@Marsha2003 wrote:
Like for most questions, my answer is, "It depends." In general, I tend to buy an item that gives the greatest impact as I don't much like to spend time dusting anything. However, I have a collection of small porcelain buildings. I give them greater impact by housing them in a multi-shelved, octagonal, tabletop vitrine. I think, in most cases, you can find a way to display collections so that they read as one large item rather than a bunch of little dust catchers.
On the other hand, if you love the layered look with every surface covered with your collections, I think that can be done well, too. I've seen pictures of gorgeous rooms featuring the owner's collection of snuff boxes or majolica or candle sticks or...you name it. It just takes discipline and effort to hone a collection and keep it organized and clean.
Exactly what I would have written if you didn't beat me to it @Marsha2003!
As I age, I'm gravitating toward larger statement pieces, less things on walls (but rarely bare), and in general, trying to unclutter the look of much of my decor.
I have many smaller things that I love (brass candlesticks..Bladwin.., vintage or vintage looking teddy bears..small ones and just a few...a collection of Rowe Pottery Works salt glazed Santas and a reindeer and snowman...just things I've loved for decades and don't want to remove from my decorating entirely) so I group them with flameless candles, picks, rings pedestals, vintage books etc on trays or inside big lanterns usually, to makes several small things look like one statement piece vignette.
This way I get the best of both worlds, enjoy and keep some of my smaller pieces, but group them into one arrangement, that can easily be picked up and moved for cleaning or to use the space for something else (I usually have something like this as a centerpiece on the dining table, on the kitchen side counter or the coffee table in the family room).
I don't put just a tray of brass candle sticks (although that could work!), but maybe a candle in a brass stick, a small vintage bear leaning against it, some seasonal picks for filler and texture, a vintage child's book from my great uncle's collection, with my dad's childhood wire rimmed glasses on the book.
I get to use family heirlooms, with things that might be 'out' like brass or bears, but create one vignette rather than have all those little things scattered or sitting separate. I think it tends to look like one big piece, and not as cluttered if all displayed separately.
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