No matter how much we love our homes, there’s always room for some improvement style-wise. Just as much as trends change, your style can change. I recently underwent such an experience when all of a sudden I grew tired of my dining room interior. Since I love entertaining guests at home, I love organising family gatherings and formal dinner parties every now and then, so the dining room is the part of my home that gets as many visits as the living room does which is why the décor is more than important. Though my guests come over for hearty delicious meals and entertaining conversations, I like giving them food for the eyes as well through the use of wall ornaments which I like to match in colour with tablecloths and create a certain contrast with the napkins.
Despite this colour play, I still felt like something was missing even though I also used the sideboard as a decorating spot for some candles and flower arrangements. As much as I had the mindset of a minimalist and preferred keeping a rather open space dining area, I felt that it was actually the sideboard that could get replaced. After looking through dining cabinets in shops and catalogues, I had a revealing moment followed by an idea: Why not use a cabinet instead of the sideboard?
Overcoming my minimalist urge to dispose of the sideboard altogether, I found its purpose in the hall (now it serves as the perfect spot for keys) and made way for a cabinet. Cabinets are supposed to be both functional and stylish, so I had to look beyond just storage space and think of the design as well. A design mismatch could result in making the cabinet seem out of place and even create visual clutter so always be careful when choosing.
Having seen a variety of dining cabinets, and spending hours of indecisiveness, I was able to make the purchase. Once I brought the charm of the cabinet in my home, it seems that my style and habits also shifted. I realised I was no longer the staunch minimalist. Though I didn’t go overboard with the decorating, I also didn’t go back to the usual “less is more” rule. Using my mother’s beautiful china as a base décor detail, I tried to steer away from the full china look and broke the pattern with an intricate candle stand, vintage cookbook and display teacups and platters.
I feared I’d get a crammed outcome, but luckily, I still had plenty of space left which I used during dinner parties for storing all the goods, such as cakes and drinks, and kept them at hand without also cramming the table. You can imagine the faces of my family and friends when they saw this drastic change, partly because of being amazed by my decorating skills and the other part because of not being the minimalist they thought I was. After getting all the positive feedback, I now try and create a different look whenever I get the chance to change the dynamic of every party by adding various colour papers inside the cabinet. I haven’t made up my mind yet for painting all of it in either black or white, but it’s a possibility. Cabinets are still very much a trend, all it takes is finding the right ways to decorate them.
