I would say that the most common question I get from my readers is: “You always have different glasses on your tables. Are those all yours? And where do you keep them all?”

So here it is… your much anticipated response!

While I work with many companies that loan me products for specific stories and themes, 90% of the tabletop posts I shoot for my blog are from my own glassware collection. So how and why do I have SO MUCH? Having always been obsessed with entertaining, I owned a set or two before meeting my husband {mostly inexpensive like from Pier 1} and then a cool stemless set from Urbanbelle. When I got engaged I registered for the Juliska Amalia Balloon Wine Glasses and the Juliska Amalia Champagne Flutes. Then somewhere since then I splurged on a set of modern style wine glasses from Havens Kitchen and then on an impulse I will admit to picking up some other fun sets at TJ Maxx. Long story short, I have a rather large collection. Hey some girls go crazy for shoes, I go crazy for glasses; I guess we all have our poison.

So now onto the question of where do I keep them? Well in my last New York City apartment I majorly scored because the owners had created a ton of built-in shelving fantastic for storage in both my living room and dining room {see my old apartment tour here}. Then I also had a bar cart for my liquor and extra decanters. Because of that, I utilized my large assortment of gorgeous glasses on display like art. In my new apartment I arrived with about 10 china boxes, realized I had no shelves, had a mini panic attack and then began shopping for a solution. While I had my eye on this Jonathan Adler Jacques Etagere bookcase, I wanted my big splurge to be on Art for my apartment {sneak peek of what I bought on my Instagram}, so I began looking for a less expensive option. Luckily, the solution lay in these Container Store Wendel 5-Shelf Etagere at only $119.00 a pop.

So then it was on to the task of decorating them. Since they are wide open for all to see, it was important to make them not just look like storage but to look like beautiful shelves in my dining room. If you are worried that yours won’t look that great because some of your glasses aren’t super fancy, then hide the less attractive {everyday} ones in your kitchen cabinets and then just use these shelves to showcase your more elegant or fun pieces; it can be anything from glasses to decanters to bowls. Then it’s time to merchandise, so get together a mix of  pretty trays, picture frames, coffee table books, and candles to really jazz up the look. Make sure that each shelf has a mix of each {try not todo a whole shelf of glass}. Then alternate the sides that you place your glassware on {ie. don’t always start with glasses on the left or right hand side}. The less symmetrical, the better! Also be weary of putting TOO much stuff! The last thing you want is for it to look crammed!

Of course we all need SOME space for practical storage {in my case it was that we haven’t gotten a new bar cart yet since I got rid of my last one, so I need a place to shove liquor and wine bottles!}. In this instance I recommend using the lowest shelves for your heaviest and messiest items since they are the least in sight. Great solutions to keeping them looking tidy is to buy canvas bins for storing small miscellaneous items or a wine rack for loose bottles of wine or liquor. And then you are all set – gorgeous storage and dining room decor all in one!