Decorative Coat Hooks – a useful way to display hanging decorations

It was always going to be a challenge, choosing which of my pretty home decor I would display in our ‘ripe for renovation’ bungalow when we first moved in. Clearly not every single piece I owned could make its way out of every last packing box with the limited space on offer. Selecting carefully those pieces I would showcase before the build and those which should stay safely tucked away in bubble wrap and tissue was not easy, although I remained focused and (fairly) unemotional. I simply and lovingly re-wrapped pieces which could wait for their moment to shine against new walls and in new rooms once we’d built. Still though I found myself running out of space almost entirely. And when the obvious places are full up with treasures one must be innovative, more creative. And so today we are going to look at this one’s solution. Hanging decorations… that is hanging as in the verb. Using decorative coat hooks and empty wall space specifically for hanging decorations. As opposed to placing decorations if you like. Are you ready…

After the initial placing of treasures in my home it didn’t take me too long before I began adding to corners and surfaces. I would sneakily unwrap the odd package here and there and find a suitable home for trinkets I couldn’t live without. And then I started shopping at local charity and junk shops, visiting beautiful brocantes and the odd auction house. And there were a couple of car boot sales and don’t even get me started on Instagram and all the clever and delightful artisans I’ve met there who keep sending me ‘happy post’. And very soon there was no room left in the home and Belle was the focus for a pretty purchase or two and my justification for buying became “this will live at Belle’s”.

Fast forward a year or so and I declare, I have run out of space. I’ve taken layering to a whole new level. So deep are some layers I can’t even see which pretty began the display. One day whilst I was mulling over where the new and rather large french shutters would go (my dear friend @chalkhill_greyinteriors again) I had an epiphany. Winter coats were hanging in our hallway on decorative coat hooks. That’s where I should be hanging decorations for our home I thought. Decorative coat hooks are my untapped market. I quickly took the coats down, gave them to their confused owners and told them to find somewhere else to hang them. We have a mudroom for coats I decided. There was a lot of head scratching and puzzled faces and a bit of the usual under breath muttering, before the coats and their owners disappeared. Wall mounted hooks I had decided were not for coats and scarves, they were for all kinds of pretties. I began by asking Mr M to raise the height of the existing wall mounted hooks and I shopped our home for decor which could infact work as hanging decorations perhaps offering I hoped, a new twist and perspective. It was just as we were coming out of our dark winter so fairy lights were still adding twinkles…

Yet with only one set of decorative coat hooks my options were limited. The wall looked odd, there was way too much white space around and my hanging decorations didn’t hang long enough. So I did the only thing a girl can do in this type of situation; I bought another set of pretty hooks in Spring and asked Mr M to add them to the bottom right of the blank wall space. All the tools came out, spirit levels, screw drivers, power screw drivers and when he said there wasn’t a lot I could do to help him, I went back around the home and busied myself finding more pretties. And I may have opened a removal box or two, I can’t recall.

I was happy with the new grey hooks, so I started again, layering and placing, swapping and generally optimising space as I went. You’ll recall the paper garlands were a craft I adorned Doris with. The sign is homemade using the materials in this post and the hat has been very useful this summer in this wonderful if not extraordinary heat.

I’ve played around with several wall hanging decor ideas since then. Inexpensive spring faux flowers add a little greenery to the rustic springtime look. And you last saw this wooden star in this post. I’m all for moving my pretties around to reinvent both them and a space in the home.

I do hang some paintings on walls. Others are moved around as the season or mood takes me and many sit beautifully in this new empty space to the left of the wall.

Soon after this photo shoot I removed the gilt frame from this beautiful french canvas I found at Ardingly Market. I felt it too garish for my taste with the darker moodier colours of the canvas. In doing so, I’ve freed up a pretty frame to be used in a different kind of way. Like this, my summer wall hanging decor with a vintage twist…

And a word about this beautiful old pine blanket box if I may. This has been with Mr M and I forever. I think it may have been in pretty much all the bedrooms and sitting rooms, studies and even the garage for a while in our previous homes. Now it’s my faffing box. It holds ‘seasonal’ decor not in use. It’s a little empty at the moment since I’ve repurposed the decorative coat hooks and decided hanging decorations is the way forward. Come to think of it though, I do still have a few unopened boxes in the garage containing pretties. I was showing patience and restraint and we all know I’m not too good at that. Perhaps there’s room in my home now after all x

I bought my new decorative coat hooks locally from One World Trading in Haslemere, Surrey. I found a few others on-line which could achieve similar results if you decide hanging decorations is the way forward in your home. Just click on the photo to find out more! x