Showcasing Your Antiques – Mixing New with Old

Showcasing Your Antiques:

Whether you are a lover of antique art glass or porcelain dolls and have collected a few up to thousands of items, you will want to showcase your treasure in the most appropriate way. You will not want your items stored up in an attic collecting dust, but many times this is what happens when you don’t start off on the right foot as a collector. Are all of your items in storage? Are they packed away in boxes where no one can see them or appreciate them? Why not bring them into the light of day and showcase them! After all, they have such great stories that go along with them and can be a conversation piece in your home or a focal point which you can design entire rooms around.

Creating Space:

Before you start collecting, it is a good idea to create a space for your precious things. A shelf, a room or possibly your entire house could be filled with antiques depending on your love and budget for collecting. It’s imperative to be organized ahead of time with the right mindset. Let’s say you only have a few antiques and do not want your entire home to ‘feel old’ you can take something old and showcase it in something very modern.

For example if you have a very special antique doll which you love, you could have it on a marble pedestal which is easy to wipe down and will not take much time to dust, but if the doll is out in the open air it will collect dust and if placed in direct sunlight the cloth may fade. I would suggest finding a cabinet with glass doors which could serve more purpose than simply showing off your knick knacks, but be a showcase for books, every day china or anything you would be using on a regular basis which gives you an excuse not to forget your antique doll, but to place it in a position of prominence and give you an excuse to get in there and dust her from time to time!

Choosing Color Themes:

Chose your colors wisely when putting a room together. If your antiques are very important to you, you may decide to devote entire rooms to them. I love the color blue and so I may have a ‘Blue Room’ where I keep all of the blue antique collectibles that I have, mixing modern items such as brand new rugs with antique blue glass light fixtures, dolls with blue dresses, blue plates, blue tea service and other complimentary items keeping in mind you will at some point need to dust this room or better yet have someone do that for you. Once you are finally done with your room of Blue, then you can take photo’s of your work and share with your friends.

Where to Start:

Start with one room. If you do not have the time or desire to have an entire home filled with antiques, or possibly you have small children it’s best to start with one room. Another tip is to change your theme seasonally. This is so easy you will wonder why you ever tried this before. When you are sorting your antique collection, notice the colors and simply mix and match. If you love pink, have a pink room perhaps in the spring and if you love teal have it be teal or perhaps a rainbow room with every color that you love.

Changing Your Design Theme:

You can change the window treatments seasonally to compliment the changes and keep the color of your walls neutral changing only the superficial items in the room which will make it easier to change themes any time you like. This is your space and you can change it as often as you like. This does a few things, when you change up your room theme by swapping out items it helps you to remember what you have in your collection already, and by moving the items around keeps the dust at bay! As a collector dust is the enemy after all and finding fun ways to keep your collection dust free is a very good thing.

Things to Remember:

One important point to remember when showcasing your antiques is the theme of your home. Will the items stick out like a sore thumb? Often times if you do not showcase your antiques properly, they will simply look old and out of place. You don’t want that at all, they should be the star of the show! One idea you might try: hang a modern art piece created in the last ten years next to a cabinet filled with eye catching antique glass from the early 1800’s. You could even have a custom art piece created which features similar colors of your antique glass collection which will bring balance to the theme of your home.

Hopefully this article will inspire you to take a look at what you have in your collection and be inspired to try something new in your home!