My Hat Collection Display

[TheOldFashioned]

I have an opportunity to get three display cabinets (two are in the pictures) very cheap. A friend is retiring and selling everything in her antiques mall. These are 81”H x 41”W x 17”D. I figure I could place 24 to 27 hats in each if I add more shelves. The front door slides open left and right. The only thing that has me a bit concerned is that there is a gap of about 1/3” between the door and the cabinet do to the sliding mechanism. So the hat could get dusty. Right now I keep all my hats in boxes - one to each box. Is that enough of a concern to pass on this? Or do I pull the trigger. BTW these are Polanski and are not antique. All three are the same and I can get them for about 1/4 cost new.

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I personally love the display case idea and think it's a classy way to store and show off your hats. I pitched the same idea to the wife when I first started collecting but she quickly shot it down, so we compromised on available wall space:


Just for reference, those are 48" long with 8" spacing between.

In your situation I think 27 hats per case is a bit aggressive. You're probably looking at 24 max, and perhaps even 21 per case. Are the dimensions you list OD or inside workable space? Don't forget to factor in shelf thickness since you'll be adding more shelves. That little bit of stack up may make the difference on whether you can comfortably fit another level or not.

Theoretically you could probably do 6" spacing at an absolute minimum assuming you don't have any open crown hats to store, but then it becomes a pain in the a** to get the hats in and out. And you lose the visual appeal as a lot of the hat depth is hidden. I think the 7"-8" gap is ideal, but that's just my two cents.

If you have the floor space available I say go for it. Just make sure you post pics when you're done!

 

[TheOldFashioned]

Weather stripping could work.

Just make sure it isn't felt coming from the hats

 

[M Brown]

When I 'display' one, it's on my head. But during the day, when inside, I usually hang it on one of the chair posts in our breakfast table nook.

All of my felt hats are fur felt, no wool, and I don't leave them out but, instead, keep them bagged in hat bags and boxed. When I wear one for a day I usually put it on an old wooden hat block on my nightstand to let it dry overnight, then it goes into the bag/box the next day if it's not being worn again. Keeping them in boxes is a bulky way to store them but it keeps them protected and I have the space to stack them where they're not in the way.

My 5 straw hats hang on hat pegs in my laundry room, which is on the way out the door to the garage.

 

[Pellie]

Too less space in the entreehall, so i went out to my bedroom :-D

 

[deadlyhandsome]

We just received some new book cases. My wife turned her back to me and in two minutes I had them repurposed:

On the down side: It only holds 40 hats, it takes up a lot of real estate, it doesn’t protect from moths and dust, and the biggest; the wife said “no.”


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[J Williams]

We just received some new book cases. My wife turned her back to me and in two minutes I had them repurposed:

On the down side: It only holds 40 hats, it takes up a lot of real estate, it doesn’t protect from moths and dust, and the biggest; the wife said “no.”


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Definitely worth the effort for the prank.


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[M Brown]

Usually on my head!

 

[steur]

We just received some new book cases. My wife turned her back to me and in two minutes I had them repurposed:

On the down side: It only holds 40 hats, it takes up a lot of real estate, it doesn’t protect from moths and dust, and the biggest; the wife said “no.”


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

It does look marvelous, Brent. I would need an awful lot of bookcases though and where would I leave my books?

 

[Jed I. Knight]

Howdy! I finally figured out how I wanted to display my dress and cowboy hats in my new home. And I thought y’all here might like to see how it came out:

Hope you enjoy the video! And, I’d like to see how your hats are displayed/stored so, post a photo of your collection if you’re so inclined.

Jed

 

[AbbaDatDeHat]

Howdy! I finally figured out how I wanted to display my dress and cowboy hats in my new home. And I thought y’all here might like to see how it came out:

Hope you enjoy the video! And, I’d like to see how your hats are displayed/stored so, post a photo of your collection if you’re so inclined.

Jed

Very nice Jedi.
And by the way, your vid of Art Fawcett making your hat was truly a treat to watch. Hat making all came together having watched it.
Thank you
Bowen

 

[steur]

Howdy! I finally figured out how I wanted to display my dress and cowboy hats in my new home. And I thought y’all here might like to see how it came out:

Hope you enjoy the video! And, I’d like to see how your hats are displayed/stored so, post a photo of your collection if you’re so inclined.

Jed

Very nice, Jed. You're gonna need that second one right away!

 

[drmaxtejeda]

Howdy! I finally figured out how I wanted to display my dress and cowboy hats in my new home. And I thought y’all here might like to see how it came out:

Hope you enjoy the video! And, I’d like to see how your hats are displayed/stored so, post a photo of your collection if you’re so inclined.

Jed

Very nice!

 

[Benny Holiday]

My kids have a unit like that with their books and toys stored in the cubicles. Now if I can just talk 'em out of it, I now know I've got a sweet place to display my lids! lol Looks great Jed, a very good idea!

 

[Jed I. Knight]

Very nice Jedi.
And by the way, your vid of Art Fawcett making your hat was truly a treat to watch. Hat making all came together having watched it.
Thank you
Bowen

Thank you Bowen! And, yeah, the Art Fawcett episode is a very popular one (thanks in large part to it being posted here on the Fedora Lounge). That is one of my most cherished hats!

 

[Jed I. Knight]

Very nice, Jed. You're gonna need that second one right away!

That’s what I’m thinkin’! The other wall is open...

My kids have a unit like that with their books and toys stored in the cubicles. Now if I can just talk 'em out of it, I now know I've got a sweet place to display my lids! lol Looks great Jed, a very good idea!

The fit for fedoras, and even some of my cowboy hats, was perfect. And those little hat racks keep ‘em off their brims. I was really happy with how this came out!

 

[hatsRme]

I’d like to see how your hats are displayed/stored so, post a photo of your collection if you’re so inclined.

Jed

You can already see how others do this on the other existing hat storage threads, if you’re so inclined, too!

Nicely done, Jed!

 

[Jed I. Knight]

You can already see how others do this on the other existing hat storage threads, if you’re so inclined, too!

Nicely done, Jed!

hatsRme, I will look that up! Thanks for the tip.

 

[GHT]

My kids have a unit like that with their books and toys stored in the cubicles. Now if I can just talk 'em out of it, I now know I've got a sweet place to display my lids! lol Looks great Jed, a very good idea!

My missus displays her shoes in a similar way. She uses a spare bedroom, one wall has display boxes like Jed's. There are three, four and sometimes five pairs in a box, over the entire wall. Imelda Marcos? She's just a beginner.

 

[Tonio]

Howdy! I finally figured out how I wanted to display my dress and cowboy hats in my new home. And I thought y’all here might like to see how it came out:

Hope you enjoy the video! And, I’d like to see how your hats are displayed/stored so, post a photo of your collection if you’re so inclined.

Jed

Just wanted to say I enjoyed the video. A while back I was using the IKEA Expedit, which I believe was discontinued and redesigned with slightly slimmer specifications into the Kallax model.

 

[TheOldFashioned]

Part of my collection under lock and key at the local branch of the public library:

Top Row	Borsalino Milan	Emerson Panama	Western Straw Works Boater	Meyers Swiss Yeddo Boater
Middle Row	Thibet	Knox Velour	Stetson Derby	Stetson Top Hat
Bottom Row	Sears Carlsbad	Stetson 100	Dobbs	Borsalino Nutria

This display will be up for the month of September. Two of the hats, the Stetson derby and the One-Hundred, have connections to the local/regional area.