Make it work, Break the rules: China hutch as coffee klutch

Along  the same lines as using a vintage dresser as a media stand  I've got plans to write up some tips on what makes for a good second-hand/vintage find, but for now I thought I'd share one of my favorites with you: my china cabinet turned extra kitchen cabinetry.

Yeah yeah, I know, still looks like a china hutch, but it's how it's functioning that's the important part.  While we have a nice wide open kitchen/dining room, I wanted to keep it looking that way, which meant keeping things like small appliances, canisters, et al off of the counters.  The other thing was that we had this HUGE empty wall in the dining room that faces the kitchen.  It desperately needed something to balance it out.  Instead of a loooooong empty wall we've now got this bank of white cabinets which face the white ones in the kitchen and really round out the space.

I picked up this china cabinet in perfect condition on Kijiji for $250.  That's WAY more than I would normally spend on almost anything, but this was EXACTLY what I wanted, it's HUGE and I got the guy to deliver all the way out to our subdivision (delivery out here can be pretty pricey.)  I ended up ripping out the sage green backing board (not ENTIRELY intentional.  ALWAYS bracket things to the wall when you're told to.  Otherwise you might have several hundred pounds of dishes and cabinetry fall on top of you while you're trying to paint.  Trust me.)

 

I've packed this thing chock full of kitchen essentials.  Basically anything in the cabinets is important but not day to day like cookbooks (#11), vintage canisters I've collected (#9), and the $500 limited edition aqua Le Creuset I (guiltily) scammed second hand for $20 (#10).  I've also got various casserole dishes (#1 & #2) and a jar full of cookie cutters (#7).  Instead of taking up valuable cupboard space in the kitchen proper these prettier bits still get to shine well within reach.

What really sold me on this cabinet was the OPEN space, though.  This is where I've got a little coffee centre set up with my  white Tassimo (#5).  I've got it on a pretty ceramic tray to protect the surface from teaspoons.  All of the other coffee essentials are tucked in the drawer below (#8), so teaspoons, sugar, coffee, and sweetener.  Especially with company over, it's nice to have this tucked outside of the kitchen itself.  It also makes for an awesome buffet, especially with easy access to the deck just to the right.

Last but not least, adding extra "pretty" cabinetry to your kitchen that is NOT some cheesy microwave cart, gives you the opportunity to actually have display space away from grease and out of the way of busy cooks.  Photos and nifty, kitchen-related tchotchkes like the ceramic sparrow salt and pepper shakers or matroyshka measuring cups (#3 & #4) look like they belong; they ADD to the space instead of just cluttering up your counters.  Even my Storm Trooper bobble head has a home here!  The trick is sticking to a theme both in terms of colour and content.  Everything here either relates back to the kitchen, or is white.  That's not by accident.  This way I'm able to group funny little things together, things I love to look at every day, in the room I spend the most time in, without it being chaotic or sloppy.

ETA: I also ripped up the WAY TOO SMALL handles on the drawers and replaced them with more proportionate $4 pulls in stainless steel.  MUCH better.