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    Home » Budget Decor

    Changing Out The Corner Cabinet

    Published by Pam Kessler | 409 words. · About 3 minutes to read this article. -

    I have been wanting to do something different with the corner cabinet in my dining room for a long time.

    I love the cabinet. It was a family piece and probably not in the fine antique category, but it means a lot to me, so painting is not on the menu (can you hear my entire family breathing a collective sigh of relief).

    Vintage corner cabinet hardware.

    I use it primarily as a place to store my formal china and glassware.

    Closeup of wedding china.

    But the cabinet was sort of boring to look at. A very uninspired and run of the mill display.

    I originally thought that it would be fun to use it to showcase my white ironstone tureens, pitchers and vases. A sea of creamy, dreamy whiteness. But I still needed a place to store my china and glassware. Call me crazy, but it seemed pretty silly to have a china cabinet and then store my china in a box in the basement.

    So, I decided to rearrange the china, by stacking some of the plates and glassware, to gain enough room to add just a few larger pieces for more interest.

    Corner cabinet before:

    Corner cupboard with doors closed.

     

    Corner cupboard with doors open.

    (yawn)

    Corner cabinet after:

    Corner cupboard with basket on top.

     

    Corner cupboard with soup tureens,

    I replaced the white vases and soup tureen on top of the cabinet with this vintage basket that I bought at an estate sale last summer.

    Vintage wooden basket.

    One would think, that since I originally had planned on all white in the cabinet, that I would have left the white pieces up there, but I thought it needed something more simple on top.

    I put one of my white tureens on the bottom shelf along with one of my dogs.

    Soup Tureen.

    My silver oblong footed bowl on the second shelf with another dog. These dogs really have mastered the "stay" command.

    Silver bowl.

    The third shelf still has a primarily china and glassware theme.

    Wedding china placesetting.

    And the top shelf is where I put another white tureen with some hydrangea in it, alongside my MIL's silver candlesticks.

    Dried hydrangea in a bowl.

    Not a huge change, but it seems lighter, brighter and less serious now.

    China cabinet.

    I would love to leave the doors open. But Otis, the cat, would be in there in a flash, throwing the dogs to the floor and making a bed out of one of the tureens.

    Striped cat lying on a pillow.

    After all, he is the cat who tried to sit in my vintage McCoy mixing bowl and knocked it to the floor breaking it into 100 pieces. He'll try to cram his butt into anything.

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    Comments

    1. Kim K.

      March 13, 2012 at 8:56 pm

      It's so nice to know that I'm not the only one who has cat issues when it comes to dishware. I swear our new kitten has taught bad table manners to our older cat lately. Such a fun cabinet tour. You have a beautiful collection.

    2. Debby

      March 13, 2012 at 8:41 pm

      That made a big difference. Can't believe that your cat did that. Funny now. I have the same problem with my grandmothers cabinet......about painting it.

    3. Shelia

      March 13, 2012 at 8:37 pm

      Oh, this is so pretty!
      Be a sweetie,
      Shelia 😉

    4. ℳartina @ Northern Nesting

      March 13, 2012 at 8:30 pm

      Pam what a pretty piece and I love the changes you made to the inside!

    5. The Summer Kitchen Girls

      March 13, 2012 at 8:10 pm

      Love the way it turned out Pam! & we're laughing about otis sticking his bum in the mixing bowl...and crying that it broke into a 1000 pieces! My cat Mr. Cuddles always thought he could hop in my small bathroom window that had a vintage mccoy vase in it ~ it ended up falling, it didn't break, but it put a nice chip in my new tile floor *sigh* got to love those felines!

    6. Vickie @ Ranger 911

      March 13, 2012 at 8:04 pm

      Cupboard love! I could have vintage cupboards all over my house, and yours is no exception. It really looks updated and chic with it's new/old accessories. Whatever was I thinking when I gave a lovely white tureen to our youngest daughter?!

    7. Linda @ Itsy Bits And Pieces

      March 13, 2012 at 6:44 pm

      LOVE, love, love everything about it...and Otis is a naughty boy...good thing he is so cute!

    8. Carol A.Bender

      March 13, 2012 at 5:06 pm

      I love it. You are amazing.

    9. Shabby chic Sandy

      March 13, 2012 at 4:59 pm

      I don' think your cabinet looked boring at all--I love it. But I do love what you have done with it now. Looks awesome!

    10. reFresh reStyle

      March 13, 2012 at 4:29 pm

      You're right, it doesn't look as serious and it looks lighter and brighter! Otis is cute but sounds like he desires an expensive place to lounge! Love the good doggies, sit, stay, perfect!
      Debbie

    11. AntiqueChase

      March 13, 2012 at 4:21 pm

      Fresh and looks fab!!

    12. Pat

      March 13, 2012 at 3:49 pm

      Pam, your cabinet really looks good. I like how you arranged it. And I covet that silver bowl and tureen. My daughter has 3 cats and every time I see something I know she would like and I start to buy it, I don't. She can't have anything nice because of her cats trying to sit in things!Oh well....

    13. Heather

      March 13, 2012 at 3:21 pm

      Ooh, Pam, your corner cabinet looks fantastic! I am so jealous of those soup tureens!

    14. Linda @ A La Carte

      March 13, 2012 at 2:14 pm

      I like the change a lot! It looks fresh and springy! Oh cats will try to cram their rear into something way too small for them! Funny creatures! Hugs, Linda

    15. Janet

      March 13, 2012 at 2:13 pm

      It looks lovely and I so understand the cat in the cabinet issue 🙂

    16. NanaDiana

      March 13, 2012 at 1:31 pm

      Oh it does look nice with the door open but I so understand about the cat. So, after he broke the McCoy bowl does he only have 8 lives left now?;>)

      It looks really great, Pam! xo Diana

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