There are several rooms in my house that need attention. The hallway hasn’t been painted in years. The laundry has the atmosphere of a correctional facility. And one corner of the living room holds a chair nobody sits on, a lamp nobody likes and several objects I’m apparently keeping for legal reasons.
Naturally, I’ve decided to decorate the cupboard.
Not organise it. Decorate it. There is a difference, and I’m prepared to defend it at length.
I’ve been looking at wallpaper, brass handles and a very pretty little wall light. At one point I caught myself wondering whether the cupboard needed a chair. The cupboard is 1.5 metres wide.
And yet. You open the door expecting coats and a vacuum, and find the dressing room of a minor Victorian duchess. A duchess with a vacuum, admittedly.
Lose the door
Most cupboard doors were installed by someone whose chief concern was that the cupboard could be closed. Fair enough. But a full-length curtain in heavy linen or a faded stripe, hung from a scalloped pelmet, makes the whole thing softer. Hang it from just below the ceiling, not halfway down like a shower curtain in a student share house, and be generous with the fullness. A skimpy curtain is a sad thing, particularly when it’s being asked to do the job of architecture.
Renting? Keep the door somewhere safe. Your landlord may not appreciate theatrical entrances to the linen cupboard.
Upgrade the handles
One good handle can make a flat-pack wardrobe look as though it went to a better school. Measure the screw holes first. Nothing kills the romance like six beautiful knobs that don’t fit.
Wallpaper it
Small cupboards are where sensible people are allowed to make questionable decisions. That wildly expensive floral paper you’ve admired for years? Put it in the cupboard: the back wall, the ceiling, or the door panels if restraint has never been your strength. Nobody is coming to judge your coat cupboard. It’s decorating without a committee.
Light it like it matters
A cupboard with a proper wall sconce is inherently funny. It’s also lovely. Go warm: nobody needs to inspect their knitwear under dental-surgery lighting. A plug-in light works where wiring doesn’t; just keep it well clear of the fabrics.
Bloum Design via House Beautiful
Add one unnecessary thing
A small framed painting. A dish for spare buttons. A tassel on the handle. A portrait of a woman who looks deeply unimpressed with your folding.
The hallway still needs painting. The laundry is still a disgrace. And I’ve spent three weeks choosing a handle for a cupboard that worked perfectly well without one.
But every morning I open that door, and I’m delighted. The hallway will have to take it up with management.
Further temptations for a cupboard that didn’t ask for this
