Display Cabinets
For as long as people have accumulated “stuff”, they have searched for places to store items ranging all the way from utilitarian supplies to valuable collections. Decorative pieces need to be in attractive display cabinets where they can be admired. Office supplies and craft supplies require visible placement for ready access.
Glass-fronted cabinets have long been favored for the collectibles, china, books, and miscellaneous knick-knacks stored within. Lighted curio cabinets, and pieces featuring both glass doors for display purposes, as well as wood or metal doors and open shelving, call attention to what we want seen, while providing space for needed, but less attractive items. Such cabinets also protect their contents from dust. Glass display cabinets aren’t limited to home use. Restaurants often place their pies and other desserts in glass cabinets, usually near the front, where entering customers will see them and be tempted to indulge. Gift and jewelry shops are other commercial enterprises that make good use of glass display cabinets.
Oak display cabinets are always in style. They wood itself polishes beautifully, and provides a warm backdrop for the treasures within. Handmade Amish oak cabinets are especially popular, and furniture manufacturing companies continue to crank churn out these pieces that prove to be perennial favorites. Oak is often used in kitchen cabinetry, and a current trend is using glass doors on some, to highlight the contents, resulting in a charming combination of wood and glass.
Because oak has been consistently used for furniture, these cabinets are easily found in antique shops and flea markets, where until they are sold, they provide display space for the dealer’s other wares. Wall cabinets too can be found in these venues. Antique display cabinets often have ornate carvings and other details not found in today’s mass produced pieces. In the form of what-nots, curios, and other display cabinets, they are sought after by treasure seekers because when used as accent pieces they work with almost any decorating style.
When wall space permits, a wall display cabinet introduces both a decorative element and an additional display area. These come in many styles. Glass, metal, or acrylics work well in a loft, or in a stark modern setting. Those materials are also used effectively in making every inch count for retail and commercial displays. Those preferring a more cozy ambience can find wall display cabinets in country or cottage styles, or more formal wooden styles to complement a more traditional look.
More utilitarian than decorative are model display cabinets. Usually made of acrylics, they have but one purpose: To house the finished products of hobby model builders. They provide dust-free storage for scale model cars, boats, aircraft, or whatever the is builder’s passion. Scale model building remains, and will continue to be, a popular past time for its aficionados, usually men or boys, and often a father-son activity. The model display cabinet calls no attention to itself, and merely serves to display the painstakingly crafted pieces within.
There is as display cabinet to fill every need. They can be fine furniture or accent piece used in rooms where they shine. Or they can be behind-the-scenes workhorses in closets, workrooms, home offices, or even garages, where they organize all of the minutiae of our day-to-day lives.
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