Using Rocks in Home Decor

If you know me or my husband, have read my blog for very long, or have been browsing through my wedding decor posts, chances are you already know that the hubby and I come from a long line of rocks.  His grandparents went rock hunting, and took him as a child.  My grandparents went rock hunting to a lesser extent, and enjoyed making cuts from beautiful pieces. As we both grew up with this in our nature, and having many family members who love us and want to give us things...well, we have a lot of rocks.   (My mother-in-law begs to differ that we DON'T actually have a lot of rocks...yet.)   So if that tells you anything. Not only are rocks often very beautiful, they can hold a lot of sentiment as well.  Since we have so many in our collection, rocks are all over the apartment implemented in the decor.  Maybe you already have a collection and don't know what to do with them, or you're interested in rock hunting as a hobby, I hope this can offer some ideas on how you can use rocks in your everyday decorating!

For larger pieces, storing them on a shelf with other items works great!  I left this bookend rock turned outward to hold up the 100 Days Away album up on the shelf.

Particularly interesting rocks may be added to shelf decor.  In one hallway I've used two small shelves to hold some beautiful rocks from our collection.  

Turn a jar or candy dish upside down to elevate them so they can be seen if you have shorter pieces.

Isn't this amethyst great?  Thanks to our good friend Wei who gave it to Tyler as a wedding present...I think those two boys "get" each other pretty well because this was the perfect gift for Tyler.  Actually, rocks are always a perfect gift for Tyler.

A great way to use rocks in your everyday decor is to use them with purpose.  

When purchasing or having rocks cut, it may be beneficial to think of a particular usage for them. 

 One of my favorite usages is as bookends.  They're heavy enough to hold books up, but are decorative and unique.  The blue bookends are particularly special to me as they were a gift from my grandpa who passed away several years ago.

Interested in how to keep collections of small sized rocks together, but still view-able?  Check out the post I wrote specifically on that topic!

We bought this rock on our honeymoon.  It comes in a little display stand.  Large pieces like this work as a single item on a small shelf, or worked in with other things.

*Ahh, sorry about the awfulness of this picture!  New to husband's camera's habits in low light still!

Slices of rock can be either particularly easy or particularly difficult to use in everyday decorating.  Much of it depends on size.

This fairly large slice works great as a layer of interest on a side table.  I often keep a candle or vase on it.  Instead of taking up room, it simply adds another layer to my table.

For some of the smaller slabs, I use them to accent a larger piece.  As you can see here, I have small slabs under both the rock tree and quartz piece.  The darkness of the small slice particularly helps the quartz stand out from the light colored runner.

Directly below the television I lined up several large rose rocks Tyler found and gave me a few years ago.

What other ways have you found to decorate with rocks?  Do you like collecting anything?