Up-cycling Part 1: The Linen Cupboard

 Several pieces of furniture in our home started out life as something else but have now been up-cycled to take on a new function or identity. One of our guest rooms is decorated in a duck egg blue colour and this cabinet (below) graces one corner of the room. It's a Queen Anne style cabinet, probably dating from the early 1900s and used to be used as a display cabinet in a relative's lounge. It was a dark wood piece of furniture but as it is not especially valuable and was not in keeping with the style of its new home it was quickly transformed. An undercoat was applied first and then this beautiful vintage duck egg blue paint was applied on top. The handle was also replaced. It is now used as a linen cupboard and a place to store and display some other household items, such as my collection of vases.

   

The French wine box underneath is used to store a mixture of cutlery, wrapped carefully in linen and tied together.

There is a surprising amount of space for storage here in what is a relatively small piece of furniture

I have quite a collection of table linen, napkins and cocktail napkins which are stored here in sets. I thought it would also be quite nice to display my sets of napkin rings by Wedgwood and William Yeoward rather that keeping them in a box. On the top shelf is a bottle of linen spray by Jo Malone which has a wonderful citrus aroma and it is great sprayed lightly on napkins before laying the table. It adds a little touch of luxury and a beautiful fragrance when they are in use.

I always keep a spare scented candle in the cabinet to keep everything smelling fresh. The one on the middle shelf is black lily by True Grace.

The vases are a mixture of antique and contemporary. I love having different shaped vases as I always have fresh flowers somewhere in the house and each one suits a different type of arrangement. I think they look pretty on display and it makes choosing the right one much easier! The little bud vases on the middle shelf look lovely at each place setting on a dinner table, holding a single rose stem.

Here's a view inside the cabinet. Although these are all useful objects they look pretty when organised and displayed neatly.

These French wine boxes are easy to find on-line and are useful for a whole range of decorative storage purposes.