We’re back here again – to the place where a beautiful item was given to us by our beautiful family. It’s the story of our china cabinet (see its history with us as I modernized it a little with the wrapping paper backed on foam boards and then organized the heck out of it). A china cabinet that isn’t something that I would have picked out myself but it has a history with the Rapp family (and is a gorgeous and valuable piece of furniture). So I’m working to make it work – cause I think that is doable.
Here is where I was at after adding the paper backing and styling it.
Can you notice that is it hard to photograph all that glass? It is also hard to see behind those glass doors. Plus, you have to elevate everything on the bottom so it is seen through the glass.
So I decided to change it up. Actually, it was a comment from a reader (and close friend) who first suggested when I posted about this last year….and I’m finally doing it. Which was really necessary since I had pillaged the contents of the china cabinet for my new geometric shelf.
A screwdriver and a couple of minutes later the doors were off and a blank surface was wide open. Which was so enticing and exciting for me that I immediately started playing around with combinations.
Whoop here it is.
Isn’t it crazy that just taking a few doors off makes such a difference? It makes is a little less china cabinet and a little more bookcase. It also makes it more informal, which I’m digging. This whole room is informal and fun so it was time to fun this piece up a bit.
This is also where we find ourselves back in styling land (I seem to be here a lot recently which is neat).
I started layering in the larger pieces first – so books and pictures and plates and larger vases in this case. I tried to balance out the items, so I did books on both sides of the top. Then I completed the little triangle of books on the bottom but I flipped them to horizontal.
I also tried to find harmony in both tall and wide objects.
It also doesn’t feel too formal and it feels like something I can use daily. Swap in a book, take out a picture to gaze upon.
What makes this styled piece even better is that all the items really have a place in my heart too, not just in my china cabinet (hence all my “this feels…” statements throughout the post). I’m trying to really get rid of anything that I don’t absolutely adore, that isn’t beautiful, that isn’t purposeful.
So I have books I love, pictures of the man I love (at all ages), a plate I painted, memorabilia from trips around the world, and pieces from my childhood.
I like the fact that these items mean so much to both me and my family so when we gather around meals they can act as conversation pieces and fond memories.
So I guess styling isn’t just all about what looks right to the eye but also how it feels to the heart.
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