veemo_xdbasically, what the title says.
i’ve been getting so many grails and i love owning them but my shelves and desk and just general.. space feel so empty and lacklustre!!
i always look at the super cute shelves people on here and pinterest do, and i feel like my shelf looks ugly in comparison :c
i just want brutal honesty, how can i make this look better? i’ll put an example picture from pinterest, but i don’t know if that fully explains it. i feel like some parts of my shelves have gaps and others are too crowded, and i don’t know if i’m placing stuff in the most “aesthetic” place!! it’s making me begin to resent some of my shelves, but i don’t know if i have the mental energy to tear it all down right now!!
i’ve been debating buying fake sakura blossom vines to fill some of the gaps, or buying lace to cover up the dark wood. i see a lot of people use nendoroid boxes to decorate but i don’t know if i have the space for that! i know i need to buy risers, but they are so expensive .. it’s a big investment m(._.)m
does anyone have any tips on how i can just make it look more cute and cohesive? brutal honesty, please . |(￣3￣)|
(also i have a 1/8 scale and 3 more nendoroid on the way, so i want to fit them in too!!)
this is my space currently ->
and this is the kind of vibe i want!! (i understand this one is all pink, but i feel like this sums it up best. obviously my collection is very colourful!)
(cred pin.it/5zqfKEF)
a little update - whoever linked the custom nendoroid riser tutorial, i love you!! i measured my figma and did the same thing for them, and it makes my setup look SO MUCH better!! i also place both the amiibo diorama in the centre, with one on a riser (another suggestion) and tried to place everything in a height ordered way to draw your eyes to the centre . everything looks so much better now!! i’ve finished my splatoon shelf, now to do the others o7
also, i know people say like i shouldn’t be too mad over not having an aesthetic collection, idk if i can put into words, it’s not exaclty that. it’s just more the messiness i had before that upset me!!
i’ve been getting so many grails and i love owning them but my shelves and desk and just general.. space feel so empty and lacklustre!!
i always look at the super cute shelves people on here and pinterest do, and i feel like my shelf looks ugly in comparison :c
i just want brutal honesty, how can i make this look better? i’ll put an example picture from pinterest, but i don’t know if that fully explains it. i feel like some parts of my shelves have gaps and others are too crowded, and i don’t know if i’m placing stuff in the most “aesthetic” place!! it’s making me begin to resent some of my shelves, but i don’t know if i have the mental energy to tear it all down right now!!
i’ve been debating buying fake sakura blossom vines to fill some of the gaps, or buying lace to cover up the dark wood. i see a lot of people use nendoroid boxes to decorate but i don’t know if i have the space for that! i know i need to buy risers, but they are so expensive .. it’s a big investment m(._.)m
does anyone have any tips on how i can just make it look more cute and cohesive? brutal honesty, please . |(￣3￣)|
(also i have a 1/8 scale and 3 more nendoroid on the way, so i want to fit them in too!!)
this is my space currently ->
and this is the kind of vibe i want!! (i understand this one is all pink, but i feel like this sums it up best. obviously my collection is very colourful!)
(cred pin.it/5zqfKEF)
a little update - whoever linked the custom nendoroid riser tutorial, i love you!! i measured my figma and did the same thing for them, and it makes my setup look SO MUCH better!! i also place both the amiibo diorama in the centre, with one on a riser (another suggestion) and tried to place everything in a height ordered way to draw your eyes to the centre . everything looks so much better now!! i’ve finished my splatoon shelf, now to do the others o7
also, i know people say like i shouldn’t be too mad over not having an aesthetic collection, idk if i can put into words, it’s not exaclty that. it’s just more the messiness i had before that upset me!!
Commentaires27
if you're just looking to spiff up your shelves, you could try pink or white fairy lights, placing a white cloth or some sort of covering over the shelf so it fits more with the white shelving that you already have or perhaps something with a cute pattern.
There's also fake vines/plants you could put along the edge if you really want or some fuzzy covering to match the monitor.
personally for me though, I'd add a white covering, some risers and maybe change up some of the placement or remove some of the stuff and put it elsewhere...if I had to pick one I'd say especially the top shelf. it feels randomly placed to me compared to the other 2 shelves.
1. Symmetry. (The picture you referenced has a lot of symmetry, The two Miku's framing the TV, posters that mirror each other. There's lots of ways to play with Symmetry! Maybe try having a focal point of the shelves, and build out from there, having everything mirror on the opposite sides of the focal point. This makes it look cohesive, but also draws your eyes in to your focal point, like a grail figure!)
2. Build up. Start decorating from the bottom up. So like in the first suggestion, for symmetry you would start with a focal point and extend horizontally on the shelf, for this you will start with placing things on the shelf, playing with height, and then slowly add pieces in the back to give the shelf more depth. Also placing things on the wall to aid with building up, (such as posters from the picture you said you liked, or the keychains on your wall) to aid in the process.
In my opinion, I really feel like your bottom and top shelves are super cool! They are completely cohesive to me, and make great use of the space. The problem is, your eye will naturally be drawn to the middle shelf. So perhaps if you started with the middle shelf and decked it out more, you would find more peace with your space?
Absolutely love your collection! Wishing you well~
With the figures and items you currently have displayed you might be able to do a zig-zag eye leading shape down the shelves by having the tallest items be on alternating sides of each shelve (think the shape of the letter Z).
If you're looking to fill in small gaps in amongst your collection then what I do personally in my set up is to add small toys, trading figures, and mini figure keychains on the bases on other figures. Hanging rubber or acrylic charms from the front of shelves can also help fill the space, you can cover the blue tac with pin badges/small light items or use clear tape if you don't mind the straps getting a bit sticky!
Risers are expensive, I use whatever I can find that doesn't look too ugly. I've found that spice racks for kitchen cupboards are great since they're cheap and come in various colours & styles!
I set up my collection in what I believe is now called "clutter core" with a vibrant colour palette in mind, so my suggestions here might not apply fully but I tried to keep things general to all set ups ^-^
placing art or background on the wall can help make the space more towards your aesthetic too (ex. prints, shikishi boards, ambient patterns, etc)
One thing is your shelves are stuck between functional and aesthetic - the markers need to move or be covered up. If you can cover them, you could pick some sakura miku artwork to make it fit in. If you need a shelf for storage, then I would recommend picking one just to have stuff on and fully utilise the other two as decorative. Some functional stuff can be aesthetic, but it'll be easier just to exclude that stuff.
If you're not renting or can get permission to paint, you could make it more of a feature cove and paint the wall behind the shelves. I'd choose a very pale colour that would be just enough to give the corner its own vibe. Again, you could digitally play with that to see if it's worth the effort to you.
If you're collecting what you like and not 'being really into pink', then I wouldn't compare against such photos. I'd find photos that are more similar to the things you own style-wise and see what they did well. Like where did the tall figures get placed? If they have nendos how did they incorporate them? What risers did they use?
If you want risers on the cheap, one thing I have is cardboard boxes wrapped in wrapping paper (stuff you wrap presents with). Can use any decorative paper. Some of my Kallax risers are bits of wood balanced on random bits of tat but covered with paper so you can't see that XD. Clear risers will generally be more aesthetic than opaque ones, but opaque ones can be made really cheaply if you're on a budget.
When you arrange things for viewing, you want to "lead" the viewer's eye some where. You do this by making gentle slopes using the height of the objects you're arranging. For example, having a nendo right next to a scale figure would normally be bad composition because the nendo is too small and the scale figure too tall. This makes a sharp line out of the objects instead of a slope. picture/3738723... is good because the height of the figures gradually leads my eye down and back up again.
You can get more complicated and make shapes like circles and triangles too. (picture/3590456... and your Mikus on the top shelf are good examples of this.) Obviously, this is just a general rule. It's not something that everyone will like. But if it is something you enjoy, you can get around "weird" height differences by using symmetry, layering, and risers. It's not a science and as long as it looks good to you, that's all that matters.
With that said, I love your Splatoon shelf! It matches the game really well. Big agree with everything said here! ^^ Intentional placement and visual flow can make all of the difference!
As for a few quick observations;
The music album and marker set is throwing off the rest of the top shelf. Try making space for them on the Splatoon shelf or somewhere else and reserving the Sakura Miku shelf to a more limited palette.
If you want a more cluttercore look, look for related ephemera and fanart to place behind the figures. Similar to your splatoon shelf. Examples; silk sakura blossoms,preserved flowers for the top shelf. Costume Jewelry, accessories, small fake desserts/trading figures (novelty erasers, rement, etc.), paper or thrifted lace doilies for the Madoka shelf. Colorful art supplies for the Splatoon shelf perhaps?
You can use contact/drawer liner paper on the shelves themselves, if the wood surface feels like too much of a visual detractor. It would be relatively easy to then affix ribbon or lace (or even washi tape) as a fronting with craft/hot glue so that if you ever wanted to change things up, you wouldn’t be damaging the surface underneath. ^^
Gonna leave a couple of excellent DIY/tip blogs for risers in here since I think the addition can make a big difference without requiring too much investment (most of my risers are random things from around the house and thrift shops).
DIY Angled/Circle Risers; BLOG #44758
DIY Nendoroid Risers; BLOG #30134
The Importance of Risers in Shelf Presentation; BLOG #58581