What to put in a glass hutch?

[MushyMushy]

We have this built in glass hutch in our dining room. It's really pretty, but we have nothing to put in it! I don't collect knick knacks at all, and I have no pretty dishes. As of now, my husband has all of his wine and beer brewing supplies in the hutch, which looks really bad.

Any ideas of *inexpensive* ways I can make the hutch look nice? I'll see if I can take a picture of how it looks now.

I have to say that I'm just horrible at decorating. I went for years and years with bare walls because I don't know what to put on them and can't make decisions to save my life. I just wish I could have someone come into my house, learn my personality and do all the work for me. Yeah, I know, it's called an interior designer, but I don't have those kinds of bucks.

 

[Micca]

A crystal rabbit?

 

[MushyMushy]

I like that idea.

Here's my hutch. Ignore the dog food bowl on the floor. I told you it was a mess!

Edit: no pic until I can figure out how to resize it. YIKES

 

[MushyMushy]

Trying again:

 

[agnes!]

OMG Mushy, that hutch is GORGEOUS! If you had those TV appraisers from "If Walls Could Talk", I am certain they'd probably say it's worth a pretty penny! Looks like a 'craftsman style'...I bet your house is ca1900-1920, maybe even a Sears Bungalow?

Maybe you could theme the hutch to your Disney stuff, even if it's pictures and park brochures etc.

agnes!
PS - DO NOT EVER re-finish it, leave the patina intact.

 

[Planogirl]

I have depression glass and a few figurines in mine.

I like the idea of putting Disney things in it. That's a very pretty hutch and would show off whatever you put in there very nicely.

 

[cepmom]

oohhhh that hutch is gorgeous! I like the idea of Disney inspired things, or you could get some pretty dishes and/or wine glasses at estate sales, yard sales etc. to put in there. I have a hutch (not nearly as nice as your's though) and I bought some inexpensive plates that matched the kitchen design to put on the top for decoration along with my crystal wine glasses that we never use!

 

[shortbun]

Yeah, I agree with no refinish ever or paint. I actually find some beautiful cut or pressed glass at thrift stores. That hutch deserves something pretty in it. You don't have to spend lots of money to get old pretty stuff.

 

[Tinkermommy]

Do you collect anything at all? Even cheap snowglobes or salt and pepper shakers would be fun.

or

You could buy 6 colorful and cheap (even dollar store) plates and line them up. It would be inexpensive and add some color/interest.

 

[buckler]

If you don't want to use it for display, but would rather use it for storage, could you do something to make the glass not see through? Perhaps put lacey curtains inside the doors? There are also things you can apply to glass like a film to make them frosted looking.

 

[dawson5]

I like the idea of the depression glass that planogirl said. If you look around, there were a few different colors and I bet you could get some of the more common colors cheaply to put in there. Think of the pretty blues & greens and how much they would "pop."

This summer look for garage sales in older neighborhoods. I would think something like estate sales. You might be able to get a box of jumbled things for a decent price. Also, it might be period appropriate. For as big as it is, I think you need something to stand up to it and grab your eye. I would be afraid a lot of little chotchkies would be lost.

 

[ilovepcot]

Personally, I'd get on Ebay and browse through all their china and pick out a pattern I like. I'd be sure to select one that is "plentiful" and not expensive and begin to collect it. Some of the old patterns have unique shaped pieces....especially the serving pieces, and would be *perfect* in that style china hutch. Seems a real shame to not have beautiful things in it.

Inexpensive cut crystal would add a lot of glitz and be perfect also. Don't have to match anything with it....all works together.

A tureen in all white or ivory placed on the middle shelf would look gorgeous and likely "mix" with any china pattern you could come up with. They always look beautiful!

 

[Pooh's Pixie]

It is beautiful. If you want to cover the windows, please don't do anything permanent. If you don't have collectibles, you can put things like books, small framed pictures, seashells, vases, etc. As long as it is orderly it will look nice. Or, you can go the route others have suggested and find some iniexpensive things to put it. Have fun!

 

[LeapYear Debbie]

What a beautiful piece of furniture.... If you don't have any collectibles to put in it, I would start with photos. I have a curio that I have used for all our photographs in pretty frames.

Good luck,


Debbie

 

[buckler]

It is beautiful. If you want to cover the windows, please don't do anything permanent.

Thanks for adding that part. I didn't specify the not permanent part. The films I'm talking about come off.

How old is the hutch?

 

[MIGrandma]

Oh gosh, I'd give my right arm for a hutch like that! Beautiful!

I have the set of hand painted china from my Grandmother, in boxes upstairs because I have no china cabinet/hutch to display them.

I also have a set of Haviland china I bought when we first got married, and crystal water goblets, etc. I would love to be able to display those too.

I like the idea someone else mentioned, of putting curtains inside to "hide" whatever you decide to put in there if you don't have pretty dishes, vases, collectibles, etc.

 

[Liberty Belle]

That's gorgeous!

If you don't have any china, etc., books would look nice it in.

Also, it's yard sale season. You might be able to find some nice plates cheap - they don't need to be a set.

I have a china cabinet and we have my husband's grandmother's china in it, a few pieces of my grandmother's china, an old (40's?) "inspiration box", and a few Tom Clark gnomes. A mish-mash, but it looks nice.

 

[MushyMushy]

Thanks for the ideas! I have no idea how old it is, but I suspect it's as old as the house because it's built right in and the wood matches the hard wood of the doorways and windows. I think the house was built in the early to mid 1900s.

I'm so glad I asked here -- you guys are so full of great ideas! My friend and I plan on doing some traveling this summer when school lets out to big flea markets, so now I can know what to look for when we do.

 

[chrissyt27]

I have my grandmas hutch, but has doors at the bottom, not windows. At first I had all my Disney photo frames from past trips. It was like that for years. Then my parents moved and my mom gave me her bird crystal. I don’t love it, but my grandmother used to buy it for her from Service Merchandise for Christmas every year and she was going to get rid of it. she guilted me into take it.
I have a few other glass things in there as well. I try not to put much in it.
The bottom is filled with photo albums.
I think any Disney frames, or really just any framed photos, pretty vases. I hate to say go buy random nick knacks. I am sure we all need less of those, but I would just keep an eye out for things that strike your fancy and lose the beer and wine bottles. Unless you fill it, it just looks like you randomly put those there.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

I agree it is a beautiful piece. (I wish I had one!)

You've gotten some great ideas. I don't know where you live but do you have a Christmas Tree Shops near you, or access to one? They have a large variety of nice but inexpensive pieces of dinner and stemware you could put in it. You could also watch Craigslist or go to thrift stores, etc, to find a set you like. But I guess you'd need to think about whether something like plates would "go to waste" if they weren't something you used.

I agree that you could put some pretty collectibles in there as well. Find things that are close to your heart and display them in a coordinated way that makes you happy. In my house we have shelves in our family room that all of us have some of our favorite things on. (I have pics of my dogs and other German Shepherd collectibles; the kids have framed photos with ribbons they've won; and my DH displays some of his intricate woodworking projects, for example.)

A nice cleaning of the wood and glass will really make it sparkle once you decide what to do. I hope you share more pictures when you're done. This is a great place for decorating help, lots of insightful opinions and ideas.