Interesting ways to display my eyeglasses?

August 22, 2013 2:47 PM

I've been wearing glasses nearly my entire life, and own many pairs of prescription glasses. Since I wear glasses every day and have been doing so for so long, my various frames are as much fashion accessories as vision correction. But they pretty much just sit in hard-shell cases in my drawer, and I've been thinking that I'd like to have them displayed on my dresser in a way that lets me see all of them at once, like a jewelry display. Can you recommend a creative way to display my prescription glasses (currently 8 pairs in frequent rotation) on my dresser top? DIY and store-bought options both welcome. Complication: glasses are front-heavy, because I am extremely visually impaired, and will topple over if left open and set down themselves on a flat surface.
posted by juniperesque to Clothing, Beauty, & Fashion (17 answers total)

Instead of eyeglasses, try searching "sunglass storage" on Pinterest and you'll get a lot of good DIY and storebought options for displaying glasses (if you don't have pinterest you can just go to http://pinterest.com/search and use the box in the upper left corner). One of the ideas I've been toying with is hanging a vintage shutter on a slim piece of wall and hooking the earpieces of my (sun)glasses through the slats, although I can't seem to find an image of that any more.
posted by stellaluna at 3:00 PM on August 22, 2013

Depending on your available dresser-top space, you might be able to get a few of these cute and quirky mustachioed eyeglass stands.
posted by sevensnowflakes at 3:03 PM on August 22, 2013

Search ring displays. Make one using pipe insulation for larger diameter.
posted by tilde at 3:03 PM on August 22, 2013

Not very space-efficient, but crocheted muppet heads work well for this because of their big noses: pattern.
posted by tinymegalo at 3:07 PM on August 22, 2013 [1 favorite]

Not sure how interesting these are, but something like this, this, or this?
posted by gatorae at 3:10 PM on August 22, 2013

You could ask a local eyeglass store if they would be willing to sell you any of their display hardware.
posted by mon-ma-tron at 3:11 PM on August 22, 2013 [1 favorite]

How about this? Or there are some DIY solutions here.
posted by biscuits at 3:29 PM on August 22, 2013 [2 favorites]

If you want it to be compact, you could hang them on a flat board on the wall, a row of glasses folded flat, hanging by one hinge.

Here's an example of an eyeglass-holder necklace. You could have a row of such rings, o you could take a flat panel (say 7" tall x 20" wide) and string an elastic across it, and hook all the earpieces over that horizontal. I'm not sure if it exists, but it would be easy enough to make.
posted by aimedwander at 3:36 PM on August 22, 2013 [1 favorite]

GlassyEyes has some suggestions.
posted by asperity at 3:50 PM on August 22, 2013

I am very partial to little painted eyeglass stands like these Picasso-esque ones. You can find plenty more by typing in "nose eyeglass stands" and cruising the hit results.
posted by bearwife at 3:51 PM on August 22, 2013 [1 favorite]

Sorry for suggesting a non-dresser-top solution, but here's a photo of my solution.

My lovely bride took a stylized photo of my glasses, which I enlarged and framed. A couple of eye screws and a couple feet of wire allow me to hang the glasses below the photo, making it convenient as well as a bit of interior design.
posted by The Deej at 4:03 PM on August 22, 2013 [5 favorites]

I'm considering doing something similar (currently just kept on my nightstand) and was specifically considering something with a glass lid for visual display with dust/damage protection. This may not be a factor for you (my house seems unusually dusty), but I thought I'd mention it.
posted by clerestory at 4:33 PM on August 22, 2013

I've seen some cute glasses displays made of a piece of wood, with a bungee cord (or ribbon) strung through it. You can also string some wire, ribbon, twine or other material across the back of an old frame, like this.
posted by barnone at 4:37 PM on August 22, 2013

This may be a boring suggestion, but I keep my sunglasses in one of those over-door shoe pocket things: a sheet of canvas, calico or PVC with rows of clear pockets along it.

If I specifically wanted to store and display 8 pairs of eyeglasses, I would cut out a couple of rows of pockets, take some appropriately patterned cardboard cut to shape, and insert the cardboard down the back of each pocket so that the ugly backcloth was hidden. Then I would sew the pocket backcloth to a piece of patterned fabric, use some binding to cover the join, and then cover a corkboard with the patterned fabric and mount it on the wall.
posted by tel3path at 11:04 PM on August 22, 2013

Not sure what my optician would say but I use a necklace stand that I got at Target. I hook one arm of the glasses over the pole.

At my optician, many glasses are stored on velvet lined trays. You could also modify a spice rack I suppose!
posted by dottiechang at 3:13 AM on August 23, 2013

My optician has a big glass cylinder on the counter filled with frames - it looks pretty cool. If you get one with a lid, it'll also stop them getting dusty.
posted by girlgenius at 4:38 AM on August 23, 2013

You could use a clothes hanger.
posted by rhythm and booze at 11:51 AM on August 23, 2013