I would pick the biggest wall in your home and fill it with shelves of your items. Make that wall only for your collectables. If that is not enough space, then you could do a band of shelving on the way top of walls in a room or too. I'll post a pic so you know what I'm talking about.

WOW! I would want to get my hands on all those things. :)

Sorry but it looks like a comic store, but maybe that's what the owners were going for? I think it's hard to display really large collections at the best of times, but when everything is still packaged it's even worse. If it's truly a collection of objects I love and enjoy, I'd ditch the packaging. But if the owners consider it some kind of investment (hence the "mint in original packaging") then take it a step further and store these things in a climate controlled sunless "vault."
I personally like the idea of rotating what's on display. Highlight a few favourites and then switch it up every once and a while.

Thank you everyone for your comments! Yes, the homeowners have the entire collection in a separate room, completely dedicated to this collection...and it IS sunless. :)

Here are some more photos that give everyone a better idea of what this room looks like. (It was a workout room.)

I think this kind of collection is very polarizing - you either love it or hate it. As a designer, my personal opinion of the contents of the collection itself doesn't matter. They hired me to meet their needs, not mine, but FWIW I think it's really awesome. :)

My challenge was figuring out a display that met the needs of both the husband and wife:

1 - Husband - display the entire collection, no boxes opened, and displays for all loose figures

2- Wife - display the entire collection in a way that looks well thought out and didn't involve pegboards, thumbtacks, and piles of action figures.

They are both really happy with the results - the collection has its own room so doesn't creep into other areas of the home and the they both love the "store look" of the finished product.

Happy clients, happy me!

So the owners were going for a comic book store look. Then it's perfect.
I love the shelving for the open figures. Did you use spice shelves for the tiered shelves? My MIL has shelves of those little figurines you used to get in Red Rose Tea boxes. The tiered shelves would be perfect for those. It would help the grand kids obey her "look but don't touch" policy too. It's hard to see the ones in the back.

Thanks Anne! Yes, he wanted that "store look" and said he would never dream of of opening his boxed figures. He actually bought duplicates of many figures - one to keep in the box and one to open and display loose. (I wish I could do this with my SHOES!!)

You are right, we used spice shelves for the tiered shelves. Those are from the Container Store and so are the open white shelves with all of the loose figures.

Now you know what to give your MIL as a holiday gift, her Red Rose Tea figures would look great on those spice racks. Little people could look with their eyes but not with their hands and be able to see the ones in the back! I'd love to see a photo of the before and after of her collection!

This project was all about displaying the couple's collection in a way that preserved the boxed items, allowed for viewing of the loose figures, and still made room for extra figures as he continues to grow the collection.

I don't want to wear you all out with too many photos but here is a close up of some Lucite shelves to give a "floating look" and then a little Batman Vignette in an empty corner. This was another solution to the design dilemma I had with this one.

This was a FUN project!

well, it looks so busy all these figurines on shelves...but I guess if the collector wants to have access easily...if not, I would hang them with different lenght wires from the ceiling in one specific room...just to have fun !

Alicia, your work is LOVELY!! I really like them all but especially the tile backsplash. What fun!!

StudioNOO - I know exactly what you are suggesting - that wouldn't have me the needs of the clients in this situation, but I was in an Indian restaurant in London and they did that with beautiful marionettes - they made a wedding parade on the ceiling with different length wires. I attached a photo I took of it, and although the photo doesn't do a great job of showing how magnificent the collection looked, you get the idea. You are very clever!

Laurence - I hear ya...

For all the figures on the open shelves I would place those in an encased glass cabinet to prevent the dust from setting on them , the ones on the wall are pretty much displayed as a store would have them but even these could be placed under glass .

a few of these would take care of some

Thanks Genevieve! Those glass cabinets would be really great for a collection! Definitely a good way to keep the dust away. Thanks!

My 8 year old grandson would go completely nuts in that collection room! It is amazing what some people collect. I have a friend who collects hot sauces from all over the world and has several thousand assorted bottles now. Two of each, one to taste and favorite shaped bottled ones in glass display cases with lights. To each his own. You did a great job meeting your clients taste Anna Hill Designs.

I have a collection of swarovski crystal and some bells, tea cups - a bunch of pretty dust collectors really! But so many of them are roughly the same size, so they don't look as good as they could if there was some variation in height. Spice rack probably doesn't have wide enough levels for most of my things - and I don't think plastic shelving is the way to go with this imo. So - any other ideas out there?

Rosecottagehome, Thank you for your kind words. This project required me "letting go" a little bit of my natural tendencies. This process is all about meeting my client's needs and they are beyond pleased so I am too.
Kathy, I bet your collection is really nice and something you enjoy which is what matters most. Have you seen these acrylic risers from the container store? They come in a variety of heights and widths. They are not too expensive and depending on the size of your collection, perhaps you wouldn't need too many. You could secure your treasures with museum putty, also sold at the Container Store (or Home Depot, etc.) I hope this helps!

Kathy - here are the acrylic risers and the museum putty: