The clipboards and the hole in the wall are both great "installations"...gallery worthy, really. I would consider taking the drywall with me when I moved.

Graywings, you bring up a touchy point, but I am going to jump right in and say it, with a big *sometimes, NOT ALWAYS*:

*Sometimes* it *is* about the money, (rarity, exclusivity, etc.)

There has been a picture posted of a butler's pantry that not only has beautiful cabinetry, but is chock full of sterling silver and silverplate.

Someone said to the effect "well aren't we really responding to the obvious wealth of all the silver?"

And, I responded "Of course, it wouldn't be nearly as good if it were full of plastic holiday plates from the dollar store".

Someone Registered at That Moment, to make a commentary on the perceived elitism of that remark. And someone followed up saying they were perfectly happy and proud of their plastic holiday trays and didnt need silver to throw a good party.

Of course not. But just because you Don't have a closet full of silver,(who Does, and if you do you keep most of it in the flannel bags so it doesnt tarnish)--- doesn't mean you can't admired it, can't respond to it, can't view it almost as a museum setting? (Actually I think it was a house museum).

That butler's pantry would have looked good empty, looked great with the silver, but would have been diminished as a regular storage closet. Same with the pugs...1000 things from a prize grab at your local multiplex just aren't the same thing.

Palimpsest - I added a third but widespread category to your list:
1. Awesome collection with meaning
2. Don't be afraid to Leave It Empty
3. Indiscriminate, meaningless collections of THINGS

Those of us who lean towards category 2 sometimes have difficulty discerning between 1 and 3, though my3dogs has my utmost respect for her collections and taste.

palimpsist...if I ever move...that piece of wallboard is coming with me. I'm rather hoping that this is my toe-tag house and I can leave it to The Boy in my will.

My owls, the "bone bowl" The boy made (filled with sequioa cones) and two of my favorite ebay finds...japanese etchings...

The dragon plaque I made years ago, a little dragon ashtray from Okinawa, the urn The Husband brought me from Japan, and three little vases from Mark Hewitt's journeymen:

My bizarre little japanesque cordial set (I swear the tray doesn't really belong with the cups...it's aluminium and they appear to be spelter) more etchings, a cut glass bowl topped with hand-hammered pewter, and a piece by a friend's daughter:

I don't collect anything, I don't like shopping and spending money, and I don't have many family pieces. As a result, I have very little in the way of accessories. Is that "non-accessorizing with meaning"? A little bare may be ok but downright barren is not a good look! :)

Bungalow, I know where you are coming from: for many years I had nothing in the way of accessories, family items or collections, so I really didn't have anything displayed. This is the first place I have ever hung pictures, because I only started owning things that were meaningful in my last house. I would lean stuff against the wall, sometimes.

Interesting. Do you have any explanation for what changed that made you start finding things you felt like displaying? I keep thinking I shouldn't force the issue with myself, but I do like the layered acquired-over-time look and time is wasting away! Perhaps this is where magnaverde's "decorate for the way you live" rule should be heeded and I should chuck the cottage for a sleek MCM place.

Just a brief comment on "accessorize with meaning". After visiting RiverRat's home, I learned the true meaning of that rule. Subsequent to the visit, I have been "re-accessorizing with meaning" and have enjoyed the search for and addition of meaningful accessories.

Great additional responses since I was here this morning.

Like Tina, pieces picked up on trips, family items handed down and antique items are in our home because they remind us of our trips or family. I would never feel obligated to have something out just because it was a family piece. If I don't love it/drawn to it, it's out. I don't have any large things anyway, only small items and pictures.

Decorate for yourself, your family. Never for someone else. IOW, don't buy to impress because it won't make you happy and it may not even come close to impressing whoever it is you want to impress! lol

I don't abide by the odd number rule, but most of the time, an odd number looks better to my eye. I am an extremely visual person, so it has to look right to me or I will fiddle until it does - even if that takes awhile.... Which leads me to:

Don't rush! (Which Pal has touched on.) Part of the fun is in the hunt.

Bungalow, I would say there were three factors, really.

1) when I was younger I took a lot of painting courses while I was getting my other degrees. I was encouraged to get an MFA but I didn't think I would ever be a painter by occupation so I didn't do it. However, I was convinced at that time the art in my house should be my own. When I finally realized I might never start to produce pieces I would hang, I gave up and looked elsewhere for meaningful art. I still don't like prints of masterworks or things like that but I have found some things that make me happy.

2) The internet. I don't like shopping per se, and it also exposes one to LOTS of choices. I have (as I have mentioned) 60+ danish modern candlesticks and two dozen Keane prints from the Japanese-produced Masters Series. How long would it take to accumulate these things through conventional shopping (if you could)?

3) I got older, and I have a job. I will generally buy something for the house before I will go on a vacation.

Mine:

1) If someone's grandma loved it, it's worth a second glance (this has garnered me several gorgeous pieces of crystal and silver at the goodwill...typically covered in kitchen grease and always a deal).

2) There is a reason that the good old days were good :) We try to celebrate that by dining in the dining room, eating off of china and crystal regularly and displaying those items that we use.

3) Stuff is never as pretty as "stuff" with stories!

4) In every room there should be a smile. I try to find these with unexpected treasures...in the random goofy piece. My dog lamps, a thomas train protected by an antique glass dome...an antique shoe and the occasional chickens :)

Allison - I liked your article on repurposing old wooden tool boxes. I've been collecting these for years.

A chippy yellow one in my dd's room bookcase holds her children's books, a red one on her dresser holds knick knacks, one in the bathroom holds toiletres, and of course one on each dining table holds napkins and salt/pepper shakers. I can't get enough of wooden toolboxes!

When we moved into this house, our nearly empty nest house, I bought, and accepted as gifts, things I thought would please others. But as time went on, I allowed myself to keep only the things that made my heart sing, and learned that if no one else understood my affection for scary clown bookends or #2 house numbers, it no longer made me feel I had to explain why. The rule of Pug indeed!

I purged a great deal of my posessions a few years ago, and kept only what spoke to me (better quality pieces, original art, etc.); I realized that some things I had held onto because of sentimental reasons, or attachment because they were gifts from family, etc... had lost their importance to me. I was ready to live without them, I donated to friends and family till I was left with things no one wanted, which I let go in one final throw out ( or left in the back alley of my building, so they'd be picked up). I found all this process very liberating and I never looked back.

I still find pleasure in perusing accessories in a fabulous shop, or even Pottery Barn and Restoration, going to galleries and looking at sculpture and paintings ; I leave myself open to seeing something and wanting to possess it and live with it, which I find is the strong urge you should have before buying something such as home decor.

Nowadays, my strongest urges are towards handbags , belts and costume jewellery, I leave my nicest pieces out on my dresser like art.....

I was in a clothing resale store the other day chatting with the owner when she pointed out a lovely pair of vintage shoes in a floral print pattern. I commented that if I were staging a house for sale, I would use them as props somewhere in the bedroom or closet.

As a jumping off point from Allison's and other's repurposing and other old things, how about

Leave it alone.

Clean it off, make it safe, (when I look at some shabby, chippy things I think of lead dust; I don't want to sit on something that will poke me or collapse)

but other than that don't paint it or cover it or change it, try not doing anything to it. Let it not match, let it not coordinate--see if you think it works in its original state.

The Butler's Pantry Pal was talking about....

{{!gwi}}

Mom2reese, that is a brilliant wall. I've printed your pic and added it to my "ideas" file!

I'll admit, I used to "accessorize" by shopping at places like Home Goods. Over time I've replaced the meaningless stuff from HG with: pottery and bowls bought at various craft fairs; framed photos (but pared down -- I can't stand seeing every surface of a house covered in mismatched frames); antique globes; kids' artwork; "real" artwork; lots of rocks and shells from our beach vacations; and a lot of souvenirs from our trips. I love to shop on vacation because I know I'm finding things I won't find at home.

I definitely have not embraced the "okay to leave empty space" concept! But all my stuff has meaning to me.

Outside of extreme places like the Pug Apartment, I think in order for accessories to look their best, there has to be enough negative space around them so it's clear that they are accessories and not clutter.

A friend of mine has a china cabinet that takes up one whole wall in her small dining room. Behind the glass doors there is a mish-mosh of stuff, most of which is important to her (antique prayer books and menorahs, children's artwork, etc.) But it's all just stuck in there willy nilly, as if the point of the china cabinet is just to keep dust off the items. Nothing stands out or is shown at its best, so it doesn't look like decor or accessories, it looks like clutter behind bars. The exact same items displayed purposefully would radiate with meaning.

Does that pantry belong to someone here? I'd rather not comment... other than to say, if it were in my home it is too cluttered for me. Says "chaotic." And I'd have to shut that cabinet door. ;D But it's not in my home, so I don't really care how cluttered it appears to be. Maybe it was just after a party.

fwiw, several years ago I was in a 5M home (a neighbor of my parents') with a gorgeous sliver pantry. She used colored Saran Wrap over her pieces. I'd have to go with clear.

My rule always used to be, if it doesn't DO anything, I don't want it. No permanent floral arrangements or figurines or candlesticks with no candles in them (or candles I'm not going to light) or Pretty Little Things that just sit there. But in recent years I have been seduced by a couple of things that break the rule...a hand-carved bird, a pair of laughing older people, an old snow goose decoy...and so I have them out. I don't collect because life causes accumulation, and except for my belief that you can never have too much silver, I want less stuff.
But mostly I want the furniture to be in places where it has a use, and for the tops to be left relatively clear...a lamp, a coaster, a few books to look at...like that. I have too many books and too many framed images; I like pretty lamps and simple upholstery and decent wooden tables, and that's all the visual stimulation I can bear.
In general, my theory of accessories is, put a couple things together, stand back, stare at the composition, look at the whole wall, the whole room, listen to your initial gut reaction, and proceed accordingly.

LOL that pic is funny....this is a pic of my dream butlers pantry (which we'll be copying for our house):

{{!gwi}}

I have a lot of silver (you can get it for nothing at salvation army and the goodwill now a days) but I'd probably cut down when there was no countertop space left LOL

I was just playing with the fireplace in the parlor today thinking of this thread. I found some gorgeous custard glass plates that I thought would look lovely on it (we have a wonderful habitat for humanity thrift store here....great stuff and I couldn't pass them by). I added the plates, moved a couple of things over, but didn't remove anything LOL so apparently the "less is more" thing isn't working for me.

The plates fell under the "someone's grandmother must have loved them" rule of mine :)

I am a little bit of both. I have surfaces that I keep clear for use. (There is nothing purely decorative in the kitchen, bathroom, on the dining table, on the bedside tables...)

...then, I have surfaces that are crammed from front to back with things like Bridget Berlin (Pug Lady), although with probably less rhyme or reason than she uses.

When I am faced with large collections to arrange I often use alternate means of determination beside shifting and shuffling until they look correct. (I am talking about matched "collectibles", sets, like items in different shapes etc.) Anybody want to venture a guess as to what alternate means I use to arrange things? (besides visual arranging and re-arranging?)

You can get silver plate for nothing, but sterling's still not free. Or cheap.

And this is my new favorite phrase

"clutter behind bars".

Silverplate is nearly free :) But I've found several nice pieces of marked silver (mostly british) in the last month. I don't think people know the difference when they're donating grandma's stuff sometimes.

Great discussion. In my new home I am trying not to poke too many holes in the walls, or at least if I put something up, plan on keeping it there and not keep moving stuff so much. I do a lot of planning on line prior to reality...doesn't mean I still don't make mistakes, but helps me prevent them. I live by myself, so decorating just for me is easy since (divorced) I don't get the "I don't like that" or "why are you starting another project"...boy I don't miss that. ;-)

I sometimes use the power-of-3 or complete-balance-of-2 and sometimes neither of those. I kill plants but love how they look, so use silk plants for affect. I very much use items that have been passed on to me, as I don't have many, they are very cherished to me. I have a lot of empty spaces on the wall and know that over time the walls will get filled...I am not very good about the empty space option...I gotta stay off the Internet...LOL

I am trying to make my accessories count in this house and avoid unnecessary clutter...but the exception is the Tiki Lounge where clutter is expected.

If I had to share one philosophy about accessorizing, I think it would be "complement with color" as I do try to blend colors in a room and stick with about 3 major ones...so back to the power-of-three on that account.

Anybody want to venture a guess as to what alternate means I use to arrange things? (besides visual arranging and re-arranging?)

Is there any other method?

Is there any other method? I have tried some of these just to see what happened, particularly if the collection is large and I have other information about it. Sometimes I am arranging "collectibles": Franklin Mint, Lenox, Lladdro, (I know there is a lot of feeling against ready made collectible-collections, but people have them...)

1) chronological order: (if they are dated or you have information about when they were received)

2) alphabetical order: (eg paperweights) apple, blue thing, diamond cut, deer, dog, elephant, green, etc.

3) Size: Tall to short ,fat to thin

4) Color (R O Y G B I V, maybe)

5) Complexity: fancy to plain

6) How much I like them: line 'em up most favorite to least.

If its mantlepiece I could leave it at that, just lined up, (especially the chronological), but usually once I assign the hierarchy, it may actually go something like:

Radial from a center

Spiral from a center

Tallest, most favorite, etc L-->R with a hairpin turn and continuing backward R---L.

If something really looks off, I may start playing the shell game and shifting things around, but I have found that assigning it a spot by one of the methods above is often enough.

Very timely reading in the House Beautiful May issue about accessorizing w/ collections. I just got mine yesterday.

Another great thread!

I'm also a collector, so trying to find restraint/balance is always a struggle. I'm not sure if I follow any sort of "rules" for decoarating, but I do like functional spaces like countertops, vanities, and coffee tables to be as clear and free as possible. I also like the balance and symmetry of pairs of things.

As far as meaning goes, I try not to have any accessories that I don't love or aren't functional. I have a lot of old china and glassware, but we actually use it, rather than just keeping it pretty in a cabinet "for show." I adore the small statue of the Venus de Milo in the bathroom, and the tacky little German barrometer thing in my kitchen reminds me of my Grandmother and where I come from every time I look at it.

I love collections, in other people's home or my own. Of course they have to really appeal to me and generally I prefer them to be old.

I happen to like a lot of stuff, if it's put together really well. I think most of us know the difference between clutter and collections. Is there anything prettier than a cabinet filled with old white Ironstone or Old Paris. Take the same cabinet and fill it with Precious Moments, you get my drift? My apology's to anyone that collects PM.

{{!gwi}}

The silver butler pantry up above belongs to Willow. It was on her blog and I sure she was just showing off her silver for an article or something. I liked it so much I kept it on my desktop for quiet a while.

The plates fell under the "someone's grandmother must have loved them" rule of mine :)

I like that rule also especially when I also love the object! One of the things I collect is old silver plated holloware which has little monetary value (except on some antique resale sites) but has history which to me has meaning. Besides being beautiful, it's useful.

I love coin silver which I have none of. It use to be called the poor man's silver, now it cost a lot, go figure.

Palimpsest, I was going to venture a few guesses as to method...
1. Come in after the housekeeper is finished and reverse everything she moved?
2. The Chanel jewelry method: put stuff there, walk away, whirl around, and get rid of the first thing that catches your eye?
3. Invite the children over, give 'em each a bag and ten minutes, and rearrange what's left?
4. Let the cat run across the table, and keep the things that are whole afterwards?

I don't even know what coin silver is...I'm going to have to do some research :) I particularly love things that were for the ordinary folks....for some reason the love that I know they had as a one of, verses having oddles as a richer person did, is kind of sweet to me :)

I adore that white china cabinet display! How gorgeous and classic!

Pal...so letting my cat jump on the table and swish his tale around, then leaving it so I know he won't break anyting next time...that's not a arrangement scheme you've tried? :oP I highly recommend it....or at lest I do it a lot LOL

I agree that the Gothic Revival cupboard wouldnt be the same with Precious Moments, but I don't want to discount things like Precious Moments entirely. I think there are ways to collect and display even...trite collectibles. They do have a certain cultural iconography.

I have a series of ceramic liquor decanters which are tacky to say the least, really politically incorrect to be a bit more sensitive about it: a witch and her cauldron are labeled "Witches' Brew" a drunken sailor "Grog" an inebriated ice fisherman "Antifreeze" The Greek: "Ouzo", Scotsman, and Japanese: "Sake" are caricatures...the "Sake" doesn't even look Japanese, he looks Korean.

Anyway (you must think my house is a trainwreck), these were painted by a 90 year old nun who had a small ceramics shop at our local convent. Most of the items were religious, and I actually went to get one of her hand-painted pots, which somehow, have ended up in the houses of some important people. But when I saw these decanters I had to buy them all on the spot.

So, sometimes a collectible, however odd or trite it may seem to the outsider, may have a context that makes it worthwhile.

Thanks Igloo, that is my cousin's cabinet.

When it comes to collecting and collections, I'm always attracted to people's collections that have a personal history, whether it's old (as in ancestors) or fairly new (as in NewDawn's white Ironstone and Old Paris pieces).
When I was young, my favorite place in the world was our summerhouse on the lake. My grandmother, who I adored and was very close to, had a smallish collection of Cottageware. When she passed on, my siblings got her furniture, jewelry, etc.; all I wanted was her Cottageware and our huge, ancient family Bible. My problem was trying to find a good place to display it all, since my home here in the mountains of New Mexico is basically Southwestern and Western. As much as I tried, it just looked out of place in my kitchen and dining room.

I finally hit on the perfect place: my laundry room. I realize that this may sound strange, but I'm in there a dozen times a day, as it's also the way to get to our attached garage . . . and, I seem to be the main laundry person here ;^D
I've arranged it all on top of my cupboards in there and am now in the process of hanging some framed photos of my family and I at our summerhouse when I was a kid. I've even hung a wonderful vintage clothespin bag from the Fifties in there. It does sound like this is becoming a "theme room", but for me it's a way to display a cherished collection so that it (1)doesn't look out of place; (2) my family can see and enjoy it and perhaps appreciate what my life was like growing up on a lake in Michigan & Canada and (3) for bits of time each day, my laundry room brings back such happy memories of my childhood and my sweet grandmother.
Lynn

I like coin silver, too, and every now and then I get lucky.
As for arranging--I think there's a rhythm that you sort of have to feel, more than see. I lean towards symmetry, except when I don't, but some things are just better in pairs or pairs of pairs. And I love visual puns.

Bronwynsmom:

I think letting the kids do it is a good idea. I got started early:

My great aunt didn't have cats, but the dog got involved, he chewed holes in the rugs he didn't like. I still have the one I'm standing on.

my sister in law (who i am not particularly fond of) has an entire house furnished and "decorated" by ...ethan allen. EVERYTHING from A-Z was shipped in and placed by her EA "decorator". charming. not.

mjsee - I loaned my 21 yo son my credit card for his root canal two weeks ago, Just checked my charges and he also charged $400 at Guitar Center. He also took his girl out to dinner four nights in a row. Tonight I glanced at the hole in the wall he made last year in a fisticuff with his older brother. I think I have left it there as a reminder that in reality they love each other, and I can see the light at the end of the tunnel of their teenage angst years. If "I" can make it through tonight without putting another hole in the wall (only joking by the way - maybe) I am so going to copy what you have done. Love it, love knowing you made it through and most importantly, love your sense of humor!
Lynn

I have a small collection of McCoy pottery. Frank and his siblings (my herd of kittens) manage to break it every chance they get. For now it's all packed away until I can thin out some of the china and glassware and make room in the cabinets so they can't get to it. We have a wall of built in bookcases, and I would love to display some of my fragile pieces, but until they get older, it just ain't gonna happen.

{{!gwi}}
vintage snack/food tins
I was drawn to the fun graphics and bright colors. Now my whole family is on the hunt for me. It makes them even more special - kind of a family collection now, but I am the one who gets to keep them!
This is one of the few pops of color I have in an otherwise earthy/natural toned house.
I too keep work surfaces clear of clutter. Anything decorative tends to be on a tall surface. I can't stand to work in an area that has to be cleared first.

bronwynsmom...so funny..."Come in after the housekeeper is finished and reverse everything she moved?"

I just did that after the Molly Maids cleaned 2 weeks ago...and I thought...oh gosh...I am so set in my ways...but really couldn't you tell:
~those candles were arranged by color
~that fake plant was in the other part of the bathroom
~that hurricane was closer to the edge of the chest
~those statues were more evenly distributed on the shelf

Palimpsest, look how adorable you are!
(Do we ever get over missing our babies, even though we love the big people they become?)

Lynn...just keep breathing and remind yourself...this too shall pass.

I've never let one of mine use my card. I have a younger brother. ;^)

I need help with STUFF that's in my china cabinet. Its so over stuffed that I wonder if I shouldn't display some items elsewhere. Thanks in advance for your ideas.

1 -- For my bridal shower I received a china teacup and saucer from each guest. There are a dozen that don't match, but I love each one.

2 -- Our wedding cake had Cecil Mary Barker Victorian Flower Fairies on it, one representing each member of our blended family (5). Hubby put "him and I" onto a topper that he made, the kids' fairies are loose. The loose fairies could go into our Christmas ornament collection, I suppose. Or maybe there is a way to use them in a bathroom or my daughter's bedroom?
http://www.laceylady.com/flower_fairies.shtml

3 -- Three pairs of wine glasses that don't match each other. One pair is the champagne flutes from our wedding; we never drink champagne. The other two are pottery wine glasses.

I would put the top of the topper under something like a glass dome or cloche,(see the link), since it reminds me of those Victorian arrangments of taxidermy, wax flowers and the like.

I would probably display all twelve teacups and saucers lined up as a set.

Unless the champagne flutes are obviously inscribed and decorative I would probably store them away. The pottery wine goblets I might display with other pottery pieces.

Here is a link that might be useful: Pottery Barn Domes

Every time I see great Butler Pantries (like the ones above) I have "Pantry Envy"...even though I have a Butler's Pantry, mine is very small. There is no 3 of this 2 of that, there is no great accessorizing in there...oh dear...I am going to be loosing sleep, thanks for bringing this thread back Pam...LOL.

Palimpsest, thank you. The glass dome idea is terrific. I'm thinking the single ornaments could go into a shadow box or be hidden in planters.