How to Store Jewelry? Bling it On!

When it comes to getting dressed, I’m of one mind: if you can’t see it, you won’t wear it. But figuring out how to make my sizable costume jewelry collection visible was easier said than done—especially given my bracelet habit. They’re my signature accessory (necklaces aren’t my thing), so I have dozens of them and wear one, or sometimes a whole armful, every day. That means I have to see what I have with ease and speed.

As luxury interior designers, we’ve designed smart, sophisticated jewelry storage systems for our clients built into cabinets, closets and drawers. Instead, my bracelets live in baskets and bowls on a pair of sweet little Victorian side tables in a corner of my room. And a few other pieces that are extraordinary mini-artworks in their own right are on display in my living and dining rooms, like a necklace I got in Burma because it was so incredible (but will never wear). Not only are all these treasures incredibly easy to access, they’re getting the attention they deserve as significant decorative objects in their own right.

One of the best aspects of my bracelet system is that it’s easy to keep the most visually interesting ones at the top of the heap, so to speak—especially since they’re the ones I wear most often. I group them by color, metal and sparkle. The ones that get the most “top-of-the-pile-time” are my stunning Iradj Moini cuffs from Elements.

My jewelry storage solution was organic and dictated by sheer need. I thought about putting everything in a dresser drawer, complete with a specially made system to sort them properly. But (to be totally honest) I couldn’t give up the drawer space, or any other space for that matter. I live in a (year here) Louis Sullivan rowhouse in Lincoln Park, designed when the neighborhood was middle class. While my house is recognized as a historic architectural gem today, its rooms aren’t expansive. The master bedroom is just that—the front bedroom for the masters of the house, but not a sprawling suite with a walk-in closet and dressing space.

I know how to make the most of every square inch because I’m an interior designer. Just as I maximized my closets, shelves and drawers, I choose appropriately scaled tables and bowls for my bracelet storage. But in my next home, which I’m presently renovating, I have enough space to create an incredible closet and dressing area (see its beginnings above). But I’ve so enjoyed having my bracelets on display, and found it works so well when I’m getting dressed every day, that I’m thinking of sticking with this strategy. Moral of my story? Bling it on!