So I did this. Because I'm a lazy jerk with the home design instincts of a fruit bat, I took a piece of packing twine and some plastic closet clips from Target and strung this masterpiece together. Ez or Melis would've done waaaay better, using hand-knit silken ropes and clips fashioned from reclaimed antique clothespins or similarly amazing and aesthetically pleasing supplies. But ya know what? I think it STILL turned out kinda cute, despite my virtual non-effort. Because you focus on the hats, not the crap-ass twine. Or, at least, that's what I'm telling myself.
And then I remembered ...
... that I felt similarly about the gorgeous jewelery rack that my dad built for me a couple of years ago. In this case, the rack is beautifully constructed, of course. But your eye is mainly drawn to the array of colorful necklaces, which add a lot of personality and texture to our bedroom.
For most of my life, I've kept my wearables hidden away in closets and drawers, even if they were gorgeous works of art worthy of display. And now I'm feeling more and more like putting my accessories and clothes out in public areas of my home makes sense. After all, style IS my main hobby ...
Do you ever use displays of your clothing, shoes, or accessories to decorate your home? If so, did you build display areas yourself, or buy fixtures or shelves? If not, does the idea appeal?
Posts
34 comments:
Great idea! It reminds me of country style decorating with hanging the mittens.
And I even have dress forms to display some of my costumes.
Oh woman, you are opening up a box here, of the Pandora variety! I have now, for MONTHS, wanted desperately to do the very thing you did, with both hats and necklaces (and bracelets, rings, shoes, and scarves)! My shoes are ALL piled on top of each other in a deep closet, my scarves are in a tupperware container under the bed, and all jewelry is completely unorganized in unmarked boxes, where they get tangled or broken all the time. The SECOND that I have hand #2 back, I'm organizing the crap outta my stuff, no matter how much crap-ass twine it takes.
I love it, but the clothes get dust and old fast...
We live in an old, pretty but tiny house with little storage. When I quickly outgrew my closet, the prettiest of purses and shoes went up on my living room's built in shelves. Now I can enjoy them every day.
Hats are tough, because you want them to keep their shape...and unless you have a zillion heads around nothing will really be "optimal" (although--that could look pretty cool in an Ikea Expedit with each hat in white and the inside of each cubby painted to match the hat and create little vingettes from there)
I like the idea of using old doorknobs as a means to hang scarves. And I have a tshirt quilt to keep me warm in the winter as well. My jewelry is all in plastic pouches to keep it from oxidizing and safe so I can see it all (I kind of have a lot...oops!)
I keep my bracelets, necklaces and scarves on display in my studio. The bracelets I keep on a bracelet tree I made from bamboo knitting needles, wire, and a soda bottle. The necklace I hang on a wall coat hanger. The scarves are on an over the door hanger thing. It makes getting ready in the morning so much more fun, because I can see everything and get inspired.
Quite a bit of my clothing sits in very decorative piles on my bed, or on the floor, or in case of the laundry in those large Ikea bags... I wish I had storage to put things away properly, and I am actually not in favor of having clutter out (even if it is arranged on twine). The jewelry rack is neat, but I would install that on the inside of a cabinet if I owned more than a few necklaces.
Fabulous idea and I adore your jewellery rack, very inspirational indeed!
"Because I'm a lazy jerk with the home design instincts of a fruit bat" This cracks me up! If you can dress as cute as you do, I promise you can decorate (even a little bit)! Just grab a couple of decorating magazines, you already know how to use color!
I love seeing wearables displayed as art or design. I don't do it though because I'm very minimalist in my heart and I can't stand clutter. Clutter, in my universe, means anything - I have no niknaks, I can't stand to look at the things I actually need to have around, half the time. My fave room is my yoga room which doesn't have anything in it but a mat and some props in the corner. Having said this, whenever I visit someone else who embraces a more maxi philosophy, I enjoy it tremendously.
In my sewing room/office I've got all of my really pretty shoes on display; I figured what could be more inspiring than working around my favorite article of clothing?
I have one of those headless-woman necklace hangers (like this http://mbermuda.com/shared/images/articles/3790.jpg ) which my necklaces and a few bracelets go on. That's useful - if I can't see those I tend to just get dressed and not bother with jewelry, which defeats the point of owning it!
I would love to display more stuff on shelves / hangers etc - but unfortunately we just don't have the space, so everything has to be tucked away in the wardrobe as it's just more efficient ... I would especially love to have shelves to display shoes on someday; shoes are so pretty!
Oh yes! I used to display a collection of cowboy hats as a headboard (I stole this idea from some magazine). I've recently been thinking of hanging a gorgeous vintage dress on the wall- and rotating with other dresses as my collection increases (to more than one). I'm going for an updated shabby chic look.
Nice solution to the hat storage problem! Hmm I'm one of those types who likes a more spartan look in their surroundings, so my shoes go in boxes and my clothes go in the closet or my dressers.
If my bedroom wasn't quite so incredily cluttered them yes, I probably would. As it is, the only stuff on display is some delicate jewellery on my cork noticeboard, hung up on pins so that they don't tangle. I love to admire them on a backdrop of exam timetables, beauty salon opening times and cork :P
PS I would LOVE to see a Sal hat post. I look like an idiot in hats and so LOVE seeing them on others :D xx
I used to hang vintage dresses on my bathroom wall. I used push pins on the inside of the dress. I had good ventilation, so I never worried about humidity.
I have a vintage purse collection that is rapidly approaching ridiculous- so I cannot display all of them. But I do have some of the daintier of the bags and purses out in my bedroom on display. I love the hat idea and have seen it done with purses. If I had the wall space.,,
I have a vintage Dior flowered hat on a glass mannequin head and a bust of Caesar that wears an ever-changing assortment of headgear.
HA, I especially love that creature in the corner of one of the photos. A wombat, is it?
I like your idea of using jewelry as decoration n_n I also fancy the notion of using the packaging of vintage beauty products for that apothecary inspired look, or perhaps some conveniently placed lingerie and killer heels to spice up a sexy boudoir ;)
Kudos to unconventional decoration!
I hang my necklaces up too but they are hidden inside the door of my wardrobe!
...adore the jewelry rack Sal!
Almost like an art installation at The MOMA!
I remember you doing a post about layering necklaces where I saw your method for storing necklaces. My boxes being unclose-able, I did nearly the same thing in my bedroom!
What a brilliant idea! I've only got one hat and I begrudge the room it takes up on my wardrobe shelf.
Oh yeah! I have all my vintage purses hanging out in the open. They're brightly colored and definitely look like art. Why not?
I have tied my hats to my shoe shelves to hide the white boxes.
I´m into functionalism at the moment, so I only keep in sight and in closets what I really need/use ;) !
I would love to put more of my clothes/accessories on display! There are some things I have that I love, but forget to wear becuase they get squished to the back of my closet, not to be seen for months! This is such a great idea!
Marie Lemondrop's post reminded me of when I first started collecting Enid Collins handbags. I displayed one each on the inner edge of a winding stair case.
those are great!
I keep old tutus on dress forms in my house!
At present I have my neckalces draped across the corners of my vanity mirror. But, I love this jewellery rack. This is something you will have from your dad for generations to come. My father is a cabinet maker/ carpenter and I may just ask him to do the same for me. Thank you for this inspiration!
xo
I bought a jewelry rack on Etsy that I absolutely love. Instead of hunting through a jewelry box, everything is colorfully splayed on the wall.
My bracelets get tossed in a big glass candy dish that my grandmother gave me. That keeps them out of the way, but also lends handy storage while allowing me to leave them within easy reach.
I love the hat idea - I may have to try it!
We have a board with pegs very similar to the one you hang your jewelry on but the pegs are further apart and it runs the length of one of our bedroom walls. That's where I hang my hats and I like to hang a nice vintage dress out for display too :)
I keep most of my jewelry hidden away in boxes, and all my hats but two are winter fare so they're packed up at the moment. My boyfriend DID take his favorite John Mayer t-shirt and hang it on the wall above his piano for awhile, but I'm not sure if that counts.
The idea IS intriguing...but I can just see some of my favorite pieces of clothing after my cats have used them to climb walls their claws had previously found no purchase with.
My decorating style is all about durability, I guess. What's heavy enough/glued down well enough/hammered in hard enough to withstand cats and occasional visits from the bf's wild little sister.
I actually have cocktail dresses, some vintage some not, and a silk kimono in various locations in my home - the dresses have actually been loaned out based on the fact they are displayed so nicely. My shoes are actually on a white shelving unit in my bedroom. So yes I do this, often and frequenly.
Post a Comment