How to Organize and Style Your China Hutch

With the holidays around the corner, if you’re planning to entertain, you may be starting to think about the state of your china hutch. Probably the largest piece of furniture in your dining room (second only to the table), the hutch influences the style and mood of your space. And beyond style, there are practical considerations — do you want to showcase your best china, or would you rather have a more practical hutch, filled with items you use daily? Whatever you decide, these tips should help you get things sorted in style.

Use your hutch for everyday items. If you rarely use your fanciest china (even when you entertain) but do use your dining room frequently, consider storing your best stuff neatly in protective containers in a closet, and free up space for everyday items in the hutch. Dishes, mugs, white platters and a few pitchers stored in the dining room make setting the table a simple task, and when arranged carefully can look just as good as the fancy stuff. Drawers below your china hutch can be used to store flatware, serving pieces and cloth napkins.


Tuck in a few special extras. Vases filled with flowers or greenery, items collected on nature walks and unscented candles are all good things to include in an open china hutch. The candles and flowers (or foliage) bring some life to an arrangement of plates and platters and can be put to work at the dinner table for a fuss-free centerpiece.


Use your hutch to store your fancy china set. The most traditional use of a china hutch is to put the best dishes on display. Glass-front cabinet doors allow beautiful pieces to be seen without accumulating dust. If your china set is extensive, don’t try to fit every piece inside the hutch — just arrange items until it is comfortably full and stow the rest in the cupboards below.


Stack some, lean some. Large, unwieldy pieces like serving platters can be carefully leaned against the back wall of the hutch, behind stacks of plates. If you’re concerned about platters’ tipping over, you can use plate stands to keep them steady. Lean the platter first, then place stacks of plates, bowls or cups in front to conserve space.


If you’re using your hutch to store everyday dishes, you can do the same thing. Stack up bowls and plates, and lean a platter or tray behind.


More things to stack: Stacks save space in your hutch; but more than that, they fill more space between shelves for a bountiful look. Make stacks of cups and saucers and cake plates, in addition to the usual plates and bowls.

Keep party goods together. If you are already storing in your hutch the platters and cake stands you use while entertaining, including other party essentials in the same spot can make life easier. Fill a teacup with birthday candles and a pretty box of matches, line up festive bottled drinks and top a cake plate with a cluster of your favorite bud vases.


Hang teacups from hooks. Save shelf space and add interest by installing a row of simple hooks beneath a shelf. To be sure you put them in the right place, arrange everything else in the cupboard before deciding where you want the cups to go.


Line up glassware. As a general rule, it’s best to keep like with like when arranging a china hutch. Sort glassware by type and give each type its own shelf (or section of shelf). Line glasses up like little soldiers for a crisp look.


Use color for contrast. Have mostly white dishes and serving pieces? Consider painting your hutch — just the inside or the entire thing — in a contrasting color. A deep, dark or bright hue will make the white dishes pop.


Even from a distance, you can see the silhouettes of the white dishes in this black painted china cupboard.


Incorporate objects. Have a bit of extra room? If you don’t feel the need to fill your entire china hutch with dishes and glassware, incorporating other objects can make for a dynamic display. Prop up a half dozen books with an interesting bookend, set up a bar or lean small, framed artwork against the back wall.


Though this hutch is in a living room, you can see that a contrasting background color and varied objects have been used to great effect. Bringing in a few larger pieces of pottery or a sculptural shell can take a hutch filled mostly with dishes to the next level.


Or, for something completely different, why not give over your china hutch to books? A mini library behind glass is gorgeous — and the more books crammed in, the merrier.


When in doubt, use symmetry. Going shelf by shelf, make each arrangement the same on the left and right sides. Once the bulk of the pieces are in place, you can shake things up a bit by tucking in an odd candle here or vase there.

See more photos of china hutches

Tell us: How do you do it? Share a photo of your china hutch, finished or not, in the Comments section below.

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