We all have them: items that we’ve picked up over the years in our travels, been given as gifts, or treasure from a friend or relative. From heirloom-quality traditional area rugs to dime store items with sentimental value, it can sometimes become overwhelming trying to find a way to display them all in your home. Pile up a few too many and you run the risk of creating clutter or at worst looking like you’re running your very own gift shop.
Keepsakes, souvenirs, and decorative area rugs can become nice focal points that fit into any décor if you know how to handle them. We’ve come up with a few inexpensive ways you can take yours from being dust-catchers to becoming eye-catching tributes to the life you lead.
Children’s artwork, birth announcements, post cards
Create your own magnetic bulletin board from sheet metal, a frame and some cardboard. Grab an old unused frame (or visit a craft store or consignment shop to pick up one cheap) and measure it. Next, hit the hardware store for a piece of sheet metal to fit the size you measured. Place the sheet metal in your frame and place the cardboard on the side that will face the wall – this will help it lay flat. Flip over and begin displaying your photos, post cards, children’s art – basically anything that can be help up with a magnet — and you’ve created your own work of art in no time.
Letters, ticket stubs, photos
Instead of letting old letters and ticket stubs collect dust in a box somewhere, why not frame them? Picture frames aren’t limited to just holding pictures, so dig through that drawer of letters, postcards, playbills and other sentimental items and get to framing. You can frame just a few notes that make you smile or create a collage. Celebrate your romance by framing a pic of you and your partner alongside an old love letter or plane ticket. Immortalize you favorite beach with a photo of the sun setting over the water next to a map or menu from your favorite local spot. You’ll smile every time you walk past one of these.
Old T-shirts
Whether you picked it up at frat house fundraiser or it forever declares your love for a certain band, we all have that one, special, worn-in t-shirt we don’t ever want to part with. The problem is that these shirts eventually fade or tear over time. Why not have those special shirts made into a quilt? It’s a great way to keep the shirt you love, but turn it into something more permanent. There are a number of companies online who will do this for you and you can then proudly display your quilt on your bed or as a wall hanging. However, if you’re good with a needle and thread, you can pull this off at home by carefully cutting out your favorite t’s message and turning it into an iron-on patch using a fusile web like Heat n’ Bond. You can then adhere the shirt onto a quilt background and finish the quilt as you normally would.
Knick knacks and things
Souvenir plates, spoons, shot glasses, seashells and thimbles are fun to bring home from your latest adventure, but they can easily end up collecting dust if not properly displayed. You can buy a display cabinet for any of the above or re-purpose another item for makeshift storage. A friend used an old typesetter’s shadow box to display her favorite shot glasses. Another friend we know filled the top portion of a glass-topped shadowbox table with sand to display seashells in an attractive display. Get creative with these small pieces and you’ll find your imagination is the only limit.
Family heirlooms and antiques
They’re no reason why grandma’s priceless oriental area rug or your great-uncle’s pocket watch should collect dust in storage. As long as you place them somewhere where they can’t be damaged, you can display them anywhere you’d like. Consider mounting an antique rug on a curtain rod as a gorgeous wall-hanging or even in place of a headboard. Smaller items can find a home on wall sconces or shelves, preferably near an old photo of whomever they once belonged to. It will make for a lasting tribute and a great conversation starter!