Tip-Top Decor

One can never have enough display space, especially collectors. Lana Testa tackles that problem with Yankee ingenuity by taking advantage of high spaces in her Mashpee, Massachusetts, home, including cabinet tops and upper walls. Not only does she manage to showcase more of her treasures but she also makes her rooms seem more spacious. Here’s how she does it:

Different drapery. Consider using something besides fabric as window decor. Lana has an impressive collection of antique wooden mashers, and Dave suggested hanging them from an old rack from a shoe factory. “My husband said, ‘Instead of a curtain, let’s hang mashers,’ ” Lana explains. “He had a good idea!” Indeed he did, as they look more interesting than the typical valance over the kitchen sink.

Beam team. Don’t leave beams bare. The beautiful beams in the cathedral-ceilinged gathering room look even better with a wide array of baskets hanging from and balanced on top of them. Lana even managed to hang a plate rack from one beam.

Cabinet capstones. Like a delicious hot fudge sundae, even gorgeous tall cabinets can use a little extra topping. The large cabinet in the dining room, for example, is just a few inches shy of ceiling height, so Lana arranges an assortment of shallow bowls and boxes on top to take the eye the rest of the way up.

Ledge dwellers. If your windows feature trim or sills that are wide enough to support small objects, make the most of them, as Linda did in her gathering room, where a row of bird figures perches along the sill of a transom window and wreaths, lanterns and other petite decorations populate the room’s other deep sills.