Ask Design Mom: Bookmark Storage

Ask-Design-Mom-Question:
Dear Designmom, I'm a fan of your site (who reading this isn't?) and I'm an aspiring Mom. I'm pretty good at keeping our stuff in line, but this one's got me stumped: My hubby and I are both voracious readers, and thus we accumulate lots of bookmarks; people make them for us, we get them for presents, neat ones show up in books we buy every once in awhile, and we create our own out of scraps of paper. I don't really like that last option, but I've realized that we do that because we can't find any of the cute bookmarks we already have.

It would be nice to have all the bookmarks in one place. Currently, they're all hidden away in boxes; ideally I'd like a box or a container that sits out in the open air and displays our cool-looking bookmarks as well. I can't think of any good solutions that would work. I think of a jar or a cup, but they're round and bookmarks are usually square. Do you have any good-looking ideas? Always, Kate

Design Mom Answer:
Interesting dilemma Kate. And I think you're right, the solution is all about finding a good-looking container. One you don't mind having out in the open — maybe on a side table next to your favorite reading chair, or on a bookshelf with your favorite novels, or even on the nightstand. Maybe you need several containers in several places.

Personally, this is the kind of thing that I would mentally put on my perpetual shopping list and just keep my eyes open for anything that might work:



-A good-looking low woven basket from the craft store.
-A little decoupaged box in a gift shop.
-A wirework basket at an antique store.
-A modern mesh container designed for office supplies from Target or the Container Store.
-An old refridgerator-ware butterdish from the Salvation Army.
-A vintage cigar box.
-A beautiful silver bowl.

Because bookmarks come in all shapes and sizes, big and small, I think you're correct to not use a jar or cup — tiny bookmarks would hide at the bottom.

I hope that helps! How do you store and display your bookmarks, Design Mom Readers?