Whether you prefer your jewelry to be stored out of sight or displayed as part of your decor, you can easily save your money for the bangles themselves.
The cheapest — and sometimes free — options include repurposing ordinary household and natural items. I'm talking cardboard egg crates, ice cube trays, muffin tins, spools, branches, and driftwood. My frugal mom uses the former, and I've always liked how neatly they stack on her dresser. If you can't abide by cardboard, ceramic egg crates are affordable, too (under $15 at the sites linked).
You can also turn good-looking knobs into wall hooks or make old picture frames into a backdrop for your jewelry. My dad made the earring display in Image 7 by stapling a fine metal mesh to the back of a free frame, screwing in two picture hangers, and threading them with clear fishing line. (I made the necklace display below it with scrap wood and paper.) There's always pegboard (Image 9), and a slightly more ambitious DIYer could follow directions from Design*Sponge to recreate the bust in the first image.
MORE JEWELRY STORAGE ON APARTMENT THERAPY:
• 3 Unconventional Jewelry Storage Ideas
• Roundup: Creative Jewelry Display Options
• A Floating Driftwood Jewelry Display
• Roundup: Jewelry as Decor
Images: 1. Kate Pruitt for Design*Sponge 2. Sarah Rainwater for Apartment Therapy 3. Young House Love 4. Apartment Therapy 5. Christiana Coop via Decor8 6. Heather Ulrich via Apartment Therapy 7. Leah Moss for Apartment Therapy 8. Bethany Nauert for Apartment Therapy 9. Apartment Therapy 10. Haylie Waring for Design*Sponge











Sprout Side Table
I have this from urban outfitters:
http://www.urbanoutfitters.com/urban/catalog/productdetail.jsp?id=17908955&color=010&itemdescription=true&navAction=jump&search=true&isProduct=true&parentid=SEARCH+RESULTS
It's fantastic. I wish it was a little taller because some of my necklaces puddle at the bottom a little, but I have more earrings than anything else, so it's great to have so much space to store those.
Great round up! Lots of creative options I hadn't thought of before.
I love some of these options, but I'm wondering about cat-friendly options. These all look too inviting to my playful little buddies.
Love those! Kara Paslay made some busts similar to the first picture for her Anthro display in February.
I have been wanting something to hang my long, long necklace chains on, but still be protected from dust.
I had been searching for a used jewelry display box, with glass front, to hang up -- but, alas, once someone buys one, they never ever let them go. At least not cheaply.
So instead, I found a used wood medicine cabinet at a flea market ($15), with a mirror on front, that is hangable. A bit bulky, but it's small compared to other cabinets. I'll just stick hooks inside, & decide if I should keep the mirror, or replace it with glass.
I have one of these closet racks (http://www.ikea.com/ca/en/catalog/products/60149847) inside my closet, and I hang all my necklaces from it. I have a mesh drawstring bag with my bangles and other stuff that doesn't hang well, and most of my earrings live in little pill containers.
I use a bamboo placemat for my earrings, and a converted utensil drawer organizer for necklaces. I put pics up on my blog a couple of months ago: http://lifeinthemakings.blogspot.com/2011/02/jewelry-organization.html
I stapled an Orla Kiely remnant to a corkboard and hung it on the wall. I use clear thumbtacks to hang my dangling earrings, necklaces, rings, bracelets and necklaces. My stud earrings I stick directly into the corkboard. I love it.
i love the knobs in the 5th image. gorgeous!
i liked this piece.. not sure what it was for though, besides being simply decorative (as it is kind of small). i knew it had potential so i spray painted it and converted it into a jewelry rack + it's great because it has a ledge too!
http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_8DqP-0Mj7TE/TUxJ9-XrQYI/AAAAAAAAAHM/6KZ0IbnvwsQ/s1600/DSC01720.JPG
I actually made something out of an old picture frame that is very similar to a couple of these photos. I included a tutorial in my blog:
http://apartment-b.blogspot.com/
I use tie racks something like these on my closet wall for my necklaces (never a tangle, now!)
http://dealnay.com/1348445/wire-belt-and-tie-rack-white-by-spectrum.html
And I use an empty spice rack kind of like this one (no bottles) for my hook-style pierced earrings.
http://www.kaboodle.com/reviews/chrome-hanging-spice-rack-with-jars-by-rsvp-4
(Post earrings are in my jewelry box, along with pins.) (I have a LOT of costume jewelry, either from flea markets and thrift stores, or things I made or bought from other jewelry artists.)
I tracked back to ChristaN's post - it's lovely and clever and totally should be included in your next roundup!
Love the ceramic egg holders, they just look so pretty. I recently organized my collection using Ikea capita legs drilled into the inside of a hutch: http://www.flickr.com/photos/10255449@N00/5466352245/in/set-72157607747178647
Still kind of a mess, but it was a nice no-cost solution (had this stuff around). Also the hutch door closes over it so, it could be a display or covered.
Thank you so much for doing a post on this.
I bought some hook racks from Target (I think $5 each) that I hang my necklaces on, I have a ceramic hand for my rings, and I keep my earrings in two small boxes - http://www.flickr.com/photos/lmcwethy/5599066658/
I have a collection of accordion mug holders painted and decorated for my necklaces. Time to take pics of these bad boys! Nobody believe how cool they are!
I bought a huge corkboard from the office supply store, then pinned a pretty patterned washi paper to cover the cork (similar to very thick wrapping paper). Hung dangly earrings and necklaces from push pins.
Alas, my jewelry collection is now out of control so I had to upgrade to velvet lined trays (keeps dust out and silver from tarnishing from infrequently used pieces). Stacking so space efficient but not nearly as pretty.
I love all the ideas, but I needed WAY more storage than this. I freely admit I have a ton of faux jewellry but a clear bead organizer hanging on the back of a door gave me this easy way to store and choose what to wear really easily: http://www.flickr.com/photos/28068117@N02/2826805290/in/set-72157605877622574
That IKEA table legs thing is BRILLIANT!!! Has never occurred to me!
After looking for a bit, I wound up getting an ornament display stand from IKEA to hang my necklaces from. I keep my "good" jewelry (which is basically vintage pieces and sentimental pieces) in a box, but am working toward having the everyday stuff in the open so I am more likely to wear it. I am still on the lookout for the perfect earring display, and this post has provided some great inspiration!
I made something similar to that in picture 7, but instead of wire mesh, I stretched a piece of tulle taut and glued it to a frame-shaped piece of cardboard, then slid it into a gold vintage frame (I kept the original frame's insert in case I ever want to use it for photos again). At school, I tacked up a length of exposed camera film and hung some fishhook earrings through the notches on either side. I'll never be able to give up my jewelry boxes, though...there's just too much in them!
I really like the colour of #9 - the great thing about displaying pieces in this way is that they are practical and art! Also the suspended branch is amazing.
Being a bit of a jewelery hoarder I opted for some hidden storage as well as displayed pieces. I converted an old piano bench for some fun storage and seating... http://strawberryroandesign.blogspot.com/2011/02/soul-mates.html
I spray painted a cork-board olive green and stuck clear pushpins at the bottom for a uniform look for my necklaces, they don't tangle, and the long ones don't puddle on anything. Plus I can use the rest of the board for an inspiration board. I've used this system since high school, and never looked back.
similar to the picture frames but (maybe) easier: i get round embroidery hoops in varying sizes, stretch fabric across the hoops, hang my earrings & pins, and hang the whole thing on the wall.
Very neat ideas! I'm late to this forum but here's another... I've taken the cardboard back off of a small spiral notebook, and used the broken off mini-holes to hang earrings in, and stuck the whole thing on a paperclip stand... You can use a hole-punch to make bigger holes in the cardboard too! http://findingnlosting.tumblr.com/post/7362975721/jewelry
This was a problem for me for a long time too. I talked to a few jewellers about how to store my nice jewelry, to which they all said a box was the best option. :/ But for my less expensive jewelry, I actually bought a kind of intricate candle stand. It looks sort of like a tree with lots of branches and a bowl-type area at the bottom to gather dripped wax. It works so well as a jewelry holder and only cost $8.