7 Ways to Declutter Your Antiques Pile

Make an artful asset of hard-to-store goods. "There never seems to be cabinet space deep enough to hold platters," says Joanna Madden. She solves the dilemma in her kitchen with a custom rack that displays the oversize dishes.

(For similar rack: $679; ethanallen.com)

Bring baubles into the light. Instead of stashing jewelry in a drawer or box — where it tends to get tangled and forgotten — Madden corrals bangles in McCoy planters. To devise the perfect spot for beaded bracelets (these are from her own line), the designer covered particle board in gift wrap, then popped it into an antique frame. Each sparkler hangs from a pretty bridal-bouquet pushpin.

Put treasures to work. Stacked up, vintage suitcases "read as a single unit of furniture, like a cabinet," says Madden. And this gorgeous grouping doesn't just stand there looking good: The family stows off-season stuff, such as holiday ornaments, in each "drawer."

Adopt a flexible framework for arranging vintage finds. A gallery-esque wall of picture ledges provides Madden the freedom to swap mirrors in and out with ease. "I'm never finished with a collection," she explains. "This setup lets things continue to evolve."
Bright idea! Madden combined several short shelves to create each of these super-long ones.

($35-$55 each; westelm.com)

Take full advantage of vertical space. In any house, there are only so many tabletops on which to showcase stuff. So if you tend to amass large numbers of small collectibles, consider climbing the walls. These custom bookshelves in the living room, Madden says, "really allow me to indulge my love of American art pottery." Here's how she keeps the arrangement interesting.
1. Group similarly shaped items (fluted vases, trophy-like urns) together, but stagger heights and mix various creamy shades.
2. A few wild-card components, such as shells, architectural remnants, and tarnished silver vessels, prevent a monochromatic collection from becoming monotonous. Just keep 'em all muted, so they don't hog the spotlight.
3. Stacked books make great risers — providing the height needed to help fill up a tall shelf.

Add a few modern elements to contrast with antiques. Madden, pictured with sons Jake and Luke, furnished her dining room with a table constructed from an old barn door, a vintage cabinet packed with brown transferware, and a rustic wooden bench that once belonged to her mother. Yet the overall vibe feels anything but musty, thanks to sleek burlap pendant lamps and industrial aluminum chairs. As the designer says, "There are no rules for what you can and can't combine!"

Layer objects for depth and drama. So brilliant, so simple: Madden injects instant architectural interest by propping an ornate oval frame atop a modest rectangular mirror.

Joanna Madden relaxes on a sofa passed down from her parents, then updated with a crisp-white canvas slipcover. Her mother, a lifelong collector, always had Madden shopping around. "For as long as I can remember," Madden says, "we were on the hunt at flea markets and tag sales every Saturday and Sunday." Today, she and her mom, Kathe Van Harte, co-own Summerhouse, an antiques shop in Point Pleasant Beach, New Jersey. Madden also designs a line of jewelry, Findings, that repurposes secondhand trinkets. And her past shows through in the present. Her home displays a life's worth of vintage discoveries.