Here are some different ways and ideas for how to style a china cabinet. A beautiful china cabinet is a perfect place to display home decor. Join me today as I go through some different ways to style a china cabinet with more than just dishes.
Today I am sharing some ideas for how to style a china cabinet. I thought it would be fun to give you some fun ideas to use for displaying your home decor.
I have never really had a china cabinet in my house and lately I began to think about how fun it would be to have a pretty place to display not only fine china but other more fragile home decor. It dawned on me, that this is the purpose of a china cabinet. They typically have glass doors, shelves and sometimes even drawers and a cabinet. I found a perfect unused corner of my living room where I could put it and decided that’s what I’d like to find.
What is a China Cabinet?
A china cabinet is a piece of furniture used to hold and display china, otherwise known as porcelain or ceramics. They usually have glass doors or glass panels in the front and sides. Other names often heard are china hutch, display cabinets or curio cabinet. A china cabinet was traditionally placed in the dining room along with the table, chairs and sideboard. It was most often used to hold items such as formal china cups, plates, bowls and glasses.
Where to Buy a China Cabinet
I began searching used online markets and thrift stores for a china cabinet that would fit perfect in this corner of the room. I figured that I could buy a used piece of furniture and paint it up if I needed too. This would be the best budget friendly option for me.
Enjoy thrifting? Check out my thrifting series for a bunch of great tips and info.
- Where To Shop and Find Thrifted Home Decor https://behomeinspired.com/2022/04/29/where-to-shop-and-find-thrifted-home-decor/
2. Best Tips for Home Decor Thrifting https://behomeinspired.com/2022/05/03/best-tips-for-home-decor-thrifting/
3. Top 7 Thrifted Home Decor Items https://behomeinspired.com/2022/05/10/top-7-thrifted-home-decor-items/
It took a couple months of searching to find just the right type of china cabinet for my space. I needed a corner china cabinet and finally found the perfect one. I was so excited to find an old antique cabinet on a local online marketplace. The vintage china cabinet had belonged to the person’s grandmother and was quite old but in excellent shape.
Finding a Real Antique Cabinet
Upon getting it home I was very excited to discover just what an amazing piece of furniture it actually was. The entire cabinet was solid wood and quite heavy. The back of the cabinet has a furniture stamp with the make and model of the piece along with the company name….. The front of the cabinet has a large glass door on top, a drawer halfway down and then two cabinet doors on the bottom half. Inside the glass door were three wood shelves with grooves along the back sides of the shelves designed to hold china plates. I absolutely loved the cabinet’s design with ornate wood details and gorgeous antique brass handle pulls and knobs.
One of my favourite features is the scrolling wooden design over top of the glass door panel.
Where to Use a China Cabinet?
A china cabinet was usually placed in the dining room along with the dining room table and chairs. This used to be the general rule but now there are many creative ways and places to use a china cabinet. Interior designers like to place this piece of furniture in a living room, kitchen, bedroom or even in a bathroom. They can be used for storing and displaying much more than just china.
Four Creative Places to Use a China Cabinet
As I just mentioned above, I want to talk about four creative places to use a china cabinet in your home and creative ways to use them there.
1.The Bathroom
An open china cabinet with open shelving is a great way to display bathroom towel, face clothes or toiletries in a bathroom. It makes it very easy and accessible to reach and grab the things you need.
2.The Living Room
The living room, is where I have my china cabinet. I want to use it for a few glass items, but I mainly plan to use it for displaying home decor items and possibly change it out a few times a year with the seasons. Other items that I have thought of for displaying in the living room are folded quilts or blankets or old vintage books. A collection of vintage home decor items that are all the same would also look really neat.
3.The Kitchen and Dining Room
Placing a china cabinet in your kitchen or dining room can be a great place to use it for certain items used in these rooms such as home decor or the intended use of dishes and china. If your cabinet has a drawer this works as a place to store table linens such a placemats, napkins and napkin rings. Large items such as charger plates, platters or table centrepieces could be stored in the wood cabinets below. This frees up a lot of space in your kitchen cabinets.
4.The Bedroom
Putting a china cabinet in a bedroom would most likely be used for similar items as I mentioned for in a living room cabinet. I like to think of it as a place to display all your beautiful things or the things that make you happy to have around you in your home.
Fixing up a China Cabinet
When I first saw my antique china cabinet, I had wanted to paint it white. There were a few scuff marks and it wasn’t in perfect condition. Once it was moved home and I saw it in person, I really liked the wood colour and the charm of the piece. After all it was 100 years old and for that age it was in great shape. So for now I decided to leave it as it is. Maybe someday I will sand it down and restore it but for now I’m going to enjoy its aged beauty.
Ideas For Styling a China Cabinet
When you are beginning to style your cabinet shelves with home decor, it’s a good idea to start with completely empty shelves. It’s much easier to start with a clean slate.
Next decide on a color scheme that will coordinate well with the room it is place in. I love neutral colors with a pop of color thrown in.
Begin to gather the home decor pieces that you think may look good arranged on the shelves. Look for items in different heights and different sizes. If you were to use larger items like folded quilts or blankets look for different textures and a different color in them.
Being that it is spring right now, I wanted to go for a spring vibe in my decor by adding in some tulips. and a pop of color with aqua accents. This also matched my wall color that was behind the cabinet.
Look for special items that you want to have on display in your home. Do you have some special wedding china you want to display? Or how about a unique white stoneware collection you have? These small details will bring meaning to you and maybe even other family members in your home.
Look at the style of your home and try incorporate this into the styling of the cabinet cabinet display. There are a variety of styles that can work from traditional to modern farmhouse.
Home Decor Items to Use
Here is a list of my favourite home decor items to give you ideas when styling a china cabinet.
- candles https://amzn.to/43NzFKC
- white dishes https://amzn.to/3mXLRIc
- cake stands https://amzn.to/3L2WmlC
- cake plates https://amzn.to/3LoitV1
- family photos https://amzn.to/40uY3Os
- faux plants or flowers https://amzn.to/41PJm9B
- vintage books- find at thrift stores
- linens https://amzn.to/3L4kkga
- ornaments https://amzn.to/40Bpar0
Tips for Styling a Cabinet
Here are some easy steps for decorating a china cabinet.
- Start with trying some different arrangements on the shelves.
- Decide which shelf will be your focal point.
- Start first with arranging the larger items and then add in the smaller items
- Arrange and rearrange until you are satisfied with the final look of each shelf and how the overall space looks.
How I Styled My China Cabinet
First thing I started with decorating the top of the cabinet. I placed an aqua and white hand painted ceramic plate at the back of the shelf in the upper section. It was designed and painted by myself and I wanted to give it new life by bringing it out of my kitchen cupboard. In front of the plate, I set a cute vintage box and off to the the left a bundle of white tulips with greenery. A white pair of ornamental birds fit perfect on the left side, filling in some dead space.
On the middle shelf of my china cabinet display, I placed an aqua cake stand and three white pillar candles on top. I added some faux greenery around the base of the cake stand. Off to the left I displayed an antique jar with some dried babies breath inside. To the right of the cake stand I placed a white frame with an art piece of peony flowers inside. This is an excellent way to display a favourite art piece or family picture.
On the bottom shelf of the china cabinet hutch, I displayed a collection of some older vintage looking books. Off to the right I placed a stack of plates. On top of the smaller plates I placed a pretty floral linen and a blue ceramic bird. The finishing touch was adding in a few sprigs of faux eucalyptus stems.
Conclusion
I hope that you have enjoyed decorating a china cabinet with me today. There are many easy ways to style a china cabinet with home decor. A china cabinet will add beauty and character to any room. Hopefully you are inspired to find a cabinet and create a stunning display in your home with these ideas for how to style a china cabinet.
Have a wonderful week.
Blessings, Rachel
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