How to Beautifully Decorate a Dining Room Hutch
Don’t know what to do with your dining room hutch or know if you should even have one? Keep reading to see why it is so fun to decorate a dining room hutch and how to make it stylish and functional with your home’s decor style!

Let’s start by addressing the elephant in the room. Are dining room china cabinets or hutches even in style? Why should we even bother to decorate a dining room hutch? In our fast-paced culture where formal dining rooms are no longer a house-hunting must-have, this is a very good question! I guess it really depends on who you ask, but in my opinion, the general idea of dining room storage still holds a lot of value. At the same time, I think it is a lot of fun to decorate a dining room hutch!
Of course, home decorating of any kind is truly up to personal preference. However, I love to decorate a dining room hutch as a way of cozying up the dining room space. At the same time, a dining room hutch can serve as a great focal point to a dining room and provide a beautiful backdrop for the dining table.
Today, we are going to chat about different types of furniture that can serve the same purpose as a dining room hutch along with some of my favorite simple tips and tricks to make it easy to decorate a dining room hutch, no matter your personal style. Plus, I’ll give you some resources for some of my favorite kinds of decorative pieces to use as visual interest in your hutch decor.


How to Beautifully Decorate a Dining Room Hutch
No matter the style of the home, open shelving of some kind is very popular. So while a more modern farmhouse style home might have floating shelves or another home may have an open concept with open shelves running through the kitchen, the idea of some kind of shelves to hold dishes and décor is still very popular. Now, with modern homes with an open floor plan being so common, it is not unlikely to see a pretty open shelving unit for display space in a living room or kitchen instead of a formal dining space!
In my opinion, the changing trend is perhaps more in what goes on the dining room hutch or china cabinet rather than discarding any kind of storage. Whether your open shelves are in the kitchen, dining room, living room, or some other space, I hope this post will inspire you to rethink how you use those shelves and even spark some creativity for a starting point as you display items in a new way.
After patiently waiting for many years for the perfect hutch display piece to come along for our dining area, we purchased this apothecary from our friends at Baker and Co. in DeLand, Florida. You can find all the details about its history and how we restored the original paint in this post . It is so fun to decorate a dining room hutch and I really enjoy styling this special piece for the seasons, just as I would any other space in our home.
Pro Tip: That’s my first tip for dining room or kitchen shelf styling: Have fun rotating décor on your shelves!
It’s okay to store certain pieces away, bring others out, add, take away, feature collections, and in general, treat your shelves as you would a mantel or entryway table! The traditional hutch gets a bad reputation sometimes for merely being a storage space for the family heirlooms that are pulled out for a special occasion each year. Instead of being the inspiration for an eye-catching display, the china hutch glass doors can tend to collect more dust than favorite things!
Our goal today is to bust the myth that the traditional hutch is out of style. Instead, we will learn how to decorate a dining room hutch with aesthetic appeal that makes it a focal point in your dining area or kitchen for seasonal decor as well as your fine china! At the same time, you can decorate a dining room hutch in a way that is functional and serves your home in the best way possible.

What to Use as a Dining Room Hutch
For the purposes of this post, I’ll call it a hutch. However, this open shelving display piece could be any kind of shelves or cabinet! This display space is a great spot to get creative with your furniture! A vintage step back cabinet, pie safe, apothecary, floating shelves or open shelving are all great ideas for a display case in a dining room! Those are just a few out of a long list!
In our dining room, we added this antique apothecary. I love all the drawers for storage. The drawers allow me to keep all of my tablescape decorative items, such as napkins, napkin rings, and place cards really organized. Also, the drawers are a great way to store some of my small white stoneware dishes that I use for individual place settings.
The point is: whatever piece you use, the first consideration is function.
If you have lots of storage in your home, this may not need to be a consideration. However, if you need to be conscious of storage space like I do, a dining room hutch or cabinet is a GREAT place to add extra storage for anything from dishes to linens to extra kitchen ware or even pantry items!
Pro Tip: Functionality is one of the very first things to consider before you can really decorate a dining room hutch.


As much as possible, I do like to store things in the room or space that they are used in.
However, in our previous home, I had a big wall in our kitchen where we put a dining room hutch and I kept all of our everyday dishes and flatware on the shelves and down below was my main pantry space! Basically, it was our kitchen dining room pantry and it was a game changer for our storage problems. It looked good in the space.
Most of all, though, it was a desperately needed storage piece for our odd kitchen! (Unfortunately, I don’t have a picture! That was a long time ago!)
Before you can think about how to decorate a dining room hutch, you need to identify how you need the piece to actually function in your dining area or living space. Then, have fun choosing just the right piece.
Dining or kitchen hutches may take some patience, especially if you are working within a budget or have a really specific style. I waited a few years before we found this apothecary that fits our space and needs so perfectly!
If you are looking for a vintage piece, you can find some of my favorite vintage hunting tips HERE . The main thing to remember is patience! It is worth waiting for the piece you LOVE versus settling for a piece that you’re not even going to like in a few months!
Now that you’ve chosen your dining room hutch or storage piece, it is time to think about how to decorate a dining room hutch!
How to Decorate a Dining Room Hutch: What to Put Inside Your Hutch
Here’s the key: If you put things in your hutch that you use often or you rotate things around often enough, you never have to worry about deep cleaning!
Sometimes people worry that dishes sitting out on open shelving will be dirty. However, if you are keeping things that you love using, that won’t be a problem! There may be that special dish or piece that you keep for sentimental reasons, but if it gets a little dusty, no worries. You’re probably not using it anyway!
On my hutch/apothecary, I use it as a focal point to decorate with different items from collections of vintage pieces and/or seasonal decor. Also, I like to keep out pieces that I use often for tablescapes, as well as favorite vintage pieces and seasonal décor.
If you are using your dining room hutch primarily for dishes, consider adding some decorative items throughout.
A little pot with a fresh plant or a cloche covering a stack of bowls or some terra cotta pots can add a lot of visual interest to this space and make it more of a focal point rather than just a storage unit!


Here is a list of things you might consider using in your hutch along with functional items:
- Vintage Collections: Clocks, vases, ironstone, mortar and pestles, pottery, bottles, jars, crocks, and cloches are just a few that come to mind! If you have a favorite collection, get it out where you can see it! Consider grouping collection items to make a statement.
- Sentimental Pieces: That pretty jar that belonged to your grandma or those candlesticks you received as a wedding gift? Dig them out from the recesses of the closet and use them! Unless it’s some kind of strong color or just cannot blend with your décor, a dining room hutch is a great place to display special pieces! They can be great conversation starters!
- Everyday items: Especially if every square inch counts, use a dining room hutch or pretty cabinet and make your everyday items decorative! Choose dishes, flatware, vases, pitchers, and essentials that you really love and let them become your décor. Neutral colors can really be helpful in this case, as you can’t go wrong with all-white dishes that will look pretty sitting out no matter the season. But whatever your décor style is, invest in everyday items that enhance your décor rather than needing to be tucked away. This will double your function and storage!
Once you’ve figured out what to use to decorate a dining room hutch, the next step is to arrange the decorative items in the best way for your living space.


How to Decorate a Dining Room Hutch: Arranging Decorative Items
How Can I Arrange Items in My Dining Room Hutch?
One thing that gives hutches and china cabinets a bad reputation is that they can quickly become a catch all for “all those little things you didn’t know what to do with.”
I have a few of those too, mainly some sentimental pieces or family heirlooms that no matter how I try, they just don’t go with anything! You know those awkward spaces above the refrigerator? Well, I use one of those shelves (behind closed doors) to house those items. However, I don’t add to them. Those are pieces that belonged to grandparents, etc., more heirloom kinds of things. Plus, there’s only a small box of them.
Clear out and clean out often!
It is okay to get rid of things. In case you need permission, CONSIDER IT GRANTED!
Pro Tip: Treat your dining room hutch or open shelves as you would a mantel or a console table. Even if you are decorating with functional, everyday items, keep it looking pretty and in a decorative style that goes with the rest of your home.
When arranging decorative items on shelves, there are three things I consider:

How to Decorate a Dining Room Hutch: Height of Decorative Items
To decorate a dining room hutch, start by adding different heights of decorative pieces. You can add a lot of character and depth to your dining room hutch décor by adding varying heights and different sizes of hutch decor.
While it may look nice to have a row of a certain item, like a collection of bottles or bowls, consider adding some unexpected elements like a stack of the bowls at the end of the shelf or different heights by adding a stack of little plates under a couple of the bowls.
Use the dishes you have on hand to add height variations! A little stack of butter pats or a few dessert plates under a fresh plant can add so much visual interest and character with the different heights, while still having a cohesive look with the rest of the hutch decor.

How to Decorate a Dining Room Hutch: Texture of Decorative Elements
For shelf styling, I like to choose a few decorative elements and repeat variations of those elements in the overall styling. For my summer dining room hutch styling, I chose to use white, glass, and a few natural, coastal elements.
The glass is repeated on each shelf through the use of vintage bottles, apothecary bottles, and cloches. The white dishes are repeated on each shelf with stacks of bowls, plates, and some white architectural salvage pieces. The pieces of coral add a seasonal touch and a bit of an “unexpected” touch as well.
Different textures here include glass, wood, and ironstone, along with natural elements like the coral.
To decorate a dining room hutch, you will also want to make sure there is a good balance of decorative pieces in your overall color scheme. Color is definitely a factor in your chosen decorative pieces. A limited color palette can really help you achieve a cohesive look when you decorate a dining room hutch.
Pro Tip: In general, three is a great rule to follow. Three finish elements, 3 colors, 3 sizes, 3 of each kind of decorative item, and so on.
Additionally, I add greenery in almost every décor space. Whether nice faux greenery or real, it can really add some movement to the hutch decor as well as breaking up the straight, hard lines of the white and glass pieces.
No matter which elements you choose to use in your dining room hutch, consider paring it down to 3 (or so) elements and then have some fun with a couple of unexpected touches too!

How to Decorate a Dining Room Hutch: Balance for a Cohesive Look
When styling shelves, balance is a really key element. Style each shelf, but then step back and make sure there is a balance of your elements throughout the entire look.
On my summer dining room apothecary, for example, I wanted to make sure there was a balance of the white ironstone and glass pieces. I wouldn’t want the right side to be all white and the left side be mostly glass. By considering the space as a whole, I was able to balance the styling.
Additionally, you want to make sure you have a good balance in the different sizes of your hutch decor.
When you decorate a dining room hutch, you don’t want to have all of your larger items on one side and the smaller items on the other side. At the same time, you wouldn’t want all of the large pieces on a top shelf and all of the smaller pieces on a bottom shelf.
Symmetry can be a helpful way to style too. However, I do love to break up the symmetry with some unexpected pieces as well. Styling with a balanced look, yet not completely symmetrical, can help your dining room hutch to have a more curated look.

How to Decorate a Dining Room Hutch: Edit Your Decor
Once you have completed your shelf styling, it can be helpful to walk away and take a break! As you come back to it later, you may see spots that can be tweaked and edited.
Most often, I style a space and leave it alone for awhile. Then, I come back and remove items, move them over a couple inches, switch plants, add a plate to this stack, etc.! This is all part of making a space “yours”.
Decorating truly is personal preference and an expression of YOU! Getting tips and ideas from other people is always fun and helpful. However, as you edit your space, make it a personal reflection of your family and home.

How to Decorate a Dining Room Hutch for the Seasons
Just as I decorate my mantel for the seasons, I enjoy doing the same with my apothecary cabinet! I love to switch my decor for a fresh look.
While I might change the look of the entire piece, you can more easily decorate for the seasons by simply switching a few decorative items. In other words, you don’t have to completely empty and redecorate your dining room hutch for every season! I do simply because I enjoy it!
For example, when fall rolls around, I could simply switch the coral pieces for a couple of baby white pumpkins! Where the cool, blue tones of the vintage bottles are for summer, I could replace with some vintage amber bottles for the warm, fall colors.
Pro Tip: Consider small and simple seasonal touches that don’t require you to store boxes and boxes of decorations!
(When Christmas comes to town…that’s a whole different story, right?! All bets are off and I really deck the halls…I mean “hutch”! Haha!)
Here are a few simple ideas:
- Fall: Mini pumpkins, dried gourds, dried or preserved stems, hang a pretty wreath, small vintage-style art
- Christmas: Realistic pine branches, ornaments in a dish, stocking holders with decorative stockings
- Winter: Realistic pine branches, flameless candles, brass candlesticks
- Spring: Decorative eggs, realistic flowers, cute little bunny figures
- Summer: Sea shells, coral, old bottles, small vintage-style art
I hope this gives you some ideas and inspiration as you’re styling your dining room or kitchen shelves! There are so many fun ways to use and display your everyday items, collections, and favorite pieces!
I hope this inspires you to put those special decorative items where you can see them and where they help create a cozy home for you and your family!
You may also enjoy these home decor blog posts:
- How to Decorate a Kitchen Shelf: Tips for Open Shelving
- How to Organize a Dining Room in 3 Easy Steps
- Easy Ideas to Decorate an Entryway Console Table: 4 Simple Steps
- How to Decorate Shelves in 7 Easy Steps: Simple Decor Series
- How to Decorate Kitchen Countertops – Easy Tips and Ideas: Simple Decor Series
Blessings,
Robyn
I gotta say, your blog pieces are some of the best on IG. And this shelf styling blog was so helpful and pointed out so many hints and tips for making an ordinary display extraordinary. You really could teach a class, write a book, do a tv show, anything! Not that you’d have the time to now, but maybe someday!
You do such an amazing job and I always look forward to your new posts.! Empty drawers – that’s always a good thing! It means there is room for new treasures that you find!