How to Arrange Dishes in a China Cabinet
Are you avant-garde? Old-fashioned Victorian? A lover of all things Asian and Oriental? Your china cabinet speaks directly to your personality.
Fewer pieces of furniture offer so much opportunity to show off your unique personal style and taste than your china cabinet. When it's arranged properly, it also provides easy and safe access to your most treasured heirloom crystal, silver and china, while letting your visitors know at one glance who you are and what you love. You can set up your china cabinet to be visually appealing and keep your table settings in quick and easy reach.
Does this Spark an idea?
Things You'll Need
- Measuring tape
- 2 wooden rulers
- China, crystal and silver
- Table linens
- Water goblets and wine glasses
Instructions
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Measure all areas of the china cabinet. If your china cabinet includes a hutch or display case, arrange those dishes for display before arranging your other items for storage inside the cabinet.
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Using rulers, mark off on a flat surface (such as a table or bed) the area that corresponds dimensionally to the bottom shelf of your hutch or display case. This is where you'll place your prettiest dishes or items that receive the most use.
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Plot your placements in groups of three horizontal columns on each shelf. Try them out for a fit on the flat surface first. Visually, groups of three are most appealing. This might be three pieces of identical design, three of a similar color, three of the same pattern or three of same style or type, such as three cream pitchers or three crystal toothpick holders.
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On the bottom shelf, place dinner plates interspersed with matching water goblets, as those will almost always be in use for every dinner or party. Each column should have a single plate standing on end with its design facing outward.
In front of each of the three plates standing on end, place an equal number of plates. These can be arranged with dinner plates on the bottom, salad plates atop the dinner plates, and bread plates atop the salad plates.
Place matching water goblets between each column of plates. -
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Place smaller items of the same pattern or design in front of the stacks of plates, if your shelves are deep enough. This might include salt and pepper shakers, spooners (spoonholders), knife rests, creamers, sugar bowls, napkin and toothpick holders or similar small items.
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Repeat the process for the next shelves up, building your columns using salad bowls, soup bowls, cereal bowls and berry bowls. These smaller bowls may be stacked in front of larger serving bowls, with the larger bowls propped up on end so that the design faces outward. Place matching wine glasses, crystal demitasse cups or silver goblets in the spaces between the three columns of bowls.
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Place three sets of coffee or tea cups and saucers on the third shelf up. Extras will be stored below in the closed cabinets unless your china cabinet has built-in hooks on which you may hang cups by their handles. If you have a matching coffee urn, tea pot or chocolate pot, place it in among the cups and saucers.
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On the top shelf, place the larger items, such as remaining serving bowls, matching coffee decanter, ice pitcher and soup tureen. If you have a single large-serving platter, place that on its end facing out in the center column. If you have multiple serving platters, place the largest two in the back on their ends with the designs facing out.
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A punch bowl and ladle, plus one or two glasses, may be displayed on the top shelf if space allows. Store extra punch cups in the cabinets below. Place table accessories (such as candelabra, candlesticks, crystal pickle and relish dishes) on the top shelf.
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Place all of your fine linens, such as tablecloths, placemats and napkins, in a cabinet drawer, with the largest items on the bottom. Napkin holders should be on top.
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Keep your fine silver (in its box or wrapped in protective papers) in the second cabinet drawer. Also keep tarnish remover and silver polish in the drawer.
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Store your other fine silver as well as seasonal centerpieces in the closed cabinets beneath the drawers.
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Tips & Warnings
Add narrow plate stands to the rear of each shelf if they aren't built in. Line cabinet drawers with scented paper. Keep an extra set of birthday candles, a pair of long-burning emergency candles and a box of kitchen matches in your cabinet. Keep a lavender sachet in with table linens to discourage moths.
Don't put your most fragile items down low. Keep very fragile items near the top of the cabinet.
