The Best Place To Use A Curio Cabinet In Your Home (& How To Style It Like A Designer)

Wood and glass curio cabinets can be found aplenty in many older homes and secondhand venues like antique vendors and flea markets. Once commonly used to hold special objects like glass figurines, dishware, and collectibles in previous decades, many homes today have dispensed with maximalist design schemes and the clutter that often accompanies them in favor of more streamlined aesthetics. This sadly means many of these storage and display pieces sit unloved and underused. While curio cabinets may be going out of style for their original purpose, many designers and DIYers are repurposing grandma's curio cabinet for extra bathroom storage, where they can be used to hold all manner of necessities stylishly and effectively.

Repurpose a piece you've found while thrifting or antiquing. These cabinets come in a variety of sizes, from taller cabinets to small and slender pieces meant to fit neatly into a corner. Even wall-mounted versions in glass and wood work great for storage if you do not have the extra floor space in your bathroom. There are also amazing ways to style your cabinet to use it to its best advantage. These cabinets often have beautiful wood details and ornate accents that complement vintage-style bathrooms, but even modern spaces can benefit from a simple glass case with a more streamlined look.

You can customize the look of any old curio cabinet by repairing, refinishing, and painting the cabinet to fit your bathroom decor and style. You can also change out the door and drawer hardware for a fresh look. For vintage bathroom space, use a charmingly distressed painting technique or add stenciled or hand-painted floral accents to create a cottage or modern farmhouse aesthetic. Or leave the cabinet in its natural wood finish for an authentic vintage look. You can also paint or add decorative paper on the shelves or back wall of the cabinet. Peel and stick wallpaper, vinyl, or contact paper adds a bit of pattern that can also cover up marks of any damage inside. You can also install small puck lights to the underside of shelves for an illuminated cabinet that can double as a nightlight in the bathroom.

Use the cabinet as a display and storage space for bathroom necessities with an eye toward making it both functional and pretty. Fold sumptuous towels in orderly stacks, and use containers like baskets or beautiful decorative bowls to hold items like soaps, loofahs, or extra hand towels. Apothecary jars and vintage canisters can be great for holding smaller items like Q-tips and cotton balls. Use pretty thrifted glassware to hold toothbrushes and other essentials. The glass cabinet also gives you an opportunity to show off nicely packaged potions, lotions, and other personal care items like bath oils/salts, wooden brushes, and ornate perfume bottles. Or mix bathroom storage with a trendy curiosity cabinet vibe by mixing natural materials like shells and coral with oddities, artifacts, and personal mementos.