Antique Mahogany Curio Cabinet

If you've got a prized Waterford crystal collection that you still use on special occasions and holidays, then a beautiful antique Chippendale mahogany curio cabinet is the perfect place to keep it safe, while still showing it off. Old cabinets have a charm that you just don't find in modern furniture. For example, Chippendale curio cabinets have these wonderful claw feet. That's a detail that you just don't see in many Ikea curio cabinets. The rich mahogany luster is a special wood that makes any decor look richer.

One of your first considerations  you should think about when you're buying an antique mahogany curio cabinet is what type of class and how much of it do you want. Some mahogany curio cabinets have as much beautiful wood as they do glass. So is it alright if the curio cabinet has wooden sides and glass panels in the front?

Then think about the quality of the glass panels. I love the Old World Charm of leaded glass and glass that has decorative elements. Either frosted designs or metal designs worked into it. I also don't mind if some of my crystal and decorative collectibles isn't seen. The curio cabinet is as important to me as the collectibles inside it.

I loved bowed-style cabinets. Their curved shape creates a soft visual element when you have lots of angular pieces in a room. I never worry about matching the shades of wood in a room. First, because I think it would be boring and second, it is almost impossible to do - unless you buy all your furniture at one time as a set. Since I tend to buy vintage and antique furniture, that's almost impossible.

I'm lucky that I come from a large family, that's always had a similar taste in furniture to mine. As aunts and uncles have gotten bored with their furniture, I've scooped up lots of different pieces. I'm also well-known it lots of thrift shops throughout New England. So when a piece comes in that they think I'll love, I can an email and a picture of it. That probably makes the price a bit higher, but thrift stores are always cheaper than antique stores - but those guys know me too.

Antique corner cabinets are one of my favorite ways to extend storage in my very old and very big house, that despite it's size has no closets of any kind. The only exception might be my kitchen pantry, if you consider that a walk-in closet!

My house is an 18th Century farmhouse with very small rooms. We've decided to keep the small rooms and not rehab the inside to an open floor plan. Because it's easier to shut off the rooms we aren't using to keep heating costs low. It's also easier for a fireplace or coal stove to heat a small room. But that means we need to make every square inch of floor space count.

Corner curio cabinets can take an empty dark corner and make it sparkle. Especially if you're lucky enough like me to have an electrical engineer for a husband to can wire them and put lighting in them.

I can spend hours organize the shelves of a curio cabinet. I feel like I'm museum curator setting up a display. A few figurines, some first edition books, maybe a little silver trinket box. It's this type of display that gives your home a unique look.

Inlaid designs are one of the reasons that I will purchase a piece of wood furniture. It's like embellished clothing tops, you never have to worry what jewelry to put on - and you never end up looking like a boring plain Jane. Some inlaid designs are geometric and just occur at the edges of the furniture. Others and big and bold (my favorite) and dominate the front of the curio cabinet.

Don't worry about mixing your furniture styles too much. I routinely mix Victorian, Georgian, Art Nouveau and anything else that I like. Modern abstract or mid-century runiture pieces don't seem to suit my house or other decor though. Some of that period is also very light wood, with sharp angular lines. But those are stark contrasts and easy for your eyes to notice.