Grace & Favor – A Life Worth Living

Tuesday, May 17, 2011

The Dish Room

There came a time last year when I realized I had overstepped the bounds of sanity in regards to my collection of dishes.  I have plates, cups, bowls and saucers stashed in every part of the house.  Our house being on the small size I was just running out of "stashing" space.

In the middle of the night I had an idea...when you get old you spend a lot of time awake in the middle of the night but that's another story.  I decided to commandeer Mr. Hubby's old office in our basement and turn it into a dish room. I headed downstairs filled with anticipating of a beautifully decorated room with shelving to display what I have collected and the ability to pull out a beautiful tablescape just by perusing the shelves.

The reality of this came to pass as I tried to enter the room and found it filled with Mr. Hubby's junk.  Notice the distinction between the two....my beautiful and very necessary dish collection and Mr. Hubby's junk, see below.



 You get the idea....and this didn't include all the junk on the floor either!!!!  After surveying what was down there I decided that I would still have to give Mr. Hubby's ONE wall of this room for his junk valuables.  I started by organizing his wall, once that was completed I could start on my three walls, insert big grin here.
 Still not perfect, but everything is off the floor and in tubs. One wall down and three to go.

After three trips to IKEA, a two and a half drive to the other side of the state I had enough shelves to at least get most of my treasures all in one place.  This is not all of what I have by any means, any dishaholic would know that we still have to have a "stash" here and there along with the good china and the everyday that I'm currently using.  All that considered this is the bulk of the extras and I'm so happy to be able to see them all at once and pick out what I need.
This was the start of it all, first trip to IKEA

Second trip to IKEA for more shelves, I was sure I had enough this time.

Third trip to IKEA, enough for now but I know I'll be headed back in the fall to finish off the last wall.
White dishes, I need to add to these shelves.
Some of the reds, most of my red dishes are upstairs on display but I do have a couple of shelves to spare.

Pink Shelves, I've got a good start on pink.
This is just a few of the blues, I'm in GOOD shape with blue dishes
Just a couple of baskets to try and cover up the ugly paneling.  I wish I had taken the time to whitewash the walls but its too late now.
Some of my platters
Some of the seasonal stash
All the top shelves (hard to get a clear shot of) are filled with cloches and cake plates
Some of my clear pitchers.
I have tons of more pictures of different shelves and the treasures on each of them but at this point I can see your eyes starting to roll back in your head as you say "OK, enough with the pictures, I get it".  Also, I'm sorry that the pictures are all different sizes, I have no idea how to format them to be the same size.  If y'all know how to do that please email me so my posts don't look like a lesson in schizophrenia.

This week I'll be joining Metamorphosis Monday, Wow Me Wednesday and Open House Thursday.

29 comments:

Designs on 47th Street said...

Char, this is SO impressive! I love that you have an entire room (well, almost) to give to your dish habit. :) How nice to see at a glance what you need and take it withour fear of things falling down around it. Ask me how I know that! I also love that you have it color coordinated. This also shows you what you have PLENTY of and what you might need to keep an eye out for. Great vision with excellent results at the end of your plan. Four thumbs up! :)

Donna

Jane @ Jane's Junk and Treasures said...

AWESOME!!!!!!!!
I want a dish room!!!!

Cathy said...

WOW! So organized and such beautiful collections.

Good job Char!

Donnie said...

My dil DJ will just drool when she see's these photos. You have quite a collection. I'm sure they will be easier to use now. Take care.

Debbie said...

This is wonderful! I have mine in several places around the house. I would love to have your storage and would even be willing to share with some husband "valuables" to get it.

Fantastic!

Olive said...

Seems like you have the dish disorder under control very well. Got to love IKEA. Now you can find everything easily and that is awesome.

Handy Man, Crafty Woman said...

Looks great! I need a dish room, too, lol!

Marigene said...

Oh, to be so organized! I am green with envy looking at all the shelving you now have.

Michelle {Jarrah Jungle} said...

Popping over from WUW nice to meet you :)
Having an out of control dish collection definately needs a dedicated room, and if hubbys coats can go elsewhere then why not! I love seeing people do something with their homes that they love and is useful to them. I bet you use all your gorgeous dishes a lot more now you can see what you have.

Carol-Anne said...

Dropping in from SSS....

LOVE the dish room! I have dishes stored under my bed! My blog is called, "Use the Good Dishes!", so you know I had to click on your link! What a great idea and a lovely dish collection!

Anonymous said...

Get out you have a dish room?! I am jealous-I would love it if you shared this @ Workshop Wednesday! I still see a little room to collect more!

Paula@SweetPea said...

If I ever visit you, I'm going down to that dish room and am going to admire every single piece. I love that you have everthing in one place on display. You have some beautiful things!

Tricia said...

Oh, Char, how wonderful to have all that space for your pretties! You have it set up so beautifully that I would like to come "shop" or at least window shop!

Unknown said...

WOW....I mean seriously...WOW!!! I wondered how this plan was coming along and now I see...great job! It's so nice to have things organized and in one place...or so I've heard. Really great job!!!!

Debbie said...

A dish room...what a great idea! If I only had a basement, I would be stealing your idea of a dish room. Your display of dishes is beautiful and the best part is that you can see what you have and they are easyily accessible.

Amy Chalmers said...

You and the white house have a dish room! I think Bunny Williams does too. I would love to have one!!

lvroftiques said...

Oh you're so lucky!! A dish room would be a dream come true! Yours is wonderful! Vanna

Sherry @ No Minimalist Here said...

Hi Char! How lucky you are to have a place to store all your dishes. Every kitchen cabinet and closet in our house is full with my collection of dishes and glasses. Thank you for sharing your new space at my party.
xo,
Sherry

Marianne said...

Oh I am jealous.....you are very lucky to have a room to store all of your treasures and to be able to see them! What a great way to utilize unused space. My things are stashed all over the place, sometimes I forget what I have!
Marianne :)

Sue said...

Okay, I want to know where all this stuff was before you placed it all here!! *grin* Seriously, you're lucky to have had the space to place all this shelving. What an accomplishment to have it all organized now. :-)
~ Sue

Anonymous said...

Wow, what a fabulous dish room! I am so jealous. I hope one day to have something similar for my dish storage.
Tammy

Marlis said...

Wow! I am in awe of the storage. what a great idea. I get my best ones in the middle of the night too. Thanks for dropping in and leaving your kind comments. I am so happy for you that you were able to put the good stuff in with the junque!

On Crooked Creek said...

Miss Char,
WoW!!! Now that's a lot of dishes, dear! I adore how you've organized them on shelves, by color, by season and by function! I'd say being awake in the middle of the night at your house ...it's a GOOD THING!
Fondly,
Pat

The Pennington Point said...

That is fantastic! Now I need a dish room. IKEA here I come! (but of course, first I have to scoot my husband's junk aside) Lisa~

Rettabug said...

WOW! You sure made a good dent in corralling your wonderful collections, Char! I'm impressed!

Did you know The Tablescaper is having her "Where Do You Store It, Part II" party soon??? This post would be perfect to link up.

http://thetablescaper.blogspot.com/

Courtney ~ French Country Cottage said...

Oh my goodness your dish room is amazing! How wonderful to have a room just for your lovely pieces! Would love if you shared this at Feathered Nest Friday sometime :)

southerninspiration said...

Sure wishing I HAD A BASEMENT!!!!
Love it all, and would love to step down there and peruse.......

Suzanne

afternoon tea said...

I'm wishing I had a basement also. I've been having these late night plannings too. I haven't acted on any of my ideas yet. No Ikea around for one thing. lol Your room is wonderful! My eyes were not rolling, they were very wide open and staring. A little bit of drooling going on as well.

AT

Renee@Nana's Empty Nest said...

Oh my gosh! This just made me smile! I too LOVE dishes! HomeGoods is a dangerous place for this lady! I'm glad to see that I'm not the only one who couldn't possibly be happy with just one (or 3 or 4) sets of dishes.