White Elephant Treasures - Shelves, Racks, and Containers

I love those magazine articles and TV shows that show several different configurations of the same room with the same furniture! I like to redefine spaces! I like to see how the addition of a few simple and inexpensive accent pieces can revitalize a room.

White elephant treasures can freshen up any decor and still cost very little. Some of my favorite white elephant treasures are shelving units and storage containers. I like to seek out useful, decorative and creative ways to store items.

The ancients believed that simple storage units, like vases, pots and racks should be functional as well as beautiful. They gave us Ming vases, Egyptian ebony racks, Greek pottery and Benares brass tables from India. Most of these items were common household items.

Now although we probably won't find an Etruscan pot at a secondhand store, there are certainly plenty of lovely and unique white elephants available! If you keep two basic principles in mind, you can find lovely accent pieces for very reasonable prices!

Principle 1: Pardon the pun, but 'think outside the box'! Consider using unusual items for storage or shelving. I have used a baker's rack, a wooden baby changing table, a wine rack, an upended wooden crate, garden furniture and a tiered plant stand for shelving. For containing items, consider baskets, hat boxes, dishware, pottery and boxes, especially those with attractive designs.

Principle 2: Try to minimize your cost by finding the most functional, well-made pieces. Consider pieces with several uses, such as footstools with covers which gives you comfort as well as storage. Look for attractive magazine racks and baskets to put near family room chairs for books, pens, paper, newspaper ads, knitting, crossword puzzle books and even little toiletries. I found a cute lidded picnic basket white elephant for just this purpose!