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Saturday, January 22, 2011

Storing China

As I mentioned recently I really love dishes.  I have quite a few sets (which I will be doing a post on as soon as I get photos taken of them) that I really enjoy using.   Whenever I go to the thrift store or the sale section in stores I'm always looking out for pretty sets of plates or bowls.  However along with the thrill of finding new dishes comes the problem of where to store them.  Several of you commented in my last post that you were fast running out of places to keep your china.

I did a Google search and apparently there are many people who enjoy collecting china.  In looking at all the lovely collections, I was impressed with some of the beautiful images of  cupboards and shelves full of dishes.  Seeing shelves filled with pretty dishes makes me want to get them out and play with them - to set a pretty table, arrange different colours and patterns together, examine them up close...

Here are some of the pretty ways I found to store dishes:

Some people stored dishes on open shelves,

Coastal Living via The Old Post Road

or in a slotted plate rack on the wall,

Un Petit Dream

or in a zinc-lined pharmaceutical cabinet,

Eddie Ross
 or in cupboards with glass doors,

Canadian House and Home
or wooden doors.

The City Sage
Some dishes were stored on open shelves in the kitchen,

Willow Decor

or in kitchen cabinets,

Martha Stewart

or in kitchen drawers,

Garden Web
or in closets or rooms devoted entirely to storing china (for more photos and a great post about butler's pantries and china closets see here),

House Beautiful via S. W. Designs
 or in hutches or china cabinets in the dining room.

JPD School of Design Palm Beach

Some collections included complete sets of dishes with bowls, side plates, dinner plates, cups, and serving pieces,

Martha Stewart
and others were specialized, like this amazing collection of cafe au lait bowls,

 Martha Stewart
 or this impressive collection of Pyrex bowls.

In the Berry Patch
 Some displayed only neutral-coloured dishes,

Country Living

some pastel dishes,

Beautiful Things to Share
and some were a rainbow of bright colours.

The Little Round Table
I keep mine on open shelves in the kitchen and in an over-flowing china cabinet.  What about you?  How do you store your dishes?

13 comments:

  1. right now, under beds, in closets and any spare place I can find. I am working on refinishing a hutch, and this year I want some shelves made to house them all.....yes, I have a small problem!

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  2. So many beautiful dishes! I especially like the use of a butler pantry. I use my vintage white kitchen cabinets and a shelf in my kitchen for my specialty pattern. Kit

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  3. You've chosen some really beautiful inspiration photos for this post! Honestly I'm a one set of dishes kind of girl...just a space thing really. Oh and three kids. Lol.
    Shannon
    {aka}|design

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  4. I like collecting Shelley English Bone China. Especially anything from their Dainty or Art Deco series.

    So many fantastic display ideas... Aren't they like little works of art?


    Kelly

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  5. I wish when I was picking out a china cabinet that I would have gotten one of those modular ones from Pottery Barn that you can just keep adding on to as your collection grows...I ran out of space a looong time ago :)

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  6. I adore this post, Grace!!! I store my dishes in a Welsh Cupboard, kitchen cabinets with wood doors, kitchen cabinets with glass doors, a hanging plate rack on the wall, and an antique ship's captain armoire.

    ....and I still do not have enough storage, LOL! I wish I had a nice butler's pantry between my kitchen and dining room, but instead, I have a tiny laundry room. But a girl can dream, I guess....

    xoxoxo,
    Ricki Jill

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  7. I would love to see your storage Grace! As I mentioned, I don't have very many, and part of the reason is because I fear clutter and don't know where I'd put them. But this is an AWESOME post . . . there are so many good ideas here, so thank you! I keep mine in a China cabinet and in cabinets in the kitchen, but I think I might have to start searching for some open shelving. Thanks for the inspiration!

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  8. I have quite a few sets of china. I love dishes, too!! This is one of those moments when I really, really wish I had a butler's pantry for storage!

    ~ Elizabeth

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  9. Great post, Grace! I store mine in our china cabinet, a smaller pie safe, and on an open shelf in the kitchen. I too would love a huge butler's pantry.

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  10. i am in love with all of those dishes! They different ways they are displayed are awesome! My dishes are stored in an old antique cabinet. they are just beautiful!

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  11. I keep mine in kitchen cupboards with glass fronts and in an antique armoire my husband converted into a storage unit. However, I am fast running out of room...

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  12. That was a lovely bunch of eye candy! All those dishes made my heart skip a beat or two. I'm planning on removing a few cabinet doors so I can show off some dishes. Otherwise I only have the hutch in the dining room to hold my pretty stuff.

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  13. Wow,,that is a lot of dishes! Who knew that pyrex could look so great when put in a colorful collection! Thanks for sharing

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