What Quirky Collections Are Part Of Your Decor?

Collecting. It is so personal. Most of us display what we collect in our homes. Sometimes the collections take over. Once we are attracted to a particular thing it seems to multiply. Besides hunting and gathering what we ourselves love, people notice what you collect and all of a sudden every gift that comes your way has to do with the collection.

What collections do you display in your home?

Collections can evolve over the years. The ceramic and brass owls I loved to collect at age 18 are long gone. The time line of my life could be written by the collections that have come and gone.
In my 30s it was Art Deco. In my 40s white Ironstone and Majolica. In my 50s tango shoes. And now...Well it's not so much about collecting anymore. I will always love dinnerware and glassware (with thoughts of dinner parties).  I have always loved "curiosities", shells and bones, and things from nature, and a pretty set of plates can always make my heart flutter.

Transferware  is lovely to collect

I don't bring much into the house now, unless something goes out. It's a matter of finite space. But I still have a lot of stuff by any standards.  I like looking at things. I like arranging things. I admire minimal spaces, but they're a nice place to visit (cue rim shot:  But I wouldn't want to live there).

How do you incorporate your collection into everyday life?

Don't you love to look at what other people collect? And it is always fascinating to see what people  choose to display in their homes. Is collecting an elegant way of hoarding? I think humans need their stuff, don't you?

Kitchens are a natural showcase for collections

Of course as all of us hurl towards death (and yes young ones you too have an end coming sooner than you think), one tends to think about the fate of the accumulation of cherished objects and brick-a-brack. Let's face it, most of us do not have museum worthy stuff. At best it might fetch a few modest dollars on eBay. Even if you leave a detailed will, you can never be sure that your stuff will ever be loved as much as you love it.

Have you  been bringing "nature" things from outside into the house since you were a child?

So is there a life lesson here? Not really. Collect and enjoy. And tell us what you collect and  how you you use it your decor. Comfort comes in the sameness we humans share. After all, we are a social and gregarious lot.

Bugs can be beautiful

All of these images are of the home and studio of the jewelry designer Gabriella Kiss. It is a microcosm of nature, history, and the creations of family and friends.

Tiny frames and intaglios displayed under a large mirror is quirky

Read all about her and her collections in an article in The NY Times by By Pilar Viladas, with photographs by William Abranowicz.

Mantels are a magnet for collections

From the article: "For starters, the small 19th-century white clapboard house doesn’t look like a workplace. Located across the road from the converted 1820 church in Bangall, N.Y., that she shares with her husband, the furniture designer Chris Lehrecke, and their two sons, it contains a nitty-gritty studio (the former garage, which connects to the house by a new breezeway) and a parlor-like showroom furnished with things like a taxidermied miniature African antelope and Belgian chandeliers that Kiss and Lehrecke bought on their 20th anniversary."

Sculpture always is good place to display and store jewelry

Don't you love a tabletop covered with interesting bits?

Who could resist using taxidermy for ones jewels?

From the article: "Kiss, who studied sculpture at Pratt Institute and worked for the jewelry designer Ted Muehling before going out on her own in 1988, is known for understated jewelry that highlights the beauty of semiprecious stones, as well as bolder pieces like earrings in the shape of snakes or clipper ships. She also sees beauty where others may not."

Seeing beauty where others do not is really at the core of all collections don't you think? Where do you see beauty?

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