Unique Storage Cabinets
Buy the best unique storage cabinets selected and recommended by interior designers. By Chloe Hughes.
A unique storage cabinet will immediately make a noticeable decorative statement in your living room: after all, just because we’re talking about functional and traditional furniture, it doesn’t mean that it has to look boring or predictable! From small accent chests to taller cabinets, our team of interior design experts looked for the best and most eye-catching storage solutions for your home. Discover our tips on how to decorate with them, too!
Unique Storage Cabinets
Buying Guide
Chloe Hughes
Interior Design Expert
Chloe is a highly-regarded expert in all things vintage and antique. She’s excited to share her vast knowledge with readers and clients wishing to infuse their homes with a mixture of old-time warmth and modern comfort. In addition to her design work, Chloe regularly volunteers at her local community center, teaching DIY projects to adults and kids.
Cabinets and chests give you extra storage and added style all in one. Organize and conceal unsightly clutter for a tidier, more functional home, be it in your hall, bedroom, kitchen or bathroom. You can either pick a contrasting accent style cabinet, or purchase one that blends into your existing decor.
Cabinets and chests can also be easily moved from one room to another, unlike large, heavy furniture items, so they're also great for repurposing. Here's how to choose your ideal model.
You storage needs is one thing, but you cannot just choose any cabinet you like. It's important to consider the best shape for your available space. Here's our top tips:
Rectangle
A rectangular cabinet will fit in most places and should match any decor. Thanks to its shape you'll have a maximum amount of storage space, making it a good choice if you have plenty of items to store and a good sized room.
Corner
If space is a little on the tight side, you could consider a corner cabinet. They are designed to fully utilize the corner of your room. While they provide less internal storage space than a rectangular model, they are extremely useful, especially in high passage areas where you may otherwise be unable to squeeze past a bulky cabinet.
Demi-lune
This type of cabinet features a flat back that rests against your wall, and a curved front. Thanks to their curved shape they offer a good amount of storage capacity, although they are less suitable for high traffic areas with limited space.
Style-wise, the shape pairs best with vintage, traditional, eclectic, and shabby chic decors. With little to no ornamentations and silver leaf finish, the piece will also look stunning in a contemporary glam setting.
Accent chests are available in a wide variety of different styles. Here's a selection of the most popular.
Colored
Colored chests stand out and make great accent pieces. A chest with a simple, bright block color is a great way to bring a touch of fun and modernity to your room. Otherwise, muted monotones go well with a more traditional decor.
Hand painted
Add a touch of individuality and class to your home with a hand painted chest. As each model's finish is unique, these cabinets tend to work well as statement pieces and may feature elaborate designs.
Motifs
Pick a chest with coastal motifs for your bathroom, or a floral one to pick up natural elements from your living room decor. Carved eastern designs are also popular and look great in eclectic style homes or they can also liven up a more traditional decor.
Utility
Metal chests have an undeniably utilitarian feel to them, even if you are only using yours to store your paperwork and gadgets. If you want to dress down your decor with a no-nonsense style, then a no-frills utility chest is the way to go. They can also complement a minimalist decor.
Traditional
If your decor is more traditional, country-cottage style, then you may want to opt for a classic wooden chest in a natural finish. You could also go for a version with wicker baskets instead of drawers for a quaint, whimsical appeal.
Display
Show off your collection of porcelain or antique medals with a glass-fronted display cabinet. Whatever you have to display, if you have a traditional decor or eclectic, look for a version with an interesting background to draw the focus into your cabinet and onto your collection.
Apothecary
These chests feature multiple small drawers, making them ideal for organized storage. Separate your items into categories and store them without fear of losing them or mixing them up. Apothecary chests come in a range of styles and they also are an excellent choice for storing sewing and crafting materials.
There are plenty of different types of cabinets and chests available, consider the following cabinet storage options, to find one that works best for you.
- Open shelving - Ideal for towels and medium sized items that you need to access frequently. Just be aware that unless you regularly organize and tidy your open shelf cabinet, it can easily become disorganized and start to look messy.
- Solid doors - Cabinets with solid doors allow you to store large items and conceal their presence. You can also store a multitude of items of various different sizes in different containers behind closed cabinet doors, for a neat and tidy finish.
- One solid door - The best of both worlds, have your good-to-go, frequent use items stored on open shelving and messy, bitty items or unsightly ones concealed behind the solid door.
- Glass doors - Antiques, china and collectibles all look great in a glass-door cabinet. If you want your items to be on display, then it makes a great option.
- Full width drawers - Full width drawers allow you to store and organize medium sized items that would get mixed up in a cabinet, but are too bulky for smaller drawers, such as hair styling tools, larger craft supplies and accessories, etc.
- Apothecary drawers - Apothecary drawers are a great choice for when you have a lot of small items that need to be organized and separated from one another. Apothecary cabinets make it much easier to find your keys, earphones and charger when you're heading out the door.
Your ideal cabinet for your bathroom is probably going to be very different from the one you have in mind for your office. Let's consider what you need to look out for.
Bathroom cabinets
- You'll want your bathroom cabinet to have a durable finish that can live up to the high humidity levels in your bathroom, so choose solid wood models with a sealed finish. If budget constraints mean you need to go for MDF, choose only reputable sellers. When not properly sealed,MDF cabinets can be damaged if water penetrates the surface.
- If you are using your bathroom cabinet to store towels, you may like to opt for a one door model with open shelving. Use the open side to store your rolled up bathroom linen for easy access, and store cleaning products and small accessories neatly out of sight in the cupboard side.
- If it's for beauty products alone, an apothecary chest with plenty of small drawers makes an ideal choice to neatly organize your creams, cleansers and cosmetics.
Kitchen cabinets
- Kitchen cabinets with wheels are a popular choice, allowing you to wheel your cabinet to wherever you need it most when you're busy cooking up a storm.
- If you are looking to store kitchen accessories such as knives, chopping boards and oven mitts, then you will want a model with plenty of full width drawers.
- On the other hand, if you are looking for a cabinet to display your fine china in your kitchen, you'll want to go for a glass door cabinet with shelves and standard legs.
Office cabinets
- Home office cabinets can also benefit from wheels, especially if you have limited space.
- It can be useful to have both drawers and shelves. This enables you to store larger items such as folders and paperwork, as well as smaller accessories, including pens, paperclips and staplers, without losing them.
- You may also like to consider an office cabinet with doors providing a larger space to store your laptop and even your printer, leaving your desk clear and accessible for other activities such as craftwork or other hobbies.
You can store plenty of items in unique storage cabinets, from hardback books and vinyl records to kitchen utensils and drinking glasses. When figuring out what to store in your visually exciting cabinet, consider several key aspects of the unit’s design.
Measure the depth and height of your cabinet’s shelves. If they’re relatively shallow, you won’t be able to store larger items like coffee table books or highball glasses. Unique cabinets with drawers are ideal for people wanting to store high-quality silverware, table linens, and tumbler glasses. Models with deep compartments can store important files or binders.
You should also think about your cabinet’s look. If the cabinet has an open plan design, try to fill it with items that look aesthetically pleasing. You could store your finest glassware on its shelves or use one compartment as a place to exhibit your favorite keepsakes. You might even want to line up some valuable vintage bottles of wine along the top of the cabinet to impress your guests.
Unique storage cabinets bring both flare and function to your living room. To style your living room with a one-of-a-kind storage cabinet, take the cabinet’s aesthetic into account. Storage cabinets with traditional wood designs work with almost any decor scheme, whereas cabinets with unique colors or patterns require more coordination.
White and grey cabinets look fantastic with white, grey, and pastel furniture. Dark-stained wood works well with nautical themes, old world-inspired, and masculine accessories. Light-colored woods and elegant swirl patterns on your cabinets pair well with French Country and cottage-themed decor. Whimsical cabinets with bright paint colors add a fun vibe to your living room and work pair well with bold blanket and pillow accents.
While home storage used to be something to stow out of the way, the increase in trendy, unique storage cabinets gives people with small spaces or without more traditional storage options a chance to make an aesthetic and practical statement.
We’re seeing a lot of very colorful storage elements against neutral backdrops (e.g., a cream cabinet with drawers or doors painted in rainbow tones).
Varied drawer sizes and types are also a current trend; a unique storage cabinet might include long, narrow flat-lay drawers, opening doors, and a series of tiny card-size drawers as well. This adds lots of visual interest, and presents an antique feel for your storage.
Finally, we’re also seeing a lot of wooden cabinets painted with unique patterns—ivy, for example—as well as distressed or textured wood to add modern, sculptural vibes to what could be an otherwise basic piece of furniture.