Inspired by http://www.gamesas.com/topic/1409238-how-to-keep-objects-in-display-cases/ and some of my experience, I decided to start this topic for everyone to share their experience about how different objects behave when dropped and moved around. I hope this topic will be useful and I encourage everyone to share their remarks - I'll be incorporating them into this post as often as I can.
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Most posters already know that if you want to place any object in your Dragonborn's house, you have to first drop it on the floor, leave the house, come back and only then pick it up and (painstakingly) put it where you want - otherwise all your work will be for nothing and the object will end up where you first dropped it. There are, however, a few exceptions from this rule:

"Cooperative" objects - you can drop them and then put them where you want - they will remain there.
Butter
Centurion dynamo core
Deathbell
Mountain flowers (red, purple and blue)

Problematic objects - uless otherwise stated, these items can dissappear when you drop them
Ancient Nord Helmet - doesn't stay on shelves
Bloodscythe - won't stay on weapon racks
Bloodskal Blade - after placed on a weapon rack, it slides higher and higher up until it falls off
Essence extractor
Ghostblade
Glowing crystal shard - after dropping it and leaving the cell, you can't pick it up and manipulate it; you can only take it back into your inventory
Grilled chicken briast - won't stay on plates or in bowls
Map of dragon burials
Maps - can vanish if placed on wooden dressers, end tables, glass weapon displays
Pheasant roast - won't stay on plates or in bowls
Soulrender - won't stay on weapon racks
Stallion's potion - can sink through anything but the floor and potentially get lost
White phial - can sink through anything but the floor and potentially get lost
Wooden mask
Zephyr - can disappear (teleport through the wall) when placed in a glass case or on top of a bookshelf; cannot be displayed on weapon racks (PC)

Problematic containers
Baskets - can vanish from around its contents and return to where it was originally dropped (PS3)
Bookcase (main hall of HF houses, upstairs) - can "eat" books if you place too many on one shelf or try to rearrange them later
Plates - can vanish from under its contents and return to where it was originally dropped (PS3)
Platters - can vanish from under its contents and return to where it was originally dropped (PS3)
Trophy bases in HF trophy room - if you place dragon priest masks or jewellery on them, these items can disappear

Also if you place "Maps" on wooden dressers, end tables, glass weapon displays the Maps will fall benieth the world into the abyss to never be retrieved again.

Same goes for Jewelry placed ontop of the store trophy displays.

In Hearthfire DLC the trophy room ~ I like but never create the trophys that the platforms are intended for. What I do use them for is kinda like my own dragonborn display altars.

At the entrance I just go with the Dragonskull and 1 dragon tounge flower near the jaw.

then the other trophy platforms I placed things like a single dragonscale with priest dagger same with dragonbone, soul gems black soul gem stuff like that.

Just dont place your Dragonpriest Masks on the trophy platforms ~ Reason? Because they will disapear into the trophy platform. Books, weapons and most armor is fine. But dont place the Masks ontop of the trophy platforms.

I have deleted my old saves because the Masks sunk into the platforms. Im on xbox360 and there is no proper way to display the dragon priest masks in the hearthfire homes. Besides the maniquins but I think we all know about the maniquins how they have evolved into living breathing creatures that duplicate items.

However ............. I created a brand new game (from my original 11/1/11 save. Bumped the character to lvl 81 before doing any DLC's, or Main quests and the Maniquins in my Hearthfire homes do not duplicate any items anymore. So either I came across a fix? or I donno maybe my new game just got lucky to no longer duplicate items on the maniquins. The house in dunmer solstiem is the only one that will duplicate armor which im ok with tbh. Just one house is ok with me. Im going to try to get that dragon crown before turning it in and see if i can duplicate it for my new char.

Items that vanish for me on the Xbox 360 after I drop them are
-wooden mask
-extractor
-map of dragon burials (I really wanted to use that on the reading stand in the bedroom wing)
-I probably lost that ghostblade ages ago putting it on display

And there are some items that can sink through anything but the floor and can potentially lose themselves.
-stallions potion
-white phial

How the hell do you drop that? It's always a quest item for me.

Also, semi-related to the thread, the Bloodskal Blade in the Dragonborn DLC really hates weapon racks.
I believe Soulrender and Bloodscythe do as well.

After I finished the quest the extractor was no longer a quest item for me, two characters have done the quest, both dumped it in storage. Braggen might have lost his dropping it on the floor, I am not sure what the final decision was on that. I thought it had simply not been dropped the first time, could not find it, went back a fair way and tried again, constant replays due to forgetting to save or stuffing something up, and I am not sure if it was dropped or not on the final house decorating attempt. I was sick of house decorating (and legendary dragons, dawnguard, vampires and just plain having to fighting to get into Lakeview Manor), dumped what he had in storage and stormed off to do something a little easier. The extractor was dumped in Hjerim, Honeyside and Lakeview Manor, made no difference it vanished.

XBox-You can add Zepher when placed in a glass case...

~Nemo~

Thanks for contributions so far, guys

Could you specify what you mean by "really hates"? Do they disappear from weapon racks, drop to the floor or something still else.

I'm trying to fill a kettle with torch bugs, I drop them and leave, return and put them in the kettle. next time in they are all over the floor. maybe you can't 'stack' them..?

I believe both my characters who had Zephyr might have managed to lose it by putting it on top of the upstairs bookshelf in Hjerim, the one near the stairs. I hunted all over the place for it and cannot find it, and I know one character had one bow on the bookshelves, and one had two, only Froki's bow is left on the other bookshelf. So it seems the bookshelf must have eaten it.

One character had an empty display case in Hjerim, and it is still empty. It has been ages since I had the bow, and never used it, but I suspect it was too big for the display case, which is why it went on top of the shelf.

When I get around to playing next, I will get the third character to go fetch it and try it out. See if he can manage to lose it as well. Will also have a go at glitching through the wall to see if I can get it back!


Unlike squishy eggs, pretty sure I have managed to stack torch bugs up in bowls. Try dropping them straight in the kettle. Personally I think, unless it is the really small kettle, you are just making problems trying to fill one up. Will grab a tiny kettle tomorrow and try it.

also tried lining the walkway with them outside, thought they would be cool walkway lighting leading to the frnt door. I think the chickens eat them though..

LOL, they just saw you giving them snacks!

I like to put plates, platters, and bowls of foods on my tables. Most foods do fine, but I finally gave up on putting a nice plateful of grilled chicken briast and pheasant roast, they never stay on the plates or in bowls! I always come back to find them laying on the table.

Also, I like to display the different helmets, but the Ancient Nord Helmet is a bit contrary, it doesn't like to stay on shelves. So far, I have just been putting it back up, but it's beginning to aggravate me, as it is a pain to get placed just right so that the horns don't clip into the wall.

Soulrender and Bloodscythe won't stay on weapon racks. If you attempt to put them there, they just fall to the ground.
The Bloodskal Blade will go onto a weapon rack, but everytime I load the area, it slides higher and higher up until it falls off the rack.

I've noticed that recently, the outside of the house respawns really quickly - after I killed a dragon that attacked Lakeview, for example, I went inside and the next time I went out again - its skeleton was gone. I haven't tried dropping anything outside, but maybe that's what happens to dropped stuff, as well.

As for those in the kettle... let's see what Aussie comes up with, but I have a small suspicion that if you put them in a kettle that's a part of default house equipment, the contents may "explode" once the container respawns... it hasn't happened to me, but I have filled three such containers with some vegetables and I'm scared to think what may happen

On the PS3 I had the baskets vanish out from around my ingredients, just as the plate vanished from under my sweetrolls and the platter vanished from under the food. Everything had been done the usual way and stayed for a while, then half suddenly vanished and returned to where I dropped them without any changes being made to the house. The alchemy room in Breezehome looked a bit of a mess, but nothing exploded, it just fell all aver the place. I am still waiting to see if I can master house decorating on the temperamental PS3 before getting Hearthfire.

And yes you can stack the torchbugs up just fine in a kettle, one of the really small kettles (second smallest I think) held 13 of the things. I never move the house stuff, but yes if you do it will return to where it started, no point taking something out of a kettle to use it either, a Hearthfire house will just respawn the original contents. Some might be starting to have memory issues, especially if they also have all three DLC's, I know a few times at Breezehome I had to leave twice before the house remembered where I put a few things and let me arrange them, and that was on the Xbox 360.

I tried using that wooden cart from Pinewatch for one of the Lakeview homes, got it up there and filled it up, it stayed there for ages, but eventually returned to Pinewatch. But I have had stuff sitting out in the garden that has stayed there, so you can arrange stuff outside. Just do not put it where anyone is going to walk.


Edit
OK here is a strange one for a vanishing act. Aussie my second character who had the empty display case Zephyr was meant to go in, had a go at walking through walls. It seems she did not place it on top of the bookshelf, but had put it in the empty display case, it then vanished into the wall.

Hidden Zephyr
http://i81.photobucket.com/albums/j215/aussie500/Skyrim/Zephyrhidden_zpsab3d7d27.jpg

Second attempt to display it, rejected by the display case.
http://i81.photobucket.com/albums/j215/aussie500/Skyrim/Zephyrdidnotgoin_zps7e01b825.jpg

Third attempt (this will be the last try with a display case), it stayed. Will wait and see. If it stays for a while I might try putting the journal or the book in there with it.
http://i81.photobucket.com/albums/j215/aussie500/Skyrim/Zephyrsafe_zps6666da87.jpg

I will have to send Braggen off now to find his missing Zephyr.

Edit 2
Braggen got his Zephyr back as well, but it seems I had moved it from the bookshelf to one of the shelves in the Hjerim main bedroom, and still it teleported through the wall!
Braggen is now trying his out on the table downstairs, the one in the corner with the sacks on it. Along with some arrows, so if I see the arrows there and no bow, I know something is missing.

the upstairs bookcase... main house.. by the double bed
eats books
i do not use it

Yeah, it seems that it's fine if you put the books in and never take them out. Once you remove them even once to rearrange or whatever, it's hosed. You can still put books in, but make sure you count how many. Don't put more than it's supposed to have no matter what it says or some will be gone, and don't move them. It svcks.

For chicken briasts and pheasant, I've found they will stay in/on Dwemer bowls and/or plates (in PC version). In fact, I'm seriously considering redoing all the tableware in my Hearthfire houses to "DwemerWare". It has the full range of Dwarven Metal plates, cups (2 different kinds!), bowls, platters and knife/spoon/fork utensils. And the stone Dwemer bowls make great centerpieces.

On the PC, the bow Zephyr absolutely rejects being displayed in a weapon rack. I haven't tried a weapon plaque yet, simply because I got the silly bow of speedy arrow delivery to stay put in the large glass case in my Lakeview entryway.

That sounds like a great idea, I'm going to try it. I have plenty of the Dwemer items stashed in a chest with other 'house' stuff. lol

Here have been my experiences on Xbox. With my current character, I've only built Lakeview Manor with the Enchanting Tower, Storage Room and Armory. It's mostly furnished except for some barrels and taxidermy.

Problematic objects:

Emerald Dragon Claw - It tends to fall on the floor no matter where I place it. I currently have it on a shelf in my Enchanting Tower along with the other dragon claws I've collected (the other ones are pretty stable, but sometimes fall on the floor too). I put a book face down on the shelf and put the Emerald DC on top of the book. It's at least as stable as the other dragon claws now.

Map of Dragon Burials - It also tends to fall through whatever you place it on. A previous character put it on the chest in Vlindrel Hall bedroom and lost it forever. This character put it in the big trophy case in the entryway. It fell to the floor once early on, but it's stayed in the case for maybe the last 20 play hours with no issues.

Helm of Winterhold - This is one of the first treasures my character "acquired." I placed it on the right dresser in the Armory. It also seems to fall through whatever it's on to the floor. I lost it 4 times and just redid the quest to get it back. When I lost it a 5th time, I decided to call it a loss. After leaving and entering the house several times through the course of normal play, it appeared sort of phased into the bottom of the dresser. A few more trips, and enough was visible that I could grab it.

Keening - I have it in one of the small trophy cases in the Armory, and it shifts a bit every time I come back into the house. Now I just adjust it every time I come back in the house.


A bunch of items won't stay put no matter where I put them, so I stuck them in chests:
Nettlebane
Statue of Dibella (the unique one)
Dragon's Breath Mead
Nightshade Extract
Ghostblade
Ebony Blade
Wooden Mask
Spider Control Rod - It stays put on the Armory racks just fine, but when I ran out of room, I stood it up in a basket. it continued to fall over every time I re-entered.
Most poisons (won't stay upright on shelves)

Just about everything else I've collected and placed stays where I've put it with some minor shifting requiring some adjustments. I haven't really tried to do much with food on the main table since NPCs tend to stand and walk around on that table.

I keep a lot of jewelry in trophy cases. Some of it seems to be sinking into the case sometimes, but I've never had an issue grabbing and adjusting any of it. All rings tend to slip to the bottom of the case.

Problematic containers - All my bookshelves are jacked in all my houses. Books end up in a huge mess, and I just lost most of my skill books from the Lakeview bookshelves. A few of my mannequins have the duplication glitch that I can correct temporarily, but the glitch always seems to come back.

Overall, for whatever reason I really enjoy collecting and displaying items, but it's a lot of maintenance.

I have managed to fit 4 regular dragon priest masks in the small trophy case in the Enchanting Tower. it's a chore to get them situated right, but I've never had any issues with them moving around or disappearing. The wooden mask doesn't stay anywhere for me, so it's in a chest.

Have your follower wait somewhere else, they will wander in front of you. If your holding, say a potion bottle, trying to display 1 of each when they walk in front of your your arm will sweep in the direction they are walking knocking everything off the shelf you just spent hours on and resulting in thier instant death or being turned into a sweet roll.

Soulrender stays put in my weapon rack that is next to the mannequin on the right, closest to the bed area in Severin Manor and I just drop Bloodscythe on the floor under Soulrender and have had no problems with them migrating from that place, nor have I lost them to the void.

As for Dragon Priest Masks, they stay put in any display case that I have tried so far. I make sure that the masks drop directly into the display case and not on the floor. It is tricky to do, you have to stand in just the right spot in front of the display case, but I have not lost any yet, thank the Divines. I have not done the quest to get the Wooden Mask yet, so I am thankful that y'all put that on the list so I don't have to lose it later.

I have never had any trouble with the Dragon Priest Masks, I think the problem thekungfooskeever had was because of the platforms he put them on. I have put stuff on the platforms in the trophy room, but only after the trophy was built. The only mask to ever do a runner was the wooden one, which is still in storage. I have had the others on mannequins, on tables, in small display cases and currently the lot are in a large display case. So I would not worry about dropping them into the display case, just dump them on the floor and do the usual dash and decorate thing.