5 Steps To Organize Your Jewelry Collection Like A Retail Boutique

My very first retail job was at a gift card shop in college. I faced cards, arranged displays and removed objects from shelves so I could dust the shelves and then put the objects back on. Then I moved on to another retail job selling containers and organizing solutions (much like The Container Store, but nowhere near as big) where I uncovered my not yet realized passion for organizing. I stopped working retail for a few years so I could have a career in interior design, but when I took a break from that, I went into clothing retail. I folded shirts, faced and finger spaced hangers. I also removed clothes from shelves so I could dust them and put the clothes back on. Really, one retail job is not unlike the next.

Interestingly, I really have no major passion for shopping like some of my other female counterparts. I think I rather got sick or bored of it between working those retail jobs and shopping for my clients as an interior designer. And yet even more interestingly, I always find myself longingly staring at all the gorgeous window displays - like Nordstrom on Pine Street in Seattle or Anthropologie at Rockefeller Center in New York. That’s the stuff of creative geniuses!

I often imagine turning my house into one big retail space, where I can merchandise my furniture like a design showroom or display my clothes like a boutique. I secretly would love to have a minimal wardrobe so I can keep my hangers finger spaced. Ah, dreams!

That’s where my inspiration came from when I set out to reorganize my jewelry. I wanted to have it all on display where I could see it and grab at them when needed. I wanted to gaze upon my collection and think of how pretty the displays were. I wanted to curate my collection so I only had the most loveliest of baubles to choose from. With that in mind, I want to share with you my five steps to organize your jewelry collection like a retail boutique.

Step 1 | Carve out a small space in your closet, bedroom, vanity table, bathroom, to display your collection.

When we added a new closet (they’re just Ikea Pax wardrobes) in our bedroom, I designed the system so that I could have my jewelry on display. My jewelry takes up the entire width and depth of the wardrobe and 24″ in height at about 33″ off the floor. In case you’re wondering, that’s just a bit shy of kitchen counter height. Yours doesn’t have to be as spacious as mine. A wall in the corner will do just fine.

Step 2 | Throw out the junk.

Admit it, you’ve got some old jewelry in your collection you never wear, right? Or maybe some pieces that have gone out of style? What about those earrings that have lost their mate? If the mate hasn’t turned up in 5 years after you’ve moved house 3 times, it’s time to say good-bye to the lonely earring, my friend. Send it off to earring heaven to find its match elsewhere. I definitely went through this exercise myself. It was hard to say good-bye to some of the good times I had with a few of the pieces, but I knew it was all for the best. I needed to clear out the junk and make room for more beauty in my life. Don’t you dare skip this step!

Step 3 | Group like items together.

Think of your favorite retail boutiques. Chances are they’ve grouped all the bracelets on their own display and the earrings in another. Take their cue and group your earrings separately from your bracelets and necklaces. This makes your items well organized too. You’ll be able to know where to find your favorite ring if you’re not digging through all the bracelets to get to it.

Step 4 | Display your collection.

Rings & Brooches: You know what’s fun about trying on rings at the jeweler? They place all the rings you want to try onto a tray, most often a velvet lined or velvet flocked tray, and present them to you on a glass counter. Well, I don’t have a glass counter, but you’re more than welcome to go this route if you really want the boutique look. But I can keep all my rings on a tray like the jewelers and see my collection at a glance. I’m not fond of sliding my rings onto one of those hand statues. I don’t like having to remove a bunch of rings if the one I want to wear is on the bottom of the finger. Keeping them on a tray is much more suitable for me. Do this with your pins and brooches, too. But keep them separated from your rings.

Necklaces: I feel necklaces must be hung and on this I stand my ground. I’ve tried keeping them laid in perfect rows inside drawers before, but there must be some mischievous drawer elf that comes out of hiding every time I close the drawer. It never fails that my necklaces never stay as perfectly neat and straight as I had them when I closed the drawer! The result is that the necklaces get tangled and messy. Just hang them up. When they’re hung, you’ll always be able to see what you have. For my jewelry display, I wrapped the board of an Ikea frame with wrapping paper leftover from my wedding and drilled door knobs along the top of the board (about 4″ from the top, to be exact). When I put the board back into the frame, I removed the glass. Because I have more necklaces than I have space, I doubled a few up onto one knob, but I kept the styles and materials together: pearls on one knob, chains on another, etc.

Bracelets: Bracelets and bangles should also be hung or displayed on trays. Stacking them like rings will only make the ones on the bottom hard to get to. Wouldn’t it just be easier to pull one item out instead of five to get to one? I laid mine all in a neat grid on a large serving tray. I’m not sure this is the ideal situation for me, but for now it works well.

Earrings: I love to hang my earrings. I used to keep them in divided trays, but sometimes my earrings were too big for the small compartments. Sometimes the compartments were too big, as in the case of studs. Choose a pretty frame with chicken wire to hang your earrings all nice and girly like. I won this particular chicken wire frame from fellow blogger, The Robin’s Nest, but you could easily pick up the supplies from the hardware store and make your own.

To hang post earrings on the frame, I tied a piece of organza ribbon from one side of the frame to the other. Then I just stick the earrings into the ribbon like I would wearing them on my ears. I think sheer ribbons or lace ones work the best for this solution.

Watches, and other bits & bobs: Watches do well when laid flat on a tray or surface or stored in a watch box. Yes, they make those! I picked up this dish from Daiso in the kitchen section. I think it’s meant to serve sauces, but I liked it for organizing my jewelry collection. I place my most favorite and most worn pieces on this tray. Apparently, I love hoop earrings.

Step 5 | Make it pretty.

Now the funnest part of all! After you’ve gotten the practical part of organizing down, you can add in some beauty through the use of pretty frames, interesting plates, and other knick knacks that don’t have to make sense. I placed a bird cage in the corner of my display because I liked how the gray balanced out the earring frame. And because it just looked so good amongst my baubles! Think about how retail stores merchandise their products. Do they always make sense? No! And isn’t that really the best part? Isn’t that why it’s fun to style our home like a shop? So we can just be imaginative and make our spaces pretty and inviting? And want to shop our own closets all the time????

This is a small sterling silver tray that I found at the thrift shop. I use it to hold my statement rings. Displaying them on such a fancy tray really elevates their appeal, don’t you think?

Look in the kitchen for plates and cups - the rims of cups make a great place to hang your dangly earrings! Use old picture frames. Pull out the old china. Look around your house! The more ornate, the more it would simulate a boutique environment for your collection. Honestly, just about any pretty vessel would do well for displaying your jewelry. Give it a try and have some fun.

Would you love to style your home like a showroom? How do you organize your jewelry collection to look like a retail boutique?

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