I’m Kelly from Eclectically Vintage and I am thrilled to be a guest blogger on My Way Home. I am having a fabulous time turning my 100 year old, once dilapidated, house into a home with personality. One of easiest ways to impart a bit of oneself into décor is through personal collection. They say the first step in overcoming a problem is admitting you have one. Well, I’m shouting it from the rooftops: I have collecting-itis! Whew, I feel so much better now.

Colorful decanters

With flea markets, thrift shops, and estate sales calling my name, what’s a girl to do but find things she loves? Avoid getting carried away or going overboard with these easy rules for starting a collection of your own.

7 Collecting Rules to Live By (…before someone calls Hoarders)

1) Collect What You Love

It may cost 25 cents, but if it’s just going to gather dust in your basement, pass it over for the next collector.

Plate of walls

2) Be Choosy

Half the fun of collecting is the search. Don’t be afraid to pass it by if it’s not perfect for you.

3) Corral Your Collections

Scattering your things around the house makes each piece disappear but grouping them together creates a huge impact.

Green glass

4) Collection Rotation

Your home isn’t a museum. Mix it up! Great Uncle Willie’s portrait doesn’t have to sit above the fireplace year after year. A change of scenery may do him some good.

Billiard balls

5) Be Odd

It only takes three to start a collection and try to display them in odd numbers which is much more visually pleasing.

6) Collect the Unexpected

It’s amazing how something as simple as a bowl filled with old doorknobs looks.

7) Forget Perfection

It’s called patina but those tarnished spots, dings, and chips are all part of a pieces charm (and makes it much more affordable).

So go ahead and start showing off those collections. From matchbooks and postcards to vintage glass and silver…there’s a collector in all of us. This is just the tip of my collection iceberg. Check out My Home Tour to see more—here’s a peek into my kitchen.

I’d love you to pop over and visit me at Eclectically Vintage.

- Kelly

Finder's Keepers

Wouldn't this be a hoot centered on a plate wall?

Dream of far away places and start a globe collection!

Display these in a glass apothecary jar and you've got a unique centerpiece.

Love the texture, shape and color.

Set these decanters on a bar cart and they'll steal the show.