Credenzas were extremely popular during the latter half of the 19th Century and are thought to have an Italian origin, as the name suggests. This name appears to come from the Latin word for “trust” and is believed to stem from the tradition of placing food on sideboards in full view of visiting guests to highlight the honourable intentions of the host. Some households would even get a servant to test the food to assure everyone that no poisonous schemes had been hatched. However, thankfully, nowadays the credenza acts as a decorative as well as functional furniture piece for the placement of a whole host of items that will not bring apprehension to your friends and family.

This beautifully crafted Sachi credenza can be situated in a number of possible interiors. If you want to keep to tradition, you can locate it in the kitchen or dining room where it can be used to store tableware as well as a display and service space for delicious dishes about to be served at the nearby dinner table. Alternatively, the credenza can be placed in a bedroom where it can take on the role of a bedroom cabinet. If you like to work from home then it can also be a useful storage feature in a home office or library where it can be used for the tidy placement of electronic equipment, books, stationery, and other related items. The surface space is ideal for displaying decorative ornaments, photographs, floral displays, and even a television.

You can read more about it as well as view the purchasing details here: Sachi Credenza by Akemi Tanaka.

Features a natural walnut grain.

In bedroom interiors, the bed is naturally the focal point but dressers, cabinets and tables should act as highlights and complimentary pieces which set the bed off nicely. This is definitely the case with this Brigitte side cabinet which will compliment a variety of existing decorative themes and colors, based on the choice you make regarding the three color finishes which go with the piece. A light blue version of this curvy drawer cabinet will be super for a kid’s bedroom and reminds me of my own ‘blue room’ which I loved as a child and which had light blue painted furniture throughout.

There’s plenty of space in this cabinet and the curvature of the drawers does not take away from the dimensions of the available storage area. Anything from bed linens, jeans, towels, baby accessories, underwear, tablecloths, stored appliances, board games and/or clothing accessories can be placed within. On top can be placed standing mirrors and in front a chair can be situated to turn it into a regular dressing table. For a children’s room, small colourful and tasteful stickies can be attached and thus heighten the decorative impact of the cabinet.

You can buy this cabinet here: Brigitte Side Cabinet with Curvy Drawers.

Comes with hand-finished chrome pulls and steel drawer guides.

The question is which under cabinet lights to install. There are a wide variety of options, and as long as you stick with a high-quality retailer, there is no type that is necessarily better than the other. It all depends on your preferences.

Ask yourself these questions before you start shopping to get a better idea of exactly what you’re looking for:

1. What color do I want the light given off to be? This has to do with the aesthetic quality of your under cabinet lights: do you prefer more of a yellowish, warm glow, or do you want the light to be pure white? For the warm glow, check out xenon under cabinet lighting. It’s a type of incandescent light, so it’ll have the same look as your familiar living room lamp. Also, fluorescent under cabinet lights are available in a “warm white” option, and it’s much more energy efficient than xenon. Xenon lighting, however, is dimmable (unlike fluorescent), which can be a major benefit as well.

For the pure white light, look for either “cool white” fluorescent under cabinet lights or LED under cabinet lights. If you’re venturing into the LED options, though, be careful: this is a relatively new technology, and there are some products out there that are simply not up to par with comparable light sources. Check that the Color Rendering Index (CRI) of the light is at least 85, and be sure to read the lumen (light) output of the fixture. A 60-watt incandescent bulb typically gives off 850 lumens. A 100-watt incandescent bulb gives off 1,700 – this should give you an idea of what to shoot for.

2. How do I want the light to hit the countertop? If you haven’t paid attention to many different styles of under cabinet lights before, do a quick Google Image search for “puck under cabinet lights”, followed by “linear under cabinet lights.” Basically, puck lights will create several focused pools of lights on your countertops. Linear lights will create a more even distribution. If you decide you prefer one style over the other, it will help narrow down your options quite a bit.

3. Do I have a plug near my cabinets that I can use for installation? A good place to check for this is inside your upper cabinets, especially any cabinets above the microwave. Contractors often add an outlet up here that is perfect for installing under cabinet lights. If you don’t have any outlet nearby, don’t panic. You can always hardwire the lights (connect them directly to the power source behind the walls in your house). Many under cabinet lights can be set up both ways (plug-in or hardwire), but just in case, determine your outlet situation before you start shopping. Make sure the model you select can be installed to match your requirements. You should be able to see “hardwire” and “plug-in” in the product descriptions.

Emily Widle is a regular blogger for Pegasus Lighting, an online lighting retailer. Pegasus Lighting offers a great selection of high-quality under cabinet light fixtures.

The lower section is in many ways similar to the regular chest one would find in any interior setting such as a bedroom or living room. This section consists of drawers and cabinets with doors which give plenty of storage space for linens, silverware and other bits and pieces one would likely need for a dinner occasion. The design of these lower sections vary depending on the style of china cabinet you purchase.

The shelving of the hutch section can be found in a variety of different materials. Completely wooden china cabinets are popular and allow the ceramic plates and dishes to benefit from a natural backdrop. Other shelving materials include glass which means the items on display can be seen from below and above as well as catch the light from a myriad of different angles. The glass shelving of a china cabinet gives the illusion of the china floating in mid-air which can be appropriate in some decor schemes.

Many china cabinets also come with doors for the upper hutch section which protect the ceramic dinnerware from damage, dust and even sunlight. These doors are more often than not made from glass which allow for the decorative plates and dishes to be seen despite being closed in. Small plate stands can be purchased which tilt the dinnerware piece and allow it to be seen from the entire interior without the danger of it rolling across the shelf.

China cabinets can be purchased in a score of different wood types. Mahogany, cherry and oak are the three most popular and appropriate materials to seek. It’s probably best to stay away from pine wood cabinets if you want your furniture piece to last a long time and become a heirloom. Pine is a soft wood and dents easily. For darker décor effects, mahogany is a good choice, as is dark cherry which actually darkens further with age. Oak is my particular favorite. There are also more contemporary china cabinet designs which rely on an industrial combination of glass and metal.

Corner china cabinets are also worth a look. If you have a small interior or are seeking to fill an empty corner with something functional and formal, then these cabinet types are ideal. You can even buy a pair and put one in two corners of the same room. As well as ceramic dinnerware and precious china, you can use china cabinets for other objects such as sculptures, figurine collections, photographs and various hobby items one may like to display for family and visitors to see.

The simple wooden bathroom medicine cabinet as seen in the picture above is an ideal wall cabinet for a wide variety of bathroom styles and sizes. It’s simplicity means it will compliment most types of ordinary home bathroom without being too heavy on the eye or spoiling the decor. In fact, this particular medicine cabinet comes in a variety of colors and finishes which include Antique White, Cognac, Dark Cherry, Light Cherry and White.

For some bathrooms, a recessed bathroom medicine cabinet is a necessity due to space or existing fixtures. This simple wooden bathroom medicine cabinet can be bought as a recessed or surface cabinet depending on the type desired. if this one is not to your liking, I have showcased a number of other medicine cabinets on the following pages which include: Bathroom Cabinets: Surface Mount and also Lighted Bathroom Medicine Cabinets.

The simple wooden bathroom medicine cabinet in the picture above which comes with a single door and mirror can be purchased from the following lcoation for $546: Simple Wooden Bathroom Medicine Cabinet.

It’s still unknown who exactly has bought the third Cucci Cabinet but its previous owners were a powerful Spanish banking dynasty, the March family. Previous details of ownership are a little sketchy but it is believed to have been once owned by Queen Hedvig Eleonora of Sweden (1636-1715) who was married to King Charles X of Sweden. The Cucci Cabinet remained in Sweden until the late 19th Century and was later sold in Paris in 1923.

The expensive Cucci Cabinet is most noticeable for its Florentine ‘pietra dura’ panels which are Italian for ‘hard stone’. This alludes to the technique of creating intricate inlaid pictures from shaped coloured stones. Wonderful bronze figures which symbolise the seasons, support the upper part of the Cucci Cabinet on their heads. Extravagant gilt bronze mounts adorn the cabinet along with stone columns which provide a complimentary opulence to the tortoiseshell background.

The director of European furniture at Christie’s London auction house said: “A once in a lifetime opportunity, this rare survival from the Gobelins workshops attracted international interest and drew collectors, institutions and dealers from around the world to Christie’s London”.

Domenico Cucci was renowned during his own lifetime as well as now. He was considered one of the leading cabinet makers, ‘ébenisté’, who worked for the French King Louis XIV. The Italian craftsman became a member of the renowned Gobelins workshop in 1662 which attracted the best artists and craftsmen from around Europe. His works, amongst other things, included furniture for the famous Royal Palace at Versailles but which have since sadly been lost.

Experts believe the sale of the ornate Cucci Cabinet means it is now the fourth most expensive item of traditional furniture in the world. The most expensive is still held by another cabinet, the Badminton Cabinet which was sold in 2004 for £19.1 million ($31 million), also at Christie’s.

A Curio cabinet is used to present and display precious ornaments, dolls, tableware, glassware, artistic sculptures and collections of items that share a common theme. The cabinets are usually predominantly made of glass although many, like in the case of the half round wooden curio cabinet as picture above, come crafted of other materials.

However, each one is similar in that the display case has glass windows which allow easy viewing of the items within. Most curio cabinets have glass on each side of the case whilst others also have a mirror at the back, closest to the wall. A great majority have glass shelving which allow the ornaments and sculptures to be seen from all angles.

Curio cabinets are different to regular display cabinets which usually show items from a horizontal perspective. The Curio instead is vertical in order to show standing items such as figurines and decorated boxes. Another main function of the Curio cabinet is to keep the precious objects inside free from dust and dampness, thereby prolonging the quality of the pieces.

The half round wooden curio cabinet pictured here is one of my favourites. As mentioned before, it’s ideal for an interior space which is more classical in its design scheme. This Curio comes with two stepped edge glass shelves which are found behind a set of three doors. For great lighting effects, there are also three halogen lights with a step switch. The finish consists of a distressed antique brown with black undertones.

You can buy this cabinet from the following location: Half Round Wooden Curio Cabinet in Antique Brown.

So what exactly is the meaning of Apothecary? It’s an old fashioned word for what we now call a pharmacist (or a chemist). The Apothecary was also a lot more than a mere drugs dispenser, often taking on the role of a midwife, local doctor and even a surgeon. In many ways, they were also pioneers in chemistry and pharmacology, often spending spare moments concocting new drugs and herbal remedies.

With origins in the Middle East, one of the first mentions of the term Apothecary was in Geoffrey Chaucer’s ‘Canterbury Tales’ which was written sometime in the latter part of the 14th Century, in England. William Shakespeare also mentions the job title in his famous romantic tragedy Romeo and Juliet. The Apothecary was in this case the drug maker who sold Romeo his poison with which he killed himself. All very sad, I must say. The word is also mentioned in more recent literature, notably William Faulkner’s “A Rose for Emily” written in 1930.

The distressed white Apothecary cabinet pictured above is one that the old pharmacists would have had in their stores. However, the cabinet is not quite as it seems. It’s composed of 4 doors, each of which has four square panels on the front. The small center most drawers are each as they appear to be, drawers that open out. There are also two deeper drawers and at the very bottom, two base drawers, which are more obvious and rectangular in shape.

You will be able to decipher the different drawers and cupboard doors from a much larger image which can be found here: White Apothecary Cabinet With Blue Doors.

It’s an attractive furniture piece which will sit well in a variety of interiors. One might think about the Apothecary cabinet as a possible addition to a kitchen, dining room or even a rustic bedroom.