Decorating a china cabinet. You start with good intentions, a couple of pretty pieces you want to display, then a bowl that you can’t fit inside the kitchen, then pieces that have been passed down, then one day you don’t even know what’s in there and if you do know, it is way too much trouble to access it. Sound familiar? Well, I’m guilty too. My favorite way to decorate a china cabinet is sparingly, only 2 to 3 pieces per shelf. But you wouldn’t know that looking at the pictures I am sharing with you today. A while back, I emptied the china cabinet and started from scratch. I tried decorating with a few pieces, but I really needed the storage that the hutch provided. My goal was to do away with the visual clutter.
Here is my china cabinet. We bought it along with the dining room set ten years ago and I still love the style. Sure, I would probably choose something more approachable and kid friendly now but I still love it. My favorite thing about it is the profile. My dining room is a square room and I wanted a piece that tapered so that it wouldn’t take over the space.
These pictures were hard to take because the cabinet is mirrored so every piece looks doubled, but in reality it doesn’t look cluttered. And I have…30 PIECES in that hutch (not counting the plate sets)!
So what’s the secret in storing so much without making it look cluttered? Choosing a color and sticking to it. I chose white since I have so many white pieces. I pulled many of them from the hidden storage in the kitchen and displayed them here. In turn, I used the closed cabinets to store what no longer fit in the hutch.
Here is a peek at what’s inside:
I collect cake plates. Maybe not “collect” but I have quite a few. White ones are my favorite. Towards the back is a soup tureen that has a beautiful shape and added some height.
Add a little bit of green. It’s the finishing touch in most decorating projects! Isn’t the little birdie cute?
Above it, I have a silver cake stand and some pretty platters. The silver pieces are a nice accent to the white pieces. The lady taking pictures in her pajamas is not a nice accent to the hutch.
On the other side, more cake platters, stacked on each other. Next to it is a ballerina, which is a gift my husband gave me about 15 years ago and it must stay here if it doesn’t want to get hit with a nerf gun!
Above it more silver pieces.
More silver platters. You would think I bake all the time and I don’t! Like the people that have lots of pots and rarely cook.
In the very top I have a fine china place-setting. The thing is, I don’t own the whole set. Years ago I saw the two sets on clearance and I purchased them to decorate the hutch, not intending to ever use them for entertaining. I prefer using simple white plates that I can buy 10-12 of, and not worry about them breaking.
Talking about white plates. Here they are! These are not used daily, so they don’t need to be in the kitchen. The bottom shelf is the busiest but it also not as visible when the hutch it closed.
This cow creamer pitcher adds a little charm! It looks pretty scary funny pouring out cream, I must say!
Here it is all lit up! Picture doesn’t capture how pretty and simple it looks, but I tried my best.
One last look!
Hope this inspires you to move things around in your china hutch and make it look pretty without loosing the storage we all love!
Until next time!
Maria
This is great information. I have always had questions on how to organize our China Cabinet. I have shared. Found you on Blogher.
Thank you!
I’m going to need a lock on mine to make sure the kids don’t break anything.
Ha! Yes, I should add that tip as number #6. 🙂