Life is full of items that link us to treasured moments, from the smallest ticket stub to stunning statement gifts - and it can be a challenge to incorporate these beloved pieces into a cohesive interior scheme.
While most of us cannot let our appetite for collecting run freely, leading interior design house Neptune believe that the curiosity cabinet is the perfect solution to give us the freedom to display those interesting, sentimental items.
Previously considered stuffy or formal, today the curiosity cabinet is easy to embrace due to the ease in which it incorporates personality into design while keeping it ordered and contained.
According to Gestalt psychology, when similar objects are grouped together, we naturally perceive them as one whole.
Like the leaves on a tree or the bricks in the wall of a house, it is how our brain make sense of all the visual information sent to it, and we are rewarded with feelings of joy for this continued ability to make connections.
This is why we find groups of things so pleasing, like jars lined up on a shelf or books arranged.
A curiosity cabinet is a delightful thing because it creates harmony in a collection, even if the objects are seemingly disparate.
On a more prosaic note, in a world where we are more and more conscious of cleanliness and air quality, part of the appeal of curiosity cabinets is that they also keep your collection dust-free.
So, how to make the most of your curiosity cabinet?
First, decide whether you want your curiosity cabinet to be a minimalist or maximalist space.
Both have their merits: the former taps into a need for order and balance, the latter into the pleasure in abundance.
If you are torn, let your collection guide you. If yours is a singular collecting passion, you’ll probably fall into the minimalist camp.
However, if your collecting habits are wide and varied, embrace maximalism and create a cabinet that reveals new delights every time you peer in.
Incidentally, you can also bridge the gap between these two styles with a collection of a singular object or type of object arranged en masse — picture the impact of a cabinet filled to the brim only with pure white ceramics.
Next, having chosen the cabinet in question — Neptune’s Shepton and Chawton designs make good candidates — start by making groups.
Things do not have to be as ordered as a museum display cabinet, but arranging your curiosities in little sets will tap into that sense of harmony our brains enjoy so much.
You do not need to focus on creating groups of identical objects, but some similarities will help make those connections.
Finally, a parting word: enjoy the process. Open the door occasionally to spend time with your collection. Rearrange it regularly.
Take pieces out now and then to place them on a bedside or desk or in your pocket where you can appreciate them singularly.
Even use some of them — don’t let the curiosity cabinet fall back into its stuffy old ways.
