From officially “owning” the apartment to actually moving in and “occupying” it was a whirlwind. We closed on the apartment on a Wednesday, but had to move in on Friday, only two days later! This meant that I had to remove some cabinets from the wall only hours after signing on the dotted lined. These cabinets were later reinstalled in my wife’s office. Because I removed the cabinets, which left holes in the wall, I had to spackle, paint and prep the room. I actually finished this at about 6pm. On Thursday, only 18 hours later the shelf installer came and put up the shelves.

Wisely I opted to do this in an entirely empty room. Waiting until the helmets in boxes were moved in might not have worked well at all!

The same day the shelves were installed a friend helped me assemble four sets of glass IKEA cabinets. These gave the one wall a “museum-like” feel. Next to the cabinets I opted for two additional shelves above the area where my desks would go for my cavalry helmets and books, but eventually decided that both shelves would be for books.

The IKEA cabinets stand about five and a half feet tall, which I felt was too short for an adequate display. So instead I had a custom book cabinet built. This was five and a half feet long, just long enough in fact for the four IKEA cabinets to sit on top. I measured a dozen times and the fit was nearly perfect with about two inches of clearance on top. The only complaint about the IKEA cabinets is that they have a hole drilled at the top of the cabinet for an optional lighting fixture. As I wasn’t using the light, it left an ugly looking hole at the top. This problem was solved by putting the cabinets upside down on the bookshelf, which wasn’t an additional problem because I opted not to use the plastic feet. I also used packing foam in the space between the top of the cabinet and ceiling. This ensures that the cabinets won’t rock or otherwise topple.

The results are better than I could have imaged. The wall of helmets is impressive, but alas only fits about 100 helmets, actually 30 less than I estimated. Part of the problem was that I originally hoped to go with 10 shelves and had to settle for nine, counting the final shelf, which is actually just sitting on the floor. The ceilings are slightly lower in my apartment, due in part to the fact that hardwood floors were added with an especially thick sub floor. I could possible squeeze out another shelf, but the results would look too crowded.

For the time being I’ve opted to conceal the closet with a few vintage flags and some various replica posters. The wood table folds up, providing me space for books if I’m working on a research project, a space to build models or play a board game.

I choose to waste very little space; hence the tunic of the British Royal Horse Artillery is hung on the back of my door. To accommodate a few more books I placed a small metal shelf system by the door. I opted to use – or more accurately re-use – a shelving system that was only about four feet tall so as not to overwhelm the room. This is for my various uniform books.

The IKEA glass cabinets look even better in real-life and nicely house my absolute favorite sun helmets, and protect these from dust. At $55 each they are certainly an affordable alternative to actual museum displays.

The book cabinet under the IKEA glass cabinets is actually deep enough for two rows of books. Not the most ideal library but this is an efficient way for me to keep my books reasonably close. A computerized list was created that logs which books are in the various six compartments.

My computer desk is nicely tucked under the two shelves next to the glass cabinets. This gives me ample room to write at my computer, and I decided to splurge a bit more and included a small LCD TV for my home office, so I can watch the news while I work, or even throw in a DVD when I’m painting models or arranging the helmets.

Keeping with the theme, I’ve included a vintage map of colonial Africa, and hung my British Martini Henry above the window. My two favorite miniature tanks are in the window, along with a World War II American tanker helmet.

Having closed on the apartment on May 14, I managed to have the helmet room built on May 15, and officially moved in on the 16th. By May 19th my helmet room was a reality, mainly because of all of the careful prior planning. There are still improvements I’d like to make, including getting a nicer reading chair, and possibly putting glass shelves in the window box for more miniatures. But whether I’m writing during the day, playing a computer game or reading after my wife has called it a day I’m overwhelmed with joy to spend those precious moments in my own mini-museum.

“The Price of (Collecting) Glory”: Helmet Room Price Breakdown

Building my collectibles room was a combination of “splurge” and “save” tactics. The biggest single expense was the Rakks adjustable shelves. These aluminum shelves cost approximately $4,000 including labor, yet these were professionally installed and carry a lifetime warranty.

An equal, or greater amount of money could have been spent on the cabinet display. Instead four IKEA DETOLF glass cabinets were purchased for $59.99 each, plus $15 for delivery. The book cabinet that was used as a base was built by a handyman for $500, and the materials cost $400. Individual museum quality display cabinets can go for $1,200 or more, so for the cost of a single cabinet I was able to pay for four.

The only added expense was $200 to get the IKEA cabinets and the book cabinet to the new apartment. As I live in New York City I had to hire a delivery service, but the same small movers transported some of my sun helmets, spiked helmets and other valuable helmets that I didn’t want brought as part of the larger main move the next day.

Rakks Aluminum Shelves	$3,500
Labor Installation (including tip)	$   500
Materials for book cabinet	$   400
Labor for book cabinet	$   500
IKEA cabinets	$   255
Delivery charges	$   200
Total Costs	$5,355

While obviously not small change, I have a museum quality display showroom for my collection. And to me it was worth every penny.

Peter Suciu is a New York City-based free lance writer who has covered military history for more than a decade. His work has appeared in Military Heritage and Military Trader and he is the author of Armchair General magazine’s regular “Badges of Honor” department. He has been an avid collector of helmets and other militaria for over 30 years.

Pages: 1 2