Curating Your China Cabinet

Who says storage can’t be elegant? China cabinets are usually front and center in a room, so they deserve a little extra attention. If you’re on the market for one, I highly recommend getting one with storage underneath. That was a major must-have for us.

I redid this one with the help of my mother and Annie Sloan Chalk Paint, which was a wonderful project. I have to say in full disclosure that it was my first and last experience with chalk paint as I just don’t have the patience for it. Know your strengths, right? It was a lot of work, but turned out beautifully in a pretty French gray.

Here are a few tips for styling and curating your china cabinet:

Symmetry is important. Since your china cabinet is often a focal point, keep things balanced. We have three glass panes in ours, so I lined up two of our silver trays on the bottom right and bottom left, then three of our Bernardaud salad plates in the middle row, one in each pane. These serve as balance points for the rest of the cabinet. I used these acrylic easels from The Container Store to hold them up delicately – and almost invisibly.

(Wearing Malabar Bay tunic – available only in girls, other styles here and here; Lisi Lerch Ginger earrings)

Stacking is okay. There are so many opinions on whether to stack your china or not. I’d love to meet the person who has space enough not to. It just isn’t the case for us right now. Our beautiful gold-rimmed china is stacked carefully in as small stacks as possible throughout our cabinet – each stack in an orderly line. I’ve tried to ensure that the weight is dispersed evenly among the glass shelves.

Always add a bit of interest. I mixed in our antique gold-rimmed cordials that we found in Annapolis, Maryland and our deep blue and gold teacups purchased at an antique shop in Charlottesville, Virginia to keep things interesting. I also added my favorite set of artichoke salt and pepper shakers (used in this tabletop). I change these items frequently as I find new pieces. Silver creamers, intricately detailed silver tongs or utensils, and fun salt and pepper shakers are some of my favorite things to display.

Mind your lighting. Keep lighting in mind as you decide which pieces go where. Think about how the cuts in crystal glints in candlelight on the table and consider placing your cut crystal higher up so that it catches the sunlight during the day.

My best advice? Have fun and don’t feel pressured to get everything filled immediately. A carefully curated house is much more interesting to me than one that’s been bought off the pages and filled at once. Happy treasure hunting!