apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

If I had a teapot collection, I would probably invest in a china cabinet. The glass shelves look very nice, but if they are more enclosed, you wouldn't have to worry so much about dusting.

I'd mix them up with books on a bookshelf (instead of a vase or bowl or other curio) so that they are displayed at eye level, provide a decorative accent in a room/bookcase, and set a theme in room. The over-the-cabinet look is not-so-much in my opinion. Don't repeat it!

Do people actually display these things?

Hell yeah people display these things. I don't collect tea pots but do collect west german pottery. Currently we have most of the smaller stuff on top of the kitchen cabinets like the first image but negotiations are under way between myself and the SO to put up some floating shelves to better display them intermixed with family photos etc. She is hesitant to interrupt our clean white walls.

love the idea of mixing them with the books

I think it would look good to display them on a shelf against a dark (black?) painted background - like if you painted the strip above the cabinets dark in the old house - they would stand out but feel more unified.

I quite like the idea of mixing them with the books (mmm imagining a nice cup of tea and a good book), but if it were me I'd want to display them on open shelves in the kitchen. I'd check out Benita's (of chez larsson) kitchen, like in this photo http://flickr.com/photos/chezlarsson/2144896806/in/set-72157603566821562/
imagine all your teapots neatly displayed on those shelves!
http://www.notyourgoddess.blogspot.com/

I'd probably get a vertical glass cabinet with a small footprint. A bookcase is a nice idea, but stray books could knock the teapots to the floor.

THANK YOU for the ideas! I love the black background idea- they would look great that way- I was considering painting black somewhere in the apartment. I love Benita's kitchen photo, but I dont have any place in the kitchen I can put shelving (small kitchen- all cupboards), but just off the kitchen would look great.
Yeah, I wasnt too crazy about the look of the teapots above the cabinets in the old home, either.

Mixed in with books is a great idea. You can also use them as vases (out the spout or remove the lid) or plant pots. Depending on their size/shape they can hold pens in the office, a pile of cotton balls in the bathroom, loose change at your landing strip, or holding make up brushes by your vanity.

At parties you can fill them with nuts or candies (include a spoon to help them fish them out), or even candles! Just place the candle in a clear cup/container first so you don't get wax in there.

The possibilities are endless...just think outside the box.

I wouldn't recommend mixing china with books -- a little slippage and you have one less pices of china!

I just assembled some Billy bookshelves from Ikea. I put their glass doors on the top half and their wooden doors on the bottom half. Inside the top parts I added their glass shelves and puck lights, resulting in a bunch of lighted shelves for my knick-knacks and a bunch of hidden shelves for my craft supplies.

You could probably assemble something for yourself that holds your tea pots with this system, and the Billy shelves come in a brown-black color that might make a striking background.

If these are valuable (in any sense of the word) to you, you should have them in an enclosed case that is secured to a wall. As you have them on top of kitchen cabinets in the picture, I am going to venture a guess that you weren't in the Los Angeles area during the Northridge quake. Even a moderate shake that leaves no structural damage would be enough to send those teapots hurling to the floor. LA is a bad, bad place for displaying unsecured, valuable fragiles.

If you're worried about them slipping, get some sticky-tack to secure them. :)