apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

chairs. lots of chairs. more than i could ever hope to use.

all are vintage and have been thrifted (they are classics - and bought cheaply). my boyfriend and sister have tried to intervene, but i can't imagine letting any of them go.

i collect playing cards that i find lying in the street. i have two so far.

Books, always books. All my shelves are filled, and my one decent closet has a few boxes in it.

Photography. Some hangs, most is stacked against a wall.

Elephants.

Books books books books, four 5-shelf bookcases worth: fiction, poetry, essays, travel, philosophy, mythology, religion, sociology, science and lots of psychology from grad school, Piled Higher and Deeper. Oh yes, and complete series of Harry Potter in French.

Shoes. In clear shoe boxes from the container store. On the tippity top shelves in my cloest and in shoe racks on the closet floor.

We have a rule. One may look at the shoes, one may mock the shoe wearer, one may roll their eyes over the aquisition of more shoes.

But under no circumstances may pairs of shoes be counted.

Classic Pyrex containers. Lovelovelove the colors and the functionality. Just don't always love the price :\

Milk Glass, Ceramic Cats, Pez and 8-Track tapes

Aluminum and Tin lunch boxes. My favorite is Eloise from one of my favorite childhood books.

You have my collection.... pink bambi's!! Are yours for sale?

cobalt blue glass bottles, stored on top of my kitchen cabinets

Star Wars prop replicas, including a Han Solo blaster and 3 full-sized lightsaber hilts, one of which is a wall-mounted, dual-bladed one that lights up and makes noises when you swing it.

I have a weakness for decorative boxes, storage furniture, and animal figurines. And, kimg924, I also have a vast collection of shoes. Unfortunately, my brother and his friend counted all my shoes when I was moving and then told me! I'm really trying to weed out that collection, though.

Kinder Suprise toys. They don't cost (and aren't worth) anything, the chocolate is crummy, and they invariably lose a piece, making them less cute or functional over the years. But I can't throw them away, so they're just sitting in a ziplock bag in the pantry.

Vintage Pyrex, other milk glass, and Goodwill goodies. I live with 2 other roommates and they just shake their heads when I walk in with an armload of "junk".

Definitely vintage pyrex, along with other kitchenware. Plates, bowls, mugs, whatever. I've got my favorite plates stashed away for a display wall, and my various others pieces in a glass cabinet in the dining area.
I also have a collection of white vases. I just can't help myself!

Among other things, I have amassed a collection of 35 to 40 70s TV show board games -- Starsky & Hutch, SWAT, The Partridge Family. I thought it was funny as I was pursuing them on eBay and now I'm stuck with this pile of ridiculousness. Granted, they're a hoot to play. Maybe I should line a wall with them? Or put them back on eBay... I can't decide.

1. i have tonsss of shoes i'm scared to count. that's not a collection....it's a necessity. Yes, I do need 5 different kinds of black pumps, (and I challege my bf to prove otherwise).

2. I love those kinds suprise toys and can never seem to throw them out

3. My REAL collection is frogs. I get them when I travel and try to get some that represent where they are from, (ex. frog out of delf china from delf, out of a condom from amsterdam, etc). unfortunately people think i'll take any frog and have started giving me frogs for any occasion. I've def. had to pare down otherwise I'd look like the crazy frog lady.

Vintage Bitossi Pottery - I just can't stop buying the stuff! Vases, bowls, ashtrays, candlesticks, lamps, animal figures. I love the saturated colors and handmade textures in the clay...

Then there's my collection of delft tiles and inaugural plates & books and framed photos from my cruises aboard Holland America ships...
...and framed prints of Stephen Card's maritime paintings.

Ceramic Polar Bears
Heath Dinnerware
Cufflinks
Mid-Century Paintings
Architecture and Ship books
...and Luggage.

Yarn!! I have dedicated an entire closet to storing my yarn and fabric. I put them in clear boxes from the Container Store. It's starting to spill out into my other closets. I may need to buy a new apartment just to store my yarn.

Gwen, I collected elephants, too, because it's my last name in Spanish. I passed them all on to my brother, though, and gave some away to friends. Just a few favorites left.

I used to collect books, but they took up too much space, and I really didn't need them; I sold and donated them. Same with the comic book collection.

Now, it's postcards, which I think I mention here at AT more than I talk about anything else. Oh ... and the paper napkins that are always stuffed in to-go bags and that I end up not needing. That's not so much collecting as it is hoarding, though, I think. Maybe a lapse of reason ...

Books and owls.

Bylthe, Moof, Pullip and a few other special Japanese dolls. I have them artfully displayed on my white Billy bookshelves and so far I have only 2 shelves full but all their extra clothing and accessories take up a couple of plastic shoe boxes in the closet.

Other than the dollies, I collect books too!

i collect fridge magnets from places i visit. also have small (11) collection of vintage peekaboo glasses from the 40s. found glasses mostly on e-bay and display in my in-built foyer hutch

Outdoor sports gear. Two bikes (road and mountain) & all of the accesories, 4 pairs of skis (xcountry, skate, telemark, downhill, climbing (ice, rock and alpine gear), backpacking gear, waxing equipment for skis. All of this is stuffed into my front entry closet and fortunately, a small storage space in the parking area of my condo. Mountain bike hangs out in entryway.

Boyfriends.

Mine used to be books, until I made a rule that I couldn't buy more until I read what I had, and that stopped things pretty quickly (yes, I still buy an occasional book, but not like I used to).

Now, it's yarn and fabric, like beng. My stash is in plastic bags and boxes at the moment, half in our storage unit and half laying on the floor in our spare bedroom (we're getting ready to put our house on the market). Yet despite the fact that all my yarn is out of reach except for 2 projects and my sewing machine isn't getting used until I paint the room, I can't help but keep buying more fabric online!

I'd collect other things if I could, like Eiffel towers and angels and coffee-related paraphernalia, but I just moved 6 months ago and will probably (hopefully) have to move in another 6 months, so what's the point in buying things that will have to go directly into our storage unit? That's no fun.

Any one have some good advice on how to stop, even temporarily, collecting? I sense that many of us could use some help there.

But I'm excellent at purging them! (Ha.)

Yup, books. When I moved recently I had 45 boxes of 'em (and that doesn't count the ones living in my office or other places till I could take them home).

Also vintage globes. I am a little pickier than I was when I first started collecting them, but I am still a sucker for them.

anything art related. uglydolls, vinyl toys, prints, books, cards from openings, art supplies, canvases, paints, aannything. but its ok. because it rules.

Old rotary phones of various bright colors. I started collecting them after seeing a photo on AT of a bunch of them in a store window.

I work with a guy who collects vintage toasters. He has hundreds of them. You'd be stunned to see how many shapes and sizes and compeltely non-toaster looking formats a toaster can come in.

I have a collection of unusual and sometimes frightening friends.

vintage pyrex (crazy daisy pattern), vintage glassware, and GNOMES.. :) i love 'em. usually anything ugly or tacky..

Espresso cups. Mostly Illy, but I have been known to branch out.

I have a huge collection of interior design and lifestyle magazines from Europe, England, and Australia.

Cote Sud/Ouest/Est, Marie Claire Maison, Maison Francaise, Elle Decoration (from several countries), Art & Decoration, Living Etc...and the list goes on!

My friends think I'm strange because:

1. I keep them cataloged according to title, month, and then size
2. I proudly display them like volumes in a library

Do I have a problem?

Vincent, I have lots of those games too (although the Starsky & Hutch is lame because Huggy Bear isn't in it!) as well as bad 70s TV colorforms. (One can NOT live without a set of CHiPs colorforms!)

I've sold off some of my collections, but I still have:

Simpsons stuff (mostly toys)
50s magazines
toy-themed keychains
metal lunchboxes
James Bond & Peanuts paperbacks
food-related (especially ice cream) memorabilia
milk glass (especially cakeplates)
robot toys

I'm sure there are more collections, but some are packed away and the rest are grouped together in various places. I have a reasonably sized place with a lot of storage, so it's not overwhelming at all.

thus far I do not collect anything of value to anyone but me. I'd LOVE to collect art. I am on a couple of waiting lists, and have my eye on a few artist I really like. That will be the most indulgent thing I have ever done.

For now I am happy with my junk that is pretty meaningless and never on display.

Barbie's - The dolls are not the collector ones just plain ones for kids that caught my eye. I don't collect them anymore, I have exactly enough. Now I'd like real looking 1/8 scale furniture to go with my dolls. They do great versions on designer chairs in that exact scale... hummmmmm

ALSO;
Tarot Cards
Paper dolls
CD's
Concert ticket stubs (shows I've seen over 300)

Books (lots of books!)

Vintage bar ware. (my boyfriend has 2 seltzer bottles dating back to the 1880's)

Miniature Landmarks from every trip we go on. The best one so far (and the best quality) is a mini Brandenburg Gate made of Pewter and Marble. Awesome.

As for displaying them, the books we have in our office/library which also is home to the landmark collection on the top of the bookshelves.
The barware we display in our living room. I put the really pretty and cut crystal in front of the windows to have the light shine through them.

Books. Rocks. Shoes.

What else would one need in life?

I collect dog paintings. They're all hung along one wall in my bedroom.

Cakekick, I thought I didn't collect anything (because I never like the idea of 'collections' ) until you brought up about the Kinder's toys. Now I'm beginning to see them here and there in my place!
BTW, I love the chocolate.

My husband collects Transformers. Expensive metal ones from Japan, reissues of ones he had as a child. So far they are in the top of the guest room closet, and in "his" bathroom. As long as I can keep them out of the living room and our bedroom, I can live with it.

Daily Nuance, you can find some sweet deer here

animal form cleavers -- hachoirs zoomorphiques -- from France

My weakness is collecting magazines. It irks the sh!t out of my boyfriend as we have moved five times in the past two years and he is usaully the one stuck lugging the boxes of them around. Up until recently I took them with me whenever I moved to, but then a few months ago I realised how insane that was and chucked most of them in our apartment block recycling bins. Man did I feel sorry for the poor garbage man that had to wheel those bins to the truck!

I mostly collect home and fashion mags, although I have cut down on the fashion ones as I am more interested in decorating these days. My favourites are Domino, Martha Stewart Living, Blueprint, Real Simple and Lucky. Since I live in Australia and have to pay a disgusting amount for these mags as Borders has to import them, I find a lot of guilt attached when it comes to chucking them out.

On the other hand, they come in very useful for when I make up mood boards for my apartment decorating ideas, if some else asks me to do up a mood board with a decorating scheme for their place or to cut up and use in the collages that I occassionally like to make. I also study visual merchandising so I use them for lots of inspiration. Not to mention all the handy articles on various subjects.

Plus, they all look so nice when they are neatly lined up with all the colourful spines on display!

oops, zoomorphes

Halloween and Christmas decorations. My two favorite holidays by far and I go all out. Halloween is up October 1st and Christmas goes up the 2nd Sunday in November. Sure it's way early but so much fun.

I purge every six months. I am diligent about purging. Super Purger Extraordinarie. I claim to have an allergy to "knick knacks" and "collectibles," but that's not entirely true. I can't get rid of books. I have enormous amounts of storage in this tiny apartment, but books have taken it all up. Oops.

Essential oils. They're indulgent in terms of $, not in terms of space. They fit easily into the front part of a shelf in a kitchen cabinet which has otherwise been dedicated to balcony garden supplies.

perfume

I have a collection of about 200 snow globes from around the world, the tackier the better. They're stored in 2 plastic bins in the hall closet, as I no longer have an office at work suitable for displaying them. I don't have the heart to chuck them out, because so many were gifts. Some day I envision a bathroom with them lining the walls...

Books and rocks. When we were moving once, our friend who was helping, asked what was in the heavy box he was holding, rocks? He didn't believe us when we said, yep, it's full of rocks. :)

I used to collect leather sex toys, but stopped about a year ago. Now it's underwear.

I hadn't realized it until I read this post that I do have a collection. Bowls. I hoard bowls. I have gigantic big bowls that you could bathe kids in, two antique looking ones from a Dollar Store that I see in movies all the time, some pyrex, some wood, some I lugged home in my backpack from Spain, some Chinese from a great market in NY, and the list goes on.

dustbunnies

I have a lot of books, journals, and sweaters but have never thought of them as collections, which I may now have to reconsider...
I collect California pottery, religious items, textiles, postcards,
and coats/jackets.

Tea pots, old canning jars, banana repulic clothes, recipes. My family seems to think I like frogs and get me various weird frogs that I don't really like. I used to collect stuffed bears. I still have a few but have given most of them away now. Somehow I got it in my head it was time to "grow up" and I thought that meant I should get rid of them. I gave two cute ones that one of my parents had given me, to a thrift shop. My dad came to town and saw them and commented - I felt so terrible (He offered to by them for me not knowing they were mine)...I'll not give any more away again. Plus they are so cute.

Dishes (vintage or new; serving platters, plates, bowls, etc...), books, art (photography, paintings, little sculptures), those things are my weakness.

books, ashtrays from travels, collection of eggs (soon to be given away), statues of women from around the world, witches...

My mom used to collect the holiday Barbies for me so they're in a box in her attic. She also started giving me Disney snowglobes so when I moved she emptied the curio and gave them to me. She cried when I said I was selling all but my favorite- Sleeping Beauty. I have a hard time getting rid of things when I think about how much money they cost. I also have the Victorian houses and shops Christmas ornaments from Hallmark. They started that collection the year I was born so I get one every Christmas. Those are in the attic with all the decorations, and across from the box of Barbies.

Books and skateboards.

Christmas ornaments.

It started as a way to refill my parent's stash that we kids had broken over the years, but um, it became personal. I've been cutting way back on quantity and looking more for uniqueness. I'll probably give some to goodwill soon, that are less than spectacular. But they make me happy and I remember which year I bought them and where (and sometimes the price!). They're not out all year, though. Which is a shame.

Books (been trying to limit myself to childhood favorites and books I plan to reread)
Magazines (will hoard my Domino, Living Etc, Budget Living and Blueprints forever)
Pyrex mixing bowls (have 3 sets) plus various thrift store finds
Aqua 1950's things (typewriter, Dansk pot, Army issued cabinet)
Fabric for quilting (more than I could use in a year)

Books, crystals, and an assortment of Ouija boards that I plan to have framed to decorate the family room.

Books, and more books like everyone else... I tried to pass on the paperback and only hold on the signed and 1st editions.

But my one collection that no one else has mentioned is the vintage/antique glove molds. Just within the last few years you see them more frequently. I used to find them in junk stores or antique markets but recently, have had to rely on Ebay.
My first one I bought in high school for $20.00. They are now worth $50-100. Not too bad.
Plus, it is such a conversation starter for those who have no idea what they are.

Lucky kitties, romance novels, bento supplies.

The kitties live on my boyfriend's desk because I buy him a new one for each of our anniversaries. When we finally live together, I intend to display them in high art/low art fashion on a simple sleek black shelf in the living room.

My romance novels live in my bedroom on two over crowded Ikea bookshelves. I need to buy another bookshelf soon.

And finally the bento supplies have an entire kitchen cabinet to themselves since I took a trip to San Francisco over winter break and hit up a million Daisos and Japantown.

Gwen--my God, where do you keep them all?

kls987--the Eiffel Tower collection wouldn't work out--there's only one of them and it's difficult to store.

For those who said books: me too, except that books are not a collection, they are an ENRICHMENT. Unless you buy cheap romance books or trashy horror novels. Then they are just Twinkies in the diet of your soul.

I used to collect things. Now that I'm in a Small Cool space, I am getting rid of things.