The Intentional Apartment: Integrating Your Gear, Gadgets and Sports Equipment Into Your Decor

Making our places look nice always falls short in one aspect: What do we do with all our stuff?

You know those skis that you only use a few months out of the year? They would make a nice accent for your entryway. Or those guitars that you always stash in the corner? They would look nice on your wall. There are many different ways to integrate functional items into your décor, and today I’m going give you some tips on how to do that.

If you have a bike, try mounting it on the wall. To help incorporate it into the rest of the room, try matching some accents to the bike. For example, if you decide to hang your red bike on the wall behind the sofa, buy a couple of red accent pillows. This will make the bike seem like it’s a part of the space, rather than an afterthought. And you don’t have to stop at one – take a peak at the photos below for inspiration.

A dining room table in front of a window with bicyclesBicycles on the wall

Sports memorabilia will look great too, if you do it strategically. A failsafe technique is to group similar items together, as shown below. Do you have some autographed basketballs? Group them together on a shelf. If you’re framing jerseys or other flat items, but sure to use the same type of frame for each piece to be consistent.  Again, try to coordinate the jersey colors with other pieces in the room.

A room filled with jerseysA living room with green chairs

Functional pieces like show shoes, skis and skateboards all look great mounted on the wall too. Grouping like items together as a collection is the easiest way to achieve a cohesive look. In the image below, the snow shoes and skis sit alongside other winter clothing – fitting in nicely with their surroundings. And another benefit: if you have a small apartment, mounting your gear will free up some extra storage space.

A home with skis on the wall

A room with skateboards on the wall

If you own a surfboard, you know that they take up a lot of space – so why not make them as functional indoors as they are out in the ocean? One option, as shown below, is to flip it upside down and use it as a coffee table. Hanging a few on the wall is another appealing idea. This is a great way to infuse a bit of personality into your space… talk about a conversation starter!

A surfboard as a coffee table

Surfboards on wall

People often prop their guitars up in the corner, or stash them away in a closet… but a guitar is a beautiful instrument, so why not show it off? As you can see from the photos below, they look nice in groups or alone – just make sure to pick a smaller wall if you’re only mounting one.

3 guitars on wall

Guitar hanging on wall

A red living room with guitars

A camera collection can be an interesting accent for a bookshelf (or even on the wall as shown below). And they don’t necessarily have to be vintage cameras… if photography is a hobby of yours, don’t shy away from exhibiting the cameras that you currently use. Consider hanging a few of your framed photographs above the cameras to create a themed space.

Cameras as decoration

Cameras in frames on wall

If you have collectibles such as action figures and vinyl toys, think about displaying them in a unique way. Lots of people put them on a shelf, but not everyone organizes them by color. This interesting display technique will attract attention in and of itself. Or you could hang each and every toy on its own mini shelf… this is a good way to fill up a whole wall.

Toys on shelves

DVDs aren’t the most attractive collection, but most everyone has one. So why not present it in an interesting way? Again, color-coding can be a cool way to transform a purely functional collection into a visually interesting one. Or for a seriously unique look, use plastic DVD sleeves to make a curtain for your window!

DVDs as art

So as you can see, there’s no reason to hide your gear, gadgets and sports equipment. Be experimental, and think outside the box. There are plenty of other things collecting dust in your closet that could probably be displayed on your wall… with a little bit of thought and ingenuity, it is possible to use most anything as décor.

Faith Towers Provencher

Faith Towers is a designer and writer with a passion for all things creative. She received her art degree from Skidmore College, and her work has been featured in many well-known publications such as Forbes, Yahoo and Curbly. Visit her blog Design Fixation for more creative inspiration.