Do you aim to create a cohesive collection?

Nope! Not at all. I really just buy dolls that I like. I don't care if they go together well.
Honestly if it bothers you, try thinking of it this way: People in real life come and all different size/shapes/and colors. Yet we can all come together.

 

My love of individual doll sculpts has certainly been at odds with my appreciation for order in my chaotic world. ;D
Partly, my collection has depended on what dolls found me...second hand dolls I loved & could afford, gifts from friends changing their collections, along with catching a couple of limited events or a head painted by a favorite fup artists just when I have doll funds available.
At first being bjds was a cohesive enough distinction for their doll shelf. At this point, the more realistic face sculpts have congregated on one shelf, the volks like Teens have a separate parlor, the CPDelf elf's from 2005 have a separate great Hall. And then there are three other pairs of dolls drifting around perching wherever they look most decorative. After adding dolls for several years I was feeling overwhelmed with how much space they were taking up. In an attempt to take control, I resolved to sell or pass on my msd size dolls because the SD are my favorite. It didn't take long before a bjd family began to evolve in my collection which now includes dolls from small SD to 28cm size!!!!!!
I'm not personally drawn to the tiniest dolls but I think you'll have better luck finding space to display & enjoy them.
It'll be fun to see how your plans evolve. I love the look of several of the Myou sculpts but these days I'm strictly enjoying looking at dolls without acquiring more. ;D

 

The way I see it, it's mostly a matter of how you choose to view your dolls.

Do you want to be able to put together somewhat realistic photo stories? Then a cohesive collection, or at least cohesive groups, would be ideal.
If you look at your dolls more as individual objects that bring you joy on their own, each a lovely object in it's own right, there is less of a problem.

The majority of my collection goes well together, because a lot of the fun for me are the characters and how they interact, but there are many other ways to enjoy the hobby as well.

 

I think it makes sense you want a collection of dolls that fit together. I guess most people do and that’s why (I think) there are so many minifee collectors our people who collect only a certain size.
Also people who have dolls as characters of their story. I think it’s easier to pose them together and so on.
If you feel better that way I think you should go for it.
My dolls all have different faces and sizes and they don’t really “fit together” I would say...but they are all fantasy dolls with cat ears, horns or mermaid tails. So let’s say, they are all from a fantasy land where they can be anything, they don’t need to “fit together”.

 

I get dolls as my fancy takes me. There's not a single cohesive group as much as there are couples, trios and singletons.

 

My dolls are all part of the same universe and the same storyline. They all actively know each other and have their little romances and petty arguments etc. (occasional fights as well. There's some stubborn kids in the bunch) but they all look different. Many are hybrids, and most come from different companies. I tend to buy siblings from the same company, but I'll get any sculpt that catches my eye and is 'tan' *enough*.

I think I tried at first to get them all to 'make sense' and coordinate, and while I truly do admire collections that are streamlined, I also love my hodgepodge of different sculpts. There are a few things that streamlined my collection a little bit though:

I collect mostly SDs now, but I have a pretty even split between MSDs and SDs.
Most of my collection is quite small-headed. Nearly everyone takes a 7/8 wig, with the odd one taking an 8/9.
I found that I collected more MSD girls (liked the sculpts better) and more SD boys (same reason), but so many years later there are many more SD girls that I love, and I like the more mature looks for my dolls.

 

I buy the dolls I like the look of, and, while they're somewhat loosely grouped by sizes for the purposes of their character interactions, the overspill from the main cabinet are displayed together by where they will fit rather than any other factor.

The main cabinet looks like this and the SD shelf is made up entirely of members of the same large extended Victorian of siblings, half siblings, and cousins (humans, elves, and half-elves). The only nod to a cohesive element (other than size) being their style of clothing:

One cousi n and the smaller members of the family are displayed elsewhere in the room.

Teddy

 

In a way? I'm almost down to my goal of just having one spoiled rotten doll, and then MAYBE a second in the same size? But as for stylistic choices I don't really mind either way. I think conflicting dolls photographed together is so precious.

 

It would be really nice if my dolls could all fit together cohesively, but I think that is a very stressful goal to have because almost every doll is going to be different in proportions and maybe look slightly off in scale even if they're both MSD and whatnot. Now that I own four full dolls (one being SD), seeing them in person makes me certain that I can appreciate all of them individually and as a collection, regardless of whether or not they fit together. I personally would feel more regret if I didn't get a doll I liked just because it wouldn't fit in with the others. This is just my personal experience with collecting though.

 

I tried to get dolls that kind of compliment each other by limiting myself to 1/4 sized dolls. But I feel the most important factor is that you really like each individual dolls. My first doll is the only tan skin doll and he doesn’t really fit with my other dolls due to different skin colour but I still like him a lot!

 

My collection is very eclectic... I like looking at them and seeing a variety in colors and styles. I tend to keep the same company's dolls together if I have more than one, though, so they have their own little areas with similar companions. ;3

 

My dolls all look strange together. I feel like there are so many different styles out there, it would be a shame to limit myself to just one! That being said, in an ideal world where I had unlimited money, I would want to get all of the Atelier Momoni pitusas and turn them into a tiny adventuring party. Sadly, this isn't such a world, so I'll pick and choose and have a ton of variation!

 

In theory, it sounds nice to strive for a cohesive collection. However, I like what I like and I just focus on getting dolls that I love rather than having them all go together

 

My dolls are a crazy, wonderful mix of differences, from head size, body shape, skin color, etc. I love the differences, and the only way they go together is that they are my collection. Do what feels right for you and have fun

 

I have seen a lot of collectors come and go in my time, and of course this is no law of nature or anything, and there are exceptions of every kind, but it seems to me that a lot of people who start out with a cohesive group and stay in the hobby longer tend to branch out in all directions. Maybe they become interested in things they never thought about before as they dive in deeper and deeper. Or they become a bit bored, dunno^^

I've also seen the exact opposite, people starting by being very open and interested in all kinds of things and trying all sorts of doll types, and some years into the hobby some of them suddenly feel the need to find a certain fixed direction for their collecting - sometimes just to limit the urge to keep buying so many, sometimes because they took a while to develope a concept that really suits them.

Me, I've tried to aim for cohesiveness, but the dolls would just never comply with it, so I'm fine with this creative mess^^