How many of you are watching the new Marie Kondo show on Netflix? All of you? I suspected. Me too. And while I’m frantically trying to teach myself the Konmari folding method and I’m definitely motivated to purge every room in the house – I’m also curious, is all this minimizing going to kill the art of collecting?
While I’m all for minimalism, there is something so compelling about a well curated collection. Now as a kid, I collected cows and anything in a sunflower motif. I’m thrilled I was able to let those collections go by the wayside a long time ago. But ceramics. Glassware. Vases. When artfully collected and displayed a mass of like objects can add such personality to a home.
While I fully agree we should consume less, buy less, what about pursuing personal passions? Sometimes blue glass just speaks to you and you need every piece you see.There’s also something to be said for simply indulging an irrational love. Be it vintage French porcelain. Or all things black. Charcoal drawings. Antique books. Whatever your vice might be, I would argue that there isn’t harm and actually amazing design value in hoarding with abandon. Ok, maybe not hoarding but you know what I mean.
So if you have a a type of objet that sparks joy no matter if you have one, or 1,000 I say keep going. Collect those things that make you smile every time you look at them – and be sure to share that love with everyone who walks in your house.
For more examples of amazing collections, check out my Display & Storage Pinterest board HERE.
For more design ideas, CLICK HERE.
And I’m curious – do you collect and display things? If so, what??
images 1, 2, 4, 10 nicole franzen / 3 tess neustadt / 5 apt34 / 6 pinterest / 7 tumblr / 8 sfgirlbybay / 9 architectural digest / 11 pinterest /
YES, yes thanks!
I used to have more cobalt glass, Spode Blue Room transferware, and Anchor Hocking Early American Prescut Glass than I room to display or would ever use. Prior to a move a few years ago I pared my collections down a manageable amount pieces that I actually use and enjoy.
but the konmarie method isn’t about minimalism, it’s about organizing the stuff you live
Yes!and keeping only the things that give you joy. If that’s only 3 things, you keep 3 things. If it’s 30, you keep 30. If it’s 300, you keep 300.
If collecting gives you joy, collect!
I love her method…and I collect everything! Iittila glassware and dishes, blue porcelain dishes, sugar and creamers, beautiful paper napkins, vintage ice buckets, German Nutcrackers, bone handled knives, etc. Everything has a home, perfectly need and tidy and I get joy just from knowing they’re there..and I use them all the time! I think you can merge the two worlds as long as it’s true love.
When “we should buy less” is followed by “BUT I …” , there goes sustainability.
Personally, I am a fan of sustainable living and collecting goes against the principles of it how much ever pleasure my greed might give me. I think of stores as places where I store my collections. My home is not a warehouse of idle goods. When possession starts to become a goal, rather than a tool that benefits me in a specific way, it’s a red flag.
I doubt Marie Kondo will put a dent in consumerism in America. She might temporarily inspire some folks to declutter, but without the discipline to buy less, it will all come back in time. That discipline, is lacking.
the kon mari method is not about minimalism; it’s about keeping the things in your life that spark joy. if every book in your 500+ book library spark joy, then keep them. i think another good question to ask yourself when deciding whether to keep something or not is “do you want to take this with you into the future?” and if the answer is no, then thank it and send it on its way. that question really resonated with me. and when you go through her method, you really get in touch with things that maybe you forgot about so your joy may be renewed with that particular item. it really is life changing if you take the time to do the steps. every episode of her show is worth watching. she has such reverence for every home she goes into, so respectful. she’s amazing.
Joy? Well I have lived in a house with a scant amount of eye candy shall we say,and there is no joy in it! I have also had my collections ,well thought out and carefully displayed for all to see and it gave me joy.Joy that I am a repurposer at heart,that I had patiently acquired someone else’s once loved mementos and collection,even repurposed their old furnishings to bring my own children up with.It gave me joy to teach them to find things already manuafactored long ago that have stood the test of time and we were another generation enjoying these artifacts of the past! I have joy every time I think of that! My children have grown up to collect many of the same things I collected over the years. That is joy and memories for me!
I’m a erratic collector. I LOVE going to flea markets to look for things that interest me, but then I get a bug in my ear and I give so much of my collection away. Then I feel the need to collect again! It’s a wonderful cycle
In the land of IKEA and West Elm everything is utilitarian. What is purchased can be replaced with something else, without character, at every turn. With phones to access pics of art, music and food, the experience of exploring has been lost. The exchange of ideas is not even explored. Greater truth can’t arise because no discussion takes place. Collection for the sake of accumulation should be gone and done with but collection to capture the soul is really art. The sharing of the soul is what connects and leads to understanding.
I have several collections. My first and largest is “creamware.” Not technically creamware but really just many shapes and sizes of white and cream colored ceramics and pottery. The juxtaposition is the thing! It all started with collecting pieces of vintage American USA, Haeger, Hull, etc. pottery to sit atop my 50’s style drapery cornices. But it has grown! Not very expensive, not really “curated” but definitely fun to find! I’ve found my pieces in a variety of places; antique stores, eBay, thrift stores, garage sales, flower shops, dollar stores and Etsy! I love every piece, even the cracked and chipped ones! Number two collection is vintage paint-by-number tropical themed paintings! I hope collecting never goes away but if my own daughters’ preferences of “simple and uncluttered” is any indication, collecting may be in jeopardy. I may have to pass on my collections on to my grandchildren and great children!
Love your examples! Yes, I collect mostly old alarm clocks, some are electric, some wind up & some are battery-operated. I think it started when I saw a wall display of different kinds of wall clocks, that I emulated. Then I started picking table clocks up here & there & then it morphed into a decided preference for old alarm clocks. No idea why, but I love ’em. Lol! I also collect & use ironstone. I love the love of the different patterns against each other, even though it’s all in shades of white & cream. It makes a lovely table setting.
Does anyone know where I could find the last arched display hutch?
I have a similar one in the Apt34 Shop!