For the love of cabinets

Armoires, china hutches, sideboards, credenzas: We’re obsessed with cabinets. And so is the rest of the design world. These large pieces of furniture seemed to fall out of favor in the past, replaced with sleek, low-profile furniture and a more minimalist look. But the truth is these pieces serve a valuable purpose in home organization and storage.

Here are a few of our favorites and ideas on how to maximize their functionality.

The sideboard/buffet/credenza

A dresser can be used as an entry piece to store hats, gloves, reusable shopping bags and other items for quick access when running out the door.

An historic staple in dining rooms, this piece has gone through many iterations over the decades. Rather than housing strictly spare serving dishes, candles, and pretty table linens, it can be used as a coffee bar, a dry bar, or a TV console. The lower profile of this piece means it provides for ample decorating space across the top or functional space for a TV or your Keurig and coffee collection. They also work well in one of their historic uses – offices – for a printer stand and organizing paperwork.

The Dresser/Chest of Drawers

We love smaller dressers in other areas of the home besides the bedroom. They can be used as end tables or TV stands in family rooms for blanket storage or games, or in entryways to hold cold-weather items, hats, and as a place to drop your keys. They can also supplement storage in small kitchens and provide additional workspace.

The Armoire/Wardrobe

Rethink that wardrobe pice to store linens in a guest room or games in a toy room.

We love our walk-in closets in the U.S. But in Europe where bedrooms are smaller and closets barely fit a small human inside, armoires and wardrobes are a staple. They can compensate for little storage space and can serve more than just for clothes. Add some shelves or additional hooks and use for linens or organizing cleaning supplies. Measure out bins that fit and use for toy organization and storage in a kid’s room. Rethink how you’d traditionally use it so that it functions for your family. Typically, these are solid and without glass, so it’s a good way to tuck things out of sight.

The china cabinet

There was a time when people both needed and wanted a large space to display their china, but these fell out of favor when it became less common to receive a full china set on your wedding day. These were often behemoth in size, but thanks to better design they’ve become sleeker in recent years. You’ll often see them listed as just a “cabinet,” but they are all derived from that original purpose. Today we like to think of alternative uses than just in a dining room. Typically, they have glass on the top and closed-in storage on the bottom. Maybe it can serve as game storage in the family room with a few plants and family photos behind the glass; or be used in offices for organization of supplies and files; perhaps you like your books enclosed so they don’t get dusty. With space to display and space to tuck away, the china cabinet has a lot to offer.  

Use glass display for your favorite items while tucking away spare necessities in the drawers of this china cabinet.

We love to help clients find opportunities for built-in storage when remodeling, but sometimes that’s just not in the cards. A cabinet can be an effective solution to storage issues throughout your home, and they don’t have to be used in any typical fashion. Get creative! Shop in store and see what we have on hand or set up a personal shopping appointment, and we can help you find the piece that’s right for you. Click here to shop our favorite cabinets.