Kay's Decor Tips

First and foremost, I'd like to say everyone lives differently. My way of decor and lifestyle is not THE way of decor and lifestyle. Humans have been making, creating, and enjoying living spaces since the dawn of time and there's no right or wrong way to enjoy your home. What makes YOU happy in your space is the "best" route, if you ask me! I have some hard and fast decor guidelines in my house but even I break rules... with that being said I *am* very particular about my rooms. I like to truly enjoy and experience everything I've invested my time and money into. I re-arrange my toys constantly, have displays subjected to UV light at times (which REALLY ruffles some feathers..) and Spackle pretty much constantly. I've always been inclined to experiment with decor even when I didn't have the money or means to enjoy the finer things (i.e. tacking old Vans shoe boxes to the walls as makeshift shelves in middle school) and if you know me you know I love getting a good deal on things. I don't believe good decor needs to be purchased from a store, I think anyone can transform any space into something they thrive in with a little grunt work and will power (and time....lots of time..)

When decorating your space it's important to be mindful of your day to day efficiency in said environment. Meaning, while I think it's really dope to see some collectors with a wall to wall army of 1000% Bearbricks, it's just not a functional living option for me. I would advise everyone to record their most traveled paths throughout their home and attempt to highlight them with your decor. Try to position your furniture and displays in a way as to guide yourself and your guests through your home, as a gallery or museum might, quite literally forming organic walkways to rooms and displays. I think whether you're a minimalist or a maximalist it's important to consider breath-ability without feeling sterile. A great way to avoid that cluttered feeling is to keep as many things off of the floor as possible....WITH the caveat that you tastefully adorn (necessary) spots with small splashes of colors and figures (see tips on risers!!). For example, you can see I have a figure safely and neatly displayed UNDER a sitting chair in my living room. The space under the chair wasn't being used by anything else and therefor acts as a natural display spot. There's a very specific balance between a clean/minimal look and straight boring or bare. Hit your local thrift stores to find colorful statement books to pair with figures, stack them underneath and watch as your vinyl is literally and metaphorically elevated into importance...there *is* a reason Greek statues are typically on pedestals ;)

I have been trying more and more to integrate my collection seamlessly into my living spaces by mixing and matching them with books, plants, and other non vinyl figures and prints! I find when I introduce more "regular" decor pieces (non designer vinyl related things) in conjunction with my designer stuff, it makes my collection feel more mature in a sense. For example, instead of loading your couch full of Murakami plushes (I know, that's a tough one...they're truly something to gawk at!) I advise getting a base of "regular" color blocked or patterned pillows and adding the Murakami's as a statement. It can be a tricky balance to strike between not enough and way too much, it really comes down to learning and knowing the space you're working with. Study it. Study the way the light hits certain walls. Where are the rooms most flattering points. This is also very important if you're storing collectibles that are affected by UV light! Be weary of bleaching your toys by having a setup too close to the windows, it happens to the best of us. Another tip for casually pairing your collection with a more adult atmosphere is to not overcrowd your shelves with figures! This is a BIG no no everyone deals with (especially me). Space wise, yes, it's easy and convenient to store our designer vinyl up close and personal with one another maximizing the space we have so little of. BUT I swear to you, the fewer pieces on a shelf, the more important those pieces look. I'd suggest stacking a respectable row of books together, ending it off with an eclectically modern book end and sealing the deal with a vibrant and poppy appropriation piece (I'd stick with something generally recognizable. These pieces act as great talking points for guests, too! My Jason Freeny dissected Bugs Bunny ALWAYS gets people asking questions about my practice. It's easier to introduce toy collecting with familiar and admired characters.)

I've had a handful of people ask me to gauge the importance of buying prints for them. In general speaking terms I'd say wall art is extremely important for a strong and finished room. Whether we're talking about investment opportunity or buying for sheer joy is up to you and the artist you're contemplating acquiring, but again, wall art doesn't have to exist in the form of expensive gallery prints or paintings. You never know what you'll find on a thrift trip around town. With that being said there is an increasingly popular movement of toy artists including prints with a purchase, that's a two for one deal I've been growing keen on. One collective who does this is 6forest toys...Ill try and compile a list later on of others who do the same! I also recommend varying the size of your wall art but be mindful of not accumulating too many small frames. Just like any other space, the walls can become over crowded and feel cluttered too! Aim for larger pieces to cover more ground and save the smaller frames for perhaps more organic spaces and smaller nooks in your home. For collectors on a budget: You can frame ANYTHING. I've framed 1$ greeting cards before. You can box frame a single Dunny of importance. You can frame your favorite concert ticket. It doesn't have to be expensive or brand new to hang it!

At the end of the day my home and collection is centered around organization. I live that mom life so my setups have to be relatively kid friendly. Notice I didn't say childproof because well....that doesn't exist lol. Keeping kempt and clean is tough at times especially balancing such a large collection, but there are a number of cheap and easy solutions to keeping your small figurines visually stimulating without being hectic.

Shelves!! As obvious or trivial as it sounds, you'd be surprised how often I hear collectors complain about their lack of space all while barely utilizing the simple power of shelves! Shelves are the display cases of the organization world. They offer all the perks of a physical display case but WITHOUT taking up a monstrous amount of space. It's 2020, you guys, you CAN find shelves you like. I personally gravitate toward clear shelving just because with my ever changing taste in decor, clear shelving blends in well with EVERYTHING. They also don't distract from your display items in any way so you or your viewers are able to focus on what you're presenting. That doesn't mean i'm not a fan of a good statement shelf (in fact I've owned my fair share of crazy shelving units!) I just think "loud" items need to be mindfully placed. If you're not digging the modern sleek aesthetic of the clear units, I'd suggest looking into white, black, or wooden "floating" shelves. That style is a very paired back and minimal middle ground. Get creative; I've seen collectors using baseball bat cases, shot glass box frames, hell even IKEA lamps they fill with Dunny's! Have fun and be playful.

Mini Shelves!! Yes, yes, I'm back to shelves. So many of us know the absolute struggle it is to display our mini figures like Kidrobot Dunny's and SuperPlastic Janky's (among a myriad of other beloved figs). Mini shelving units can be used in bulk on both large AND small walls. They give a large, somewhat hectic collection of small toys a very coordinated and uniform feel. For me, mini shelves are a must. I was advised by a fellow collector wayyyyy back in the day (like a year ago lol) to hang my copious collection of Dunny's (over 300 at this point...?) with 1"x1" wooden beams from HomeDepot or Lowes. They're no more than $5.00 each and one beam can get you about two and a half shelves (each shelf measuring about 4 feet). It was the best advise I ever took! My Dunny wall is a notorious staple of my collection and I most enjoy them hung above my couch. (Include photos)

Risers!! Also a fairly basic display tool that I see unused in many collections. From mini risers to podiums/platforms for your 20" Dunny's and 1000% Bearbrick's, I don't like when similar sized toys just sit all in a clump. Risers offer height and depth variety which is overall more visually appealing ESPECIALLY when utilizing shelving units like the IKEA Detolf. Risers also just allow us to see all of the designs so they better help our toys serve their purpose. A slight pet peeve I'm battling with is displaying toys on the ground. For me, seeing a toy bare on the very floor we walk on feels as if I'm viewing the Mona Lisa with thumbtacks on either end of the canvas. It just feels naked and I seldom put toys on the floor (though you WILL catch a few regrettable shots on my Instagram from time to time, but I concede the toys DON'T stay there, I throw them in for the photo.) A riser doesn't necessarily need to be an expensive prefab thing, it can be a stack of books or even a pretty toy box! Sometimes an unused and interesting chair with a stack of books can exist as the perfect setting for a small toy vignette. For collectors on a budget: I often see collectors use the blind-boxes their smaller figures come in to display them. They stack them in a way as to add height variation between the other figs.

My creative spaces have always been driven by an instinctual passion, so keep in mind that I've had no formal training. So my words are exactly that, my words. I'm not a professional but rather just a baller on a budget attempting to display my toys in a way that does them justice. I want to both organize and elevate their worth because after all my home wouldn't be the same without them. Thanks for taking the time to virtually tour a small sliver of my eclectic home! And sometimes photos don't do these rooms justice (don't even get me started on interior photography, I could write a novel!) so don't be discouraged if your space doesn't photograph the way you want it to. If you have any questions or comments you can kindly write to me at craeftmade@gmail.com or DM me directly at @kaymaycreates on Instagram.