Beautiful things always come in small packages. Perhaps this is why most of us nurture a weakness for picking up tiny articles. But in most homes these tiny artifacts lose their identity after the initial euphoria. They are usually put away in a safe place, out of sight for the fear of losing the petite beauties. Sometimes when they are placed with larger showpieces, their presence goes unnoticed quite like the Lilliputs when Gulliver visited their land.

They could be erasers, dolls, accessories of a doll’s house, tiny figurines, and miniature ornate containers of snuff or Haldi-Kumkum, fancy beads, pebbles, and figurines of birds, animals, insects or people. Sometimes we also have remnants of our outgrown children’s kitchen sets, baby porcelain tea set, tiny clocks, souvenirs, building set or a mechanic’s set. There could be a horde of Ninja turtles, aircrafts, and cartoon characters — in fact, they could be anything small.

These little items — your source of joy — that are too precious to be given away or too much of a trouble to be displayed on the right platform, can be a trifle frustrating. Yet if you are a little innovative, you can use a little space in your existing showcase and make space to display a miniature world in an aesthetic manner.

Action plan

Here is a practical solution to your problem. Firstly take stock of your collection and sort them out on the basis of theme. Arrange them on the floor in a compact and aesthetic manner in three or four sets. This exercise will give you an idea as to how much space the pieces will require approximately. Then you can build a small glass staircase within the showcase following the given tips.

Secondly, identify a shelf area in the showcase or the mantelpiece that is at the eye-level about five feet above the ground level.  Measure the area in the interior of the shelf and buy frosted or plain glass. While the measurement of the length should tally with that of the interior of the shelf, the width need not be more than two inches. When you visit the glass and plywood shop for the purchase, you will find that a good number of shops will be glad to give away odd sized pieces of glass for a ridiculously low amount.

Get the glass ground around the edges for a price to prevent it from hurting your hands while handling it. You will need at least two glass strips for one shelf area. Then comes the responsibility of building the steps. To do this, carry out the following:

Take a stock of your glassware tumblers and tiny bowls in particular. You are likely to find incomplete sets. Fish out three or four of the same size in different heights. It is preferable to see that one set of the chosen glassware is tall and the other set measures half the height of the taller set. Clean these glasses and place them along the wall of the shelf at equal intervals and place the strip of glass on them. Now you have one platform ready. Then place the shorter glassware in front of the taller ones and repeat the exercise and your lower platform will be ready. In this manner you can build as many steps as your space permits. If you want to more creative, you could fill these glass tumblers with marbles, tiny shells or beads. You could place ornate candles or linear pieces of artwork so that these tumblers look like exotic turrets.

Then arrange place your miniature collection in your very own customised multilevel showcase. Now you will find yourself patting yourself on your back not merely because you need not be anxious about losing a unit of your precious collection but also because you will be able to admire your collection whenever you please, not to mention the compliments you will be receiving for the enterprising effort you have put in.