The article "Furniture Tips: How To Choose A Curio Cabinet" talks about family, it was written by Flor Buenaventura.
Curio cabinets have become a delight in themselves as they
showcase your favorite things and mementos to friends and
family, keep all your dear treasures in one place to admire them
in wonderment everyday, or protect your growing collection of
porcelain dolls from your 5-year old.
Curio cabinets started as places to keep curios - defined in the
dictionary as curious or unusual objects of art or knickknacks
and whatnots that are perhaps worthy of collecting cause of
their oddity. This definition could, of course, include silver
spoons from Alaska, all assortments of wedding and christening
favors, crystals, face masks from Africa and possibly even
shrunken heads from the Amazons of Ecuador and Peru.
Nowadays, however, you can use curio cabinets for anything:
- Show off your family's sporting interests by displaying your
son's bowling trophies next to your husbands autographed
baseballs.
- House your priceless family heirlooms - such as, great
grandma's turqoise and silver comb, grandpa's golden pen, mum's
old sapphire brooch which you wore on your wedding day and your
son's first baby photo.
- Or perhaps, protect from dust and grime the brass alto
saxophone that you know you'll learn to play one day in your
retirement years.
But how do you choose the curio cabinet that's just right for
you? Ask yourself the following questions below and find out how.
Tips on how to choose a curio cabinet
1.
The first question you should ask when purchasing a curio cabinet
is: What kind of curios will I put in it?
If it is a tall brass
alto saxophone, then you need to get a tall, traditional curio
cabinet with fitted glass doors to keep the dust out and with
removable glass shelves to make room for your favorite musical
instrument.
2.
How much light is there at the spot where you are gonig to
put your curio cabinet?
Is it in the sunroom with plenty of
natural light or is it in a dark corner of the house?
If the
latter then you need an illuminated cabinet to brighten the
corner as well as provide accent lighting to your displays.
3. How big a space do you have for your curio cabinet?
- Is the space amply high and wide?
Then you might want to get a
traditional, dark cherry curio cbainet with generous
measurements of 44W x 17D x 79H inches.
- If narrower, then a more contemporary curio cabinet with
practical urban living measurements of 24W x 12D x 76H inches
may be better.
- If low and wide such as in a family room or den, then a golden
oak console curio cabinet measuring 56W x 13D x 30H inches is
probably what you need.
- And if angled in a corner, you may want a curio cabinet that
can be snugly placed in a corner and probably measuring around
28W x 16D x 72H inches.
4. The other question to ask is - Do you want to match the look
of your curio cabinet with the other furniture in the room?
- If you want to maintain a traditional look, then you might
want to choose from grand old fashioned designs with bevelling,
hand-carved details and dark timber fniishes.
- If the room is contemporary, then you might want the clean
lines and lighter timber finishes of a more urbanized curio
cabinet with lots of mirror and glass.
5.
What type of wood or non-wood appeals to you?
- If affordability is a consideration and you do not mind the
look of MDF or engineeerd wood, then you might choose a curio
cabinet made of strenghtened pressed particle board and topped
with timber veneer or laminate.
- If you believe that a solid wood curio cabinet sounds like a good
investment, then you should get a curio cabinet made from the
more popular oak or maple - hardwoods that can only gain
character and cahrm as they age.
6.
And last but not least, what is your budget?
- Are you prepared to splurge on a Louis XV-inspired Pulaski
curio cabinet selling for $2000 so that you can have a
spectacular accent piece that can transform your entire living
room experience?
- Or do you just want a simple wall curio cabinet - one that you
can get for $20 at ebay to put your dog figurine collection?
About The Author
Flor Buenaventura is a writer who has a great interest in
furnishings for the home and garden.
To see a fantastic
collection of resources related to curio cabinets and other
types of furniture, please visit her Curio Cabinets website.
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