topic Re: Nicknacks & Decoratives in Home

Nicknacks & Decoratives

Harpa — Tue, 18 Oct 2022 11:41:02 GMT

What do you have for nicknacks & decoratives? And where do you put them?

Several things for me: fans, the prettiest ones are from Spain - because I like the shape; seashells, some really large that my DM, et.al., got for me from their travels; whimsical stuffed rabbits, mostly small Boyd's Bears; duck decoys from eastern shore artists, etc., and snow globes - somehow this collection grew, but not by intention.

Fans are in master bedroom, master bath & living room.

Snow globes - some nestle in kitchen cabinets and some rest on my deep windowsills in living room. Decoys are in living room floor & accent table, also in the kitchen - miniatures peek around dishes & cups. Bunnies are all over!

Re: Nicknacks & Decoratives

CalminHeart — Tue, 18 Oct 2022 11:49:33 GMT

I just packed up my knickknacks that were antique and inherited from prior generations. I left a list and the sources (generations ago) in the bins. I left only a few special ones in small cabinet space in the tv stand. I got rid of the ones that were junk or meaningless to me. I hated dusting and cleaning around them.

Re: Nicknacks & Decoratives

Group 5 minus 1 — Tue, 18 Oct 2022 11:51:01 GMT

I love tchotchkes (sp). Esp.the blushing bunnies and any of the small ones w/yellow slickers. Have a small display cab. dedicated to the yellow slicker ones.

Sadly,many of these (Hummels,etc) have lost their value.

Re: Nicknacks & Decoratives

catter70 — Tue, 18 Oct 2022 11:53:28 GMT

I don't collect anything specific. What I have is displayed on the hutch my dad made for me, my pumpkin pine jelly jar cupboard and shelving in my loft that goes around up near the ceiling. My favorite piece, though, is a porcelain German Fairling "pig in a car" that belonged to my grandfather. Not sure how old he was when he got it, but he was born in 1900.

Re: Nicknacks & Decoratives

insomniac2 — Tue, 18 Oct 2022 12:23:17 GMT

CalminHeart, I love your sly use of italics.

Re: Nicknacks & Decoratives

PINKdogWOOD — Tue, 18 Oct 2022 12:57:46 GMT

We have way too much STUFF in our humble abode. The stuff makes me crazy!!! We've 'inherited' his parents' STUFF when they died because his brother didn't want any of it except a very heavy entertainment center. FINE WITH ME!!!! But we got stuck with all of their stuff - very tall china cab with all of the contents, very tall Grandfather clock, shelving from their basement that landed in our's.

Let me interject, we moved into/bought his G'Parents' home 1985 with ALL of EVERYTHING they had.

Oh whoa's with me.......I HATE STUFF!!! He won't part with anything. Okay, granted we have gotten rid of SO MUCH STUFF through all these years but have much more to go.

Did I say I hate stuff?

Re: Nicknacks & Decoratives

LindaSal — Tue, 18 Oct 2022 13:08:52 GMT

I would say my decor is on the simple side and mostly lanterns and flameless candles.

I never really collected anything other than my coffee mugs of which I have around 140 from all over the world. Sadly since we downsized a few years ago they are still packed up in boxes. I have to go through them and keep the "special" ones but will donate the rest. It was fun to collect them but no one has any interest and really it just ends up taking up too much space

Moving was a great time to purge and it was a good feeling. I am doing my absolute best to keep from piling up "stuff" again. @PINKdogWOOD I hear you loud and clear, my DH is a packrat for sure. I literally sneak "stuff" out to trash or donate, LOL! We had to endure much of his family's junk too and I put an end to that.......I said it goes or you go,

simple as that.

Re: Nicknacks & Decoratives

skatting44 — Tue, 18 Oct 2022 13:40:09 GMT

@LindaSal

I hear ya. I to have tons of glassware that I inherited. Have boxed it up . I use some of the vases , but just need to get rid of the pieces.

Re: Nicknacks & Decoratives

Harpa — Tue, 18 Oct 2022 14:36:23 GMT

@PINKdogWOOD wrote:

Did I say I hate stuff?

@PINKdogWOOD I actually do, too! Other than the bunnies, there is not one thing that I've started myself!

But a little whimsey every now & then does cut the starkness of the rooms.

As far as inheriting my DM's things and his DM's things....I only took a very, very few pieces.

Re: Nicknacks & Decoratives

RedTop — Tue, 18 Oct 2022 17:08:52 GMT

I am so not a fan of these setty around things in my house!

A small collection of snow globes and the most special things I've been gifted are in a curio cabinet in my TV room. I also have a wall shelf out there with 6 lighthouses on it; the original ones that started my collection before friends started gifting me everything with a lighthouse on it. All that cheap stuff went to the dump.

Besides family photos, the only other things you will see displayed on tables in my home are 2 ashtrays and a tall heavy glass bird that were special to my Papaw, Mamaw's bibles, and a square glass paperweight given to me by a friend when I started my first job.

My mother had a lot of stuff that I had to dust, or wash and dry, so I have never had a tolerance for setty around things in my house.

Re: Nicknacks & Decoratives

Oznell — Tue, 18 Oct 2022 17:30:05 GMT

Judging by the categories you are drawn to, @Harpa , you seem to have a whimsical, feminine, almost fairy tale sensibility in your decorating-- charming, and personal! Thank you so much for sharing your style.

I love your question.

In my twenties, I had certain things I was drawn to--

pottery, especially art pottery with an Art Deco feeling, and blue and white chinoiserie, plus Imari;

metals-- pewter, brass and iron; wood-- esp. old wooden bowls and boxes.

I loved candlesticks, glass hurricanes, old paperweights and vases, and old books with gilt binding. Animals-- birds, (I too have a hand-carved duck, and shore bird!) owls, bunnies.

Like so many of us, I still love the same things now, but have the need to pare down-- our little cottage would be chaos otherwise. So I've kept just a few of items in each category, and I rotate them in and out of living spaces as the mood strikes.

(My rule is I have to have an *easily accessible* (that's important to me) storage place for each item-- mainly in basement and front closet-- when not in use. If it gets to the point where items exceed the allotted storage space I have for them, then it's time to donate again, till I'm back down to my comfort or 'threshold' level for number of decorative items.)

Let's see-- in my living room right now, on my side table next to the couch, I have a large-ish single, old carved Asian box next to the lamp. Great place to hide remotes. On another lamp table, is a taupe, midcentury modern-type pitcher.

Coffee table-- old chessboard wooden tray with: large, classic cream vase; modern glass cube with two tea lights burning in it, stack of two old brown books, with a vintage brass swan dish stacked on it, holding autumnal pods and dried blossoms.

On a slim console table near the entry, I have at either end a pair of Valerie buffet lamps that I switched out the shades to more modern black shades. In the center, is a tall, tawny mosaic glass hurricane, with burnt orange faux leaves, yarrow, pods on stems, and a stem or two of eucalyptus.

Gosh, more than you ever wanted to know! Could go on and on, but will just add that my hand carved duck box from Quebec, and hand carved shore bird are elsewhere in the room-- love that mellow old wood, especially in fall.

Re: Nicknacks & Decoratives

Sooner — Tue, 18 Oct 2022 17:46:12 GMT

I love dishes, and I maybe like getting rid of them even more. I have probably 12 to 15 blue and white pieces around the house. And am getting rid of Waterford and Le Creuset excess.

I have gotten rid of tons of stuff from four houses. I am pretty much over stuff. And I am sick of art on the walls. So this house has art in the closets 'cause hubby has issues parting with it! LOL!!!

Oh, I do have a lot of fountain pens and piano music! And a big Bible collection.

Re: Nicknacks & Decoratives

ninjawife — Tue, 18 Oct 2022 19:53:05 GMT

In my adult life I have lived in 3 different homes. In the first two homes I have built in bookshelves so I decorated them with a few knicknacks and framed pictures. In my current house there are no built in shelves but I had collected things to display. I have a wall in my family room bewteen the back stairs and hallway which is like a hallway in itself as my sectional couch creates a path between it and the wall. Along that wall I bought leaning bookshelves where i placed my collection.

Re: Nicknacks & Decoratives

jlkz — Tue, 18 Oct 2022 20:27:14 GMT

I have a collection of swans in each of our homes.

A few years ago, I started to thin out my collections and either donated or gave away some. The ones I still have are beauties and " live " on mantels, bakers racks, entertainment shelves.

Re: Nicknacks & Decoratives

queendiva — Tue, 18 Oct 2022 21:45:05 GMT

I collect, display and enjoy Waterford crystal. Mostly small pieces for my small-ish home and all picked up at yard sales and thrift stores for very little money.

Re: Nicknacks & Decoratives

J Town Girl — Tue, 18 Oct 2022 22:12:02 GMT

I have several very old novelty cookie jars from the 40's and 50's that were passed down from my grandmother to my mother and then to me.

They are very special to me and I keep them in a glass china hutch in my dining room.

Other than the cookie jars I don't really collect many items. As a guinea pig lover I have a few items such as a guinea pig salt & pepper set and a few mugs denoting guinea pigs. Those are kept on a shelf in the room where my guinea pig cages are located.

Re: Nicknacks & Decoratives

Iwantcoffee — Tue, 18 Oct 2022 23:53:34 GMT

I like to decorate with fresh flowers, plants, candles and family photos. I am not one to spend space and money on nicknacks. I do have a plate and pitcher a friend of my mom's painted.

Re: Nicknacks & Decoratives

wilma — Wed, 19 Oct 2022 01:09:33 GMT

I have a collection of bells & glass blown animals in a curio in my living room. At one time I had over 100 bells, but I went through them a few years ago, and kept about 30 of my favorites. My aunt passed down her glass blown animal collection to me before she passed. They date back to the early & mid 1900s. I was the only one in the family who expressed an interest. I've always liked animals and animal themed items.

I have a few shells, rocks, and minerals from my days as a science teacher. They are displayed in a glass cabinet in our finished basement along with other memorabilia from our past.

I have a few baskets that sit on top of bookshelves, and a few large pieces of sculpture that are scattered throughout the house. My favorites are my dolphins carved from wood and a bronze horse. I used to have more pieces, but like my bell collection, I went through all those things, and only kept my favorites & sentimental items.

Re: Nicknacks & Decoratives

feline groovy — Wed, 19 Oct 2022 00:45:09 GMT

None.

Re: Nicknacks & Decoratives

Enufstuff — Thu, 20 Oct 2022 17:15:35 GMT

In my living room are my Egyptian decor pieces. On the walls are a 5' x 5' tapestry, matted and framed hand painted papyrus pictures, a desert scene watercolor and a ceramic mask of Elizabeth Taylor as Cleopatra.

On two antique what not shelves (etageres)

are small Egyptian pieces, Nefertiti, King Tut, Winged

Isis, Hathor, a Sphinx, Ramses II as a child, a scarab, a shawabti, Bastet cats,

obelisks, pyramids, Egyptian alabaster vases, and an antique

chocolate set handpainted with scenery of the Nile River.

In the TV room is my rock and mineral collection in a glass curio. In the dining room are collections of Waterford and cobalt blue glass in an antique china closet.

In a small glass curio is a collection of small hand painted

Herend animals. There are also three antique clocks and many framed family pictures.

Packed away are collections of dolls, Teddy bears, Hummels, an owl collection,

Fenton Glass, Belleek, baskets and seashells. There is just too much stuff to have out on display.