Interior design by Chew Toy McCoy: Randoms shelf

[Chew Toy McCoy]

What's required: A shelf

So my roommate and I (mostly me) decided to put a shelf up in the entrance hallway, but instead of setting up a nice display that either never changes or changes seasonally, we decided (mostly me) that it should be for things that are either usually buried in a box or drawer or displayed elsewhere that nobody ever really looks at to be changed every week or so, no real solid schedule. There doesn't need to be really any rhyme or reason. Because of it's location, it's something we see every time we come or go and sometimes we even have a discussion on the story behind the pieces on display. They get a brief time in the spotlight before being returned to forgotten or unnoticed obscurity.

This is the current state of the randoms shelf.

 

[Alli]

Very nice! I too have a random shelf, but it’s above an arched doorway where we almost never see it. Cats don’t like shelves. Well, mostly they don’t like things being on shelves.

 

[Clix Pix]

That's nice, very attractive! I have an antique sideboard near the front door, which is handy for stashing my keys, anything I need to take somewhere else and so on.... I have a few decorative items on it as well but most of the time it's got a bunch of books or the reusable bags from the grocery store on it that need to be returned to the library and my car respectively, or I've got something to give to a friend or neighbor sitting there.... Normally a sideboard lives in a dining room but I have more of a "dining area" that is adjacent to the front door/entry, so it seemed a natural place for the sideboard anyway. The sideboard contains the usual sorts of things inside: silverware, china, occasional serving pieces, a couple of votive candles and Christmas ornaments, etc. We had it in the dining room of the townhouse and when I was getting ready to move here I knew I wanted to bring it with me, along with the cabinets which contain my crystal (both the kind you drink from and the kind you display). My condo unit is an interesting mix of antique and modern -- somehow it all works.

 

[Chew Toy McCoy]

Very nice! I too have a random shelf, but it’s above an arched doorway where we almost never see it. Cats don’t like shelves. Well, mostly they don’t like things being on shelves.

I've lived with cats and can confirm they are experts at knocking things off shelves. They can stealthily squeeze into tight spaces without evidence but things on shelves with plenty of room to share and here comes the paw.

That's nice, very attractive! I have an antique sideboard near the front door, which is handy for stashing my keys, anything I need to take somewhere else and so on.... I have a few decorative items on it as well but most of the time it's got a bunch of books or the reusable bags from the grocery store on it that need to be returned to the library and my car respectively, or I've got something to give to a friend or neighbor sitting there.... Normally a sideboard lives in a dining room but I have more of a "dining area" that is adjacent to the front door/entry, so it seemed a natural place for the sideboard anyway. The sideboard contains the usual sorts of things inside: silverware, china, occasional serving pieces, a couple of votive candles and Christmas ornaments, etc. We had it in the dining room of the townhouse and when I was getting ready to move here I knew I wanted to bring it with me, along with the cabinets which contain my crystal (both the kind you drink from and the kind you display). My condo unit is an interesting mix of antique and modern -- somehow it all works.

The location of our shelf probably would be used for more utilitarian things like keys, wallet, etc., but without much real life experience to make me feel this way I like to keep those things in my room because I feel like I need to be able to grab them and jump out my window in an emergency situation or something like that. Maybe it comes from living in apartments and with roommates (that I never really had a problem with), but I have an issue with leaving valuable things outside my bedroom that don't have a purpose for being outside my bedroom. I even have a key lock on my bedroom door. Not the kind you can unlock with a small screw driver, you need an actual key.