Furniture Tips How to Choose A Curio Cabinet

Curio cabinets have become a joy in themselves to show off your favorite things and keepsakes to friends and family, keep all your precious treasures in one place to admire every day, or protect your growing collection of china dolls from your 5-year-old. . . Cabinets of curiosities began as places to keep curiosities—defined in the dictionary as curious or unusual objects of art or trinkets and anything else that perhaps deserves to be collected because of its uniqueness. Of course, this definition could include silver spoons from Alaska, all manner of wedding and christening favors, crystals, face masks from Africa, and perhaps even shrunken Amazonian heads from Ecuador and Peru. Nowadays, however, you can use curio cabinets for anything: – Showcase your family's sports interests by displaying your son's bowling trophies next to your spouses' autographed baseballs. – Keep your priceless family heirlooms – like great-grandmother's turquoise and silver comb, grandpa's gold pen, mom's old sapphire brooch you wore on your wedding day, and your son's first baby photo. – Or maybe keep the brass alto sax that you know you'll one day learn to play from dust and dirt in retirement. But how to choose the cabinet of curiosities that is right for you? Ask yourself the questions below to find out how. Tips on how to choose a curiosity 1. The first question you should ask yourself when buying a curio is: What curiosities will I put in it? If it is a tall brass alto saxophone, you need to get a tall traditional curio cabinet with built-in glass doors to keep dust out and removable glass shelves to make room for your favorite musical instrument. 2. How much light is there in the place where you are going to place the cabinet of curiosities? Is it in the sun with plenty of natural light or is it in a dark corner of the house? In the latter case, you need a lighted cabinet to brighten up the corner and also highlight your displays. 3. How much space do you have for a cabinet of curiosities? – Is the space high and wide enough? Then you might want to get the Curio Traditional Dark Cherry Cabinet with generous dimensions of 44W x 17D x 79H inches. – If it's narrower, then the more modern Curio cabinet may be better, with practical dimensions for urban living of 24W x 12D x 76V inches. – If it's low and wide, such as in a family room or den, then a 56W x 13D x 30V inch Golden Oak Console Cabinet is probably what you need. – And if it's angled in the corner, you might want a curio cabinet that fits comfortably in the corner and probably measures about 28W x 16D x 72H inches. 4. Another question you need to ask yourself is – Do you want the look of your curio to match the rest of the furniture in the room? – If you want to maintain a traditional look, you can choose from spectacular old-fashioned designs with bevels, hand-carved details and dark wood surfaces. – If the room is modern, you may want the clean lines and lighter wooden surfaces of an urban wardrobe with lots of mirrors and glass. 5. What type of wood or non-wood appeals to you? – If affordability matters and you don't mind the look of MDF or chipboard, then you can choose a curio cabinet made of hardened pressed chipboard and lined with wood veneer or laminate. – If you feel that a solid wood curio sounds like a good investment, you should get a curio made from the more popular oak or maple – hardwoods that can only gain character and charm as they age. 6. And last but not least, what is your budget? – Are you ready to splurge for $2,000 Louis XV inspired. Pulaski curious about a spectacular accent that can change your entire living room experience? – Or just want a simple wall curio – the kind you can get for $20 on ebay to house your collection of dog figurines?