Creating a Collection

I'm joining Amanda's Decorating Dilemmas party. Go on over and see if you can help someone with your ideas!

Last week my friend Dixie bribed me with lunch so I would come over and help her with some shelf arrangements. Over the last year or so she has been collecting white items from thrift stores and wanted to display them.

Her shelves were hung on a wall between her dining room and kitchen. She brought out all her white items and I started playing with the arrangement. This is what we came up with.

She recently painted her kitchen Sherwin Williams Believable Buff. Or Whole Wheat, I can’t remember which. They’re on the same paint strip. Using the white accessories looks clean and fresh, especially against the new color.

After seeing these photos, I suggested that she place a third grapevine ball on the bottom shelf, just to left of the footed bowl. I thought it would help fill in the blank space without filling it up, and use the rule of threes (or odds). She says it looks good. We also discussed the possibility of hanging the round plate on the wall, in its current spot but a couple inches higher.

Dixie said that the thing she likes about her collection is that it’s not all stark white. It’s a mixture of whites and creams. She also likes the variety of textures: the swirled cream and sugar, the cross-hatched finial, an embossed scroll design on the edge of the platter.

I have my own collection of whites, currently in my china cabinet, behind glass doors. I really like it on the open shelves and told Dixie that I fully intend to copy her.

Neither one of us spent too much on our collections—a couple dollars here and there, spread out over a year or more of thrifting. I’ve actually done this a couple times in the past, though, before my obsession with thrift stores. Both times I had a shelf/shelves that I needed to accessorize, and I just went through my cupboards and pulled all the white things I had. Some of them were our regular everyday dishes.

The next time you need a display, keep in mind that anything you have three or more of is a collection.