As you can probably imagine, I’ve got a lot of books (and other stuff), and not a lot of space. I’m feeling a bit cramped. But I’m confident that it’s for the best ~ as Elizabeth Ogg says in her book Decorating The Small Apartment (1949), it’s okay to display my treasures in my home. I shouldn’t feel bad about having so many treasures. Treasures are good. Yeah, that’s right. Lots of treasures are really, really, really good.
1949: Rooms that Reflect Personality
Of coure, you may be a collector of fine china or pottery. If so, you certainly ought to display your treasures in your home so that you and your friends can enjoy them. Collections and other hobbies offer wonderful opportunities for decoration with a purely personal touch. One man has mounted his old-coin collection in small glass-fronted cases on his bookshelves. Another has a collection of knives with carved handles, culled from the primitive tribes he studied as an anthropologist. A woman who went to Florida for a holiday came back so enthusiastic about the sea shells she had gathered (and had even learned the names of) that she mounted them most attractively on a sand-colored board fastened to her coffee table, and covered them with a framed glass panel. A girl who makes marionettes has a tiny marionette stage set up in her living room, with footlights and spotlights ready to switch on. Her guests are always enchanted to see the newest of the ‘little people’ she has created. If your hobby is no more than collecting picture postcards, you can still use it decoratively. Mount four or six of them at a time on a canvas bulletin board or on a sheet of cardboard which you can cover with glass and hang in a braquette. Change the cards on display as often as you like.
No matter what the things which have personal meaning for you may be ~ a picture or two, your favorite books, some small pieces of sculpture, a bit of lovely old silver or china, your international-doll collection ~ they deserve a place of honor in your home. More than anything else, they make your home a reflection of you.
Source: Ogg, Elizabeth. Decorating the Small Apartment. New York: Woman’s Press, 1949.
~ p. 127 ~