When you live in “petite” square footage, sometimes you try so hard to streamline your living space that you forget about leaving a few inches of valuable real estate for your personality to shine. I think the best way to do this is to set aside a tiny corner to display a collection—whether it’s art or photos. A collection is three or more objects that are of the same color, texture, era or genre. It’s true that there’s strength in numbers and in decorating the smallest of spaces, objects gain importance when they are grouped together.

I have been collecting vintage silver beauty pageant trophies for a few years now and I love seeing the ones dating back to the 1930’s. I just imagine how happy these young women must have felt by winning a trophy for prettiest in their county. I scan eBay for vintage trophies and have been quite successful in finding some gems. It’s a modest collection that didn’t break the bank but that adds a certain charm to my “petite” corner of the world.