The Joy of a Collection

Why not put all your favorite things on display?

I often joke that the difference between “hoarding” and “collecting” is simply good marketing.

When you buy a lot of stuff, you are often accused of the doing the former. But when you buy a lot of one thing — say, a very specific brand of vases, or merchandise from your favorite film series — you are a collector. An appreciator. A hobbyist. A connoisseur.

Martha Stewart’s very impressive jadeite collection

Collecting anything is very fun. It means that, when you go to an estate sale or a thrift store, you always have a bucket-list item to be on the hunt for. It means that you have a community, of sorts — comprised of other people who collect the same thing.

Displaying a collection can also be very fun. One jadeite bowl is beautiful but a cabinet full of them? Pure drama.

A collection of old master drawings in Nina Griscom’s home, via Architectural Digest

For a long time, we hid our collections away. If you collected dolls, they remained in the attic, boxed up and painstakingly labeled, but never actually out for all to see. Fine china more your thing? It was probably hiding in a closed-door cabinet, only to make an appearance during big family gatherings.

These days, collections are making their way front and center. And that’s because collections, when styled in a sophisticated way, look chic!

Emma Roberts and her doll collection in her Pierce & Ward-designed home

When we talk about collections in the interior design world, we are so often describing very esteemed things — blue-chip art, antiques passed through generations. But collections can be comprised of frivolous, silly, even cheap things.

One great example is the best-selling toy in the world: Hot Wheels, which are currently on something of a tear.

Per The Washington Post, there is “a growing contingent of enthusiasts fueling Hot Wheels dominance. Though purchases are still primarily made for children, adults are buying them at a faster clip, said Roberto Stanichi, who oversees Hot Wheels at Mattel. He estimates that adult collectors drive about one-third of global revenue.”

Collectors of Hot Wheels are tapping into nostalgia. They likely aren’t playing with the toys, but they are remembering a time when they did — and there’s something so beautiful about that, isn’t there?

Also beautiful? That the maker of Hot Wheels, a toy with a very low barrier to entry (they start at just $1.25 per piece), was married to the maker of another all-time-wonderful collectible: Barbie. Yes! That’s true! Elliot Handler, who invented Hot Wheels, was married to Ruth Handler, the woman behind Barbie. (Excellent biopic opportunity, in my opinion.)

The Handlers understood the value of not just a toy that unlocks something within a child, but an object that means something more — a Barbie is a woman who can do anything. A Hot Wheels is a car that signals fun, speed, playfulness…it offers the allure of an exotic car collection without the necessary garage space (or bank account).

But be it a Barbie or a toy car or a collection of rare jadeite, collections are about more than the items themselves — they are about the years and skill and exhilaration that go into finding those items.

The Post interviewed one Hot Wheels collector who explained how “nothing compares to finding a box of Hot Wheels cars at an estate sale and unpacking a high-value surprise inside.”

From the Post:

“It’s hard to describe the feeling to non-collectors,” he said, noting that it’s like a chemical release in his body when he “fills a hole” in his collection.

I could not agree more.

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In a Kelly Wearstler-designed project in New York, the owner’s jewelry collection gets its own closet — and each piece gets its own little bowl.

How to Style a Collection

Choose Neutral Surroundings

Neutral surroundings really make colorful collections pop. Just look at Martha Stewart’s jadeite collection above, which is made all the more gorgeous by the industrial sink and wooden cabinetry it sits on.

Take Your Time

The joy of collecting comes largely in the hunt itself. Everyone starts their collection with one piece and there’s no need to buy the whole lot at once. Start modestly, and let it grow.

Make Use of the Items in the Collection

If you have usable items in your collection (i.e. paintings, or textiles) — use them. Use your favorite textile to recover a piece of furniture in your home, or use it to recover any and everything (I once saw a photo of a trash can recovered with a bandana and thought how fun that would be, if you collected bandanas!) If it’s paintings you collect, create a gallery wall with them or hang them all over your house.

Pay the Items Reverence

These are pieces you love and have collected for years — show them some respect! I love the idea of styling a collection in a built-in or cabinet with nothing else in it. And if it has doors — leave them open! Or add glass windows so people can really see all the items inside.

The bottom line is that none of us should be ashamed of pursuing beauty. And beauty means something different for everyone! Whether you collect Star Wars toys or Andy Warhol lithographs, put them on display. Brag about your collection.

In another Wearstler-designed space — the Austin Proper Hotel in Texas — a collection of vintage and contemporary vases get their own staircase as a means of display

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• If you need a last-minute gift idea, might I suggest a virtual cooking class? I think this is a fun idea with a partner or friend. The classes themselves are virtual, with an instructor, but you’re sent a box of some of the things you need ahead of time. (Note that some of the classes require you to purchase the ingredients yourself, but all are very affordable, in the $30 and up range).

• Everything at Artfully Walls — including my exclusive prints — is 25% off, ending today. Code is FLASH. Affordable art and it comes framed — what could be better?

• This is my latest obsession for my morning lattes: this pistachio milk has a delicious flavor and it’s developed to be barista-style, so it actually foams in my milk frother. It’s made from pure pistachios, with no oils or fillers, and they also make these little single-serve boxed lattes if you’re into that instead. I order mine online as I’m not aware of any local retailers that stock it but it arrives really fast, in just a couple of days.

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And I’ll leave you with this…