Whether you call them toys, collectibles, or action figures, it can be challenging to display childhood (or adult!) collections in a grown up home. And, as evidenced during my time photographing House Tours, a lot of us are kids at heart. The subjects of these Apartment Therapy House Tours found a way to integrate their child-oriented collections into their adult homes.
- Josh and Emily grouped their sizable collection of vinyl toys as a display in their TV room. Having the display on a shelf that is backed by a mirror makes it look like a veritable army of vinyl toys.
- Joe's LEGO collection was on display throughout Alison & Joe's home. These landmark buildings were on a shelf in the office while other assembled sets were displayed on shelves throughout the rest of their home.
- In the guest room of Steven and Meredith's house, Meredith displays her collection of horse figurines along with her childhood books. The horses are beautiful as displayed but they're also a practical addition to the room when Steven's young daughters bunk there on their visits.
- Rather than display the actual toys, Jim displays a portrait of them. While the Star Wars figurines are safely tucked away in a box in storage, their likenesses are proudly displayed in this portrait put together by Jim's brother.
Images: Jason Loper
Must-See Small Cool Homes: Week Two
Beth's Romantic & Retro Residence
Good Food to Share 
The Big Book of Small, Cool Spaces 
Apartment Therapy Presents 
The Eight-Step Home Cure 
Shaw's Original Fir...
How To Make Perfect Bacon in the Oven
How To Cook Tender, Chewy Wheat Berries on the Stovetop
We also live with toys on a daily basis I assure you it's safe (and fun) :)
http://littlecitytreehouse.blogspot.com/
My wife's new den has all her figures displayed on a special curio shelf just over her desk. She has over 100 tiny plastic neon ninjas, some robots, and a few other odds and ends. It gives her nerdy inspiration. I think it's fun!
I put shelves on the wall facing my bathroom sink and arranged all our toys there. I'm very much not a morning person, and I like having seeing them behind my head when I'm getting ready for work in the morning.
We have toys here and there. Not only are they enjoyable to see, but when friends with kids come over, they're not completely bored by a grown-ups-only house - meaning they're less likely to mess around with the stereo knobs and buttons (which is a very good thing.)
We have our toys/action figures/figurines (I have more than the boyfriend, go figure!) spread out around the apartment, like little surprises for our guests to discover. In the bathroom, between books, perched on shelves between decorative storage boxes... I can't call it a home without a little bit of whimsy thrown in.
I used to do this some, but it became tiresome, then meaningless, then burdensome. No knick knacks is better than dusty knick knacks. Besides, the space was needed for more current and useful things. Although I don't miss it, it's great if you enjoy it.
What a good idea for a post. Glad I'm not the only one who cant let go of these things but wants to be taken seriously.
To be fair, the LEGO Architecture series is relatively new, and it's supposed to be for ages 16+.
But I do love the Breyer horse collection! I should find a new spot for mine one of these days...
My gamer husband's collection of gargoyle and dragon and other dungeony figurines has me completely stumped. There's got to be a way to arrange these tastefully. If it were just the gargoyles it would be fairly simple, because they're sort of uniform in color and texture and can nestle among the books in the library, but there are also dragons in various hues and some towers and Skeletor-looking guys. I love my husband and would rather make him happy than my house pretty, so the dungeon creatures stay. They can, however, be a bit overpowering en masse. Any ideas for me?