Chic Shelf Tchotchkes
Tchotchke – an inexpensive souvenir, trinket, or ornament. It’s the Yiddish word for baubles and small trinkets. However, I will use the word “Chatchkies” in this post because it’s my meager attempt at spelling a Yiddish word and I like to make fun of myself. Moving on…
Here is one of my built-in shelves with some of my chachkies. 
Please disregard the lack of cable management here. Chachkie placement shown – You get my drift.
I’m no interior designer, but I’ve learned that having cluttered shelves can throw off your entire space. When it comes to design, I’m a minimalist, and as we all know, small children create lots of clutter with all the stuff they “have to have”. So, areas in my home that my child cannot reach are for ME, lol. Sure, you can have a few picture frames (too many look super cluttered), but when that’s all you have on your shelves – your crib could run the risk of looking a bit dated. My shelves hold my beloved chachkies. These chachkies can be pretty, breakable, and almost museum like and survive because they are out of reach. As I was searching for chachkies for my selves, I was surprised at how difficult it was to find them. I finally resorted to Target, online yard sales, Home Depot, and West Elm (sale aisle, of course). I added them to my shelves and stare at them periodically like my own personal museum exhibit pieces.
Baskets
Baskets can be really expensive. If you’re lucky, you can find beautiful baskets on online yard sales and Goodwill. That’s where I found mine. Outside of that, Etsy and Amazon had some nice choices. Please be sure to measure your shelves first, as baskets tend to be rather large.
Pretty, Rustic Boxes
Online yard sales and TJ Maxx are your go-to’s for this aesthetic. I mix metals, but for those of you who are more traditional, choose gold, brass, chrome, and/or silver as part of your color palate. Pretty boxes in large, small, and medium rectangles and squares look beautiful staggered in a cluster together. Pair this look with glass vases (TJ Maxx & Goodwill) and create an elegant presentation. I was lucky enough to find this brass box with a clasp on an online yard sale.
Hour Glasses
My grandmother collected hour glasses (which probably explains my love for chachkies, so these are super special to me. And I also think they’re cool! I found a glass one with magnetic bits inside. It was a steal at under $20 from West Elm.
Pottery
What screams “I’m, like, so cultured” more than a few pieces of sturdy, matte and/or glazed pottery? I found these at Target. These can come in solids or in eclectic tribal prints. Matte textured pottery add nice dimension with metals and patterned items.
Hard-to-Kill House Plants
Tiny plants that are hard to kill are the perfect pop of natural color for a shelf. Make sure you choose a plant that is drought-resistant and doesn’t require sunlight, as it will be forever in the shadow of your shelf giving it life – literally. Some plant recommendations are: snake plants (mother-in-laws tongue), aloe, and rubber plants. I got my tiny snake plant (don’t forget to measure) from Home Depot. Bought my tiny vase from Target.
Unique Bookends
With bookends this cool, who needs book in ’em? J/K go ahead and throw a few 2-3 small (and worn ones actually look cool) in between a set. I found my geode set at Target, and you can find them at TJ Maxx and at times, on sale at West Elm.
Shop Away
I was fortunate enough to partner with Target, so if you’d like to help me with the upkeep of this site and receive more posts, click my affiliate links to find nice stuffs. Get started on your chic chachkie collection with this deal Home Decor deal from Target:
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