasured find.
Our ‘pearl’ can intrigue the
mind, beguile the eye and provide
a visual variety; if it is properly
displayed.
Displaying a collection calls for
careful consideration of the collec
tion as a whole and the individual of
pieces, plus the interiors in which
the collection is to be displayed.
After the trouble we go through
to find our bits and pieces we
should not allow them to be strewn
throughout the room so casually
that they will be mistaken for odds
and ends we forgot to put away
before company came.
With this in mind, there are a
number of ways in which our fine
antiques and bargain collectibles
can be efficiently displayed to their
best advantage.
RULES OFTHUMB
When decorating with collecti
bles, we are best to group our
treasures with a similar theme
together with a suitable room, i.e.
crocks, redware and splatter ware
in the kitchen, or duck decoys and
toy sailing ships in the den. To
scatter our collectibles throughout
our home, only dilutes the collec
tion’s impact.
Whatever room is chosen, we
must decide what role we wish our
collection to play. Do we want it on
centre stage - The first thing a
visitor notices upon entering the
room - or in the background?
A collection can become a focal
point of any room, the colour and
style of its elements setting the
tone for the rest of the decor. This
allows the collection to become
part of the environment.
On the other hand a colour
scheme may be kept neutral and
furnishings low key to allow the
collection to stand vividly.
Will our collectibles be strictly
show pieces or will they serve
functional purposes, i.e. Our blue
Delftware used to serve company
at the dinner table?
Ifwe intendtouse our pieces,
they will need to be convenient,
easily-maintained and display
areas. After determining where
and how prominently we wish to
display our collectibles, we can
think of various ways to displaying
them.
The list of things people collect is
endless; fortunately the ideas for
displaying our treasures are not.
We can break down display
ideas into three basic categories.
WALL PIECES
Whether wall pieces are paint
ings, drawings, prints, photo
graphs, posters or hangings, these
will instantly enhance any room in
our home. The important fact to
remember is that pieces should be
properly framed, placed, hung and
lit with careful considerations of
these factors.
It will aid our knowledge and
preserve our treasure if we seek a
professional to assist us with our
task.
Our collected ornaments and
brick-a-brac can be displayed in
cabinets or specially built shelves,
in customized cases, or simply on
bookshelves or tabletops.
We must ask ourselves “how
protected do these objects need to
be?” And how much space do we
want to devote to them?
Ifthepiecesarevaluable, it is
better that they are behind glass in
a cabinet.
Built in display cases can easily
become an architectural element
within our room.
If we live in tight quarters, we
may want to arrange our collection
on already existing surfaces, such
as end tables or bookshelves.
Wherever we position our ob
jects we will need to be sensitive
towards colour, shape and propor
tion, like that used in flower
arranging. Startwithone major
piece placed in the centre of a shelf,
then fill in the other pieces around
it.
Consciously emphasize variety
and contrast within the collection.
Play tall slender pieces against
short, squat ones, or dark ones
against light, or patterned against
solid. Do not place pieces too close
together: allow room for each, and
far enough apart so we can
appreciate each object separately.
FURNITURE
Of all our collectibles and
antiques, our pieces of furniture
should be as much used as they are
on display. Good quality pieces do
not need to be babied.
Give special pieces of furniture
special emphasis in the room’s
over all plan by placing them in
focal positions. Perhaps a beauti
ful settee flanking an archway or
fire place sobecomes part of the
room’s architecture.
Ifwe have enough furniture of a
particular period we can furnish an
entire room, or even the entire
house. This becomes a matter of
actual interior design, not just
displaying collectibles.
Despite all the do’s and don’ts
weneedtorememberforsucha
project, we really should approach
this lightheartedly and with a
creative frame of mind.
With this in mind, unpack the tin
soldiers, and china dolls from the
boxes in the attic, take the Italian
hand-painted tapestries out of
storage, and set about organizing
to your heart’s content. The results
may be beautiful, but the process
itself is best undertaken in the
spirit of purest play!
[The writer is an Interior Design
Consultant in Wingham, Ontario. |
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