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Dining Room Storage: The Ultimate Guide to Organizing Your Tableware

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tableware storage

In this post: Want to organize your dishes once and for all? Here’s how I transformed my dining room storage and finally organized my tableware for easy access.⇒

organizing plates and dishes

This is THAT post.

You know, the one I’ve been promising for a  long time.

Without a doubt, the one question I get asked more than any other is where I store all my dishes. For the longest time, that was an easy answer, as everything was well organized and I simply needed to photograph it and share.

But over time, even my systems has broken down.

Suddenly I realized, if I showed you what was behind those doors, you wouldn’t find it very helpful.  And at the same time, it had become difficult for me to find things when I needed them.

It looked something like this:

dish cabinet before organization

There were plates stacked on top of each other and layered 2 rows deep.  The chargers were impossible to get to because they were piled so high. The disorder on the top shelves caused me to knock things over to find and get to what I needed. 

And this same over-run system extended to all the storage pieces in the dining room, as well as beyond.

China in the basement. A mix of items in the butler’s pantry. And more spillover in the kitchen. 

It was time for a complete overhaul. 

dish cabinet

Empty the Cabinets

Let me start by saying, I begin all organizing projects the same way – by taking everything out. However, in this case, that wasn’t so easy to do.  I simply have too many dishes and tableware to unload and look at it all at one time.

But my rule is unbending.  In order for me to consider something organized, I have to be able to see and reach everything without difficulty. Likewise, to be able to find things without searching, all like items need to be kept together.

So, I emptied one piece of furniture at a time and placed everything on the dining table.  I then gathered all the similar items from the other cabinets and placed them there too. If I was going to do this in pieces, I had to be sure I could see everything in each category all together, in order to determine how much space was needed to house it.

I did a lot of looking and planning. I circled that table many times.

Then I diverted things on one side of the table to their new home, making room for the next category to be gathered there to be assessed and reassigned.

tableware cabinet

Divide Everything Into Categories

Before I could separate everything into categories, I had to determine what defined a category. Some things were obvious like stemware or candles. But other things were less obvious. Would all plates go together?  Or would dinner sets be isolated by pattern.  Would salad plates be stored with dinner plates? Or would dishes be divided by size, color, occasion or formality?

I decided to keep china sets as one category and casual plates as another and hence they would be stored separately.

plate storage

Decide Where You Will Store Each Category

You may remember a few months ago, when, in anticipation of this project and to temporarily solve the overflow of dishes and other tabletop items, I created space in a closet near the dining room to store some of my surplus tableware collection.

It was a great fix in the meantime, adding much needed additional storage, but it didn’t solve the problem of overall disorder and the goals of ease and accessibility.

Now with a complete plan to address the tableware in its entirety, I could use the new closet system for the first category that I would put back in a more permanent spot.

Hence, I added a few more “H” shelves to maximize the storage available and this is where I decided to house my varied collections of casual plates. I included both dinner and salad sizes and made sure each shelf had only one pattern.

This solved my key goal of being able to see what I have and to be able to reach it without having to move things stored on top.

china cabinet

Put the Prettiest Items Where They Will Be Seen

This should be fairly obvious, yet, remarkably, I had previously stored my china behind the closed doors on the bottom of the china cabinet. I had one set packed away in the basement and another partial set sitting on the bar cart.

Now, perhaps most people don’t even need to find storage for 4 sets of china, but I’m at that weird stage in life where I’ve acquired china from my mom and my mother-in-law, yet my kids are not married yet and ready for china to be passed on to them.  So, fortunately the 4 sets peacefully coexist and I’ve determined to move them to the top of the cabinet where they can be seen and often appreciated.

If you’ve seen my table settings, you know I frequently mix them together anyway!

china storage

Use Shelf Helpers to Make Access Easier

Arguably the single biggest improvement to entire storage system was adding helper shelves to my lower cabinets, making it possible for me to separate each set of charger plates so I could grab the set I want without moving the heavy sets stacked above them. This has made table setting infinitely easier and never again will I choose my chargers based on which ones I could reach because the set I really wanted was too difficult to get to.

storing chargers

Move the Stemware Near the Drinks

If you are lucky enough to have a butler’s pantry, it’s a great place to store all of your stemware. As long time readers know, our home did not come with this space, and instead it was a closet that we converted for this purpose. 

In the past it displayed both plates and glassware and while I loved the way that looked, it makes much more sense to keep all of our stemware together so I always know where to find it.

If you don’t have such a space, you might commandeer a buffet in the dining room or study, or even in a cabinet in a corner of the kitchen. The main thing is to keep everything together and preferably near where the spirits will be poured.

butler’s pantry stemware storage

Don’t Forget About Outdoor Dishes

Living in a townhouse with our patio right off the kitchen, we don’t often set up formal meals outside.  Nonetheless, we do have casual get togethers that spill onto the patio, so I keep outdoor dishes and drinkware for these occasions. Since they’re not used that frequently I opted to use the bottom cabinets in the pantry to store these items and keep them gathered together. 

This is another category that was previously scattered about the house, so it’s a pleasure to always know where to find them.

plate storage in cabinet

Use Drawers for Smaller Items

The sideboard in our dining room is not my favorite piece, yet it provides some extra storage that comes in handy pretty often.  At the top there are two drawers that I use for storing napkin rings, divided into sets in simple ziplock bags.

(Some day I may paint this piece, but it’s really a bit too small. It’s one of the few pieces left in our home that instead might be replaced. Time will tell… ;-))

napkin rings storage

What About Those Odd Shaped Items?

There’s always those one-off odd shaped items that don’t belong in a category and can’t be neatly lined up like soldiers. This comprises things like small vases or large candle holders, but might include other oddities that belong nowhere else. I do my best to make sure to keep only things I use, so this group is pared down and requires less in the way of storage.  I’m keeping them in the sideboard in rows as orderly as possible.

Larger vases are either kept out on display or in an upper cabinet in the kitchen, so this is really limited to outliers.

sideboard cabinet

In the corner of our dining room we keep a petite bar cart with a small cluster of vintage crystal decanters. This is one of several spots around our home where tableware can be found both in use and for a pretty flourish. These vignettes are often reserved for favorite items which should never need to be stored away.

But they should also be taken into account as part of your storage plan because they offer a home to these items.

bar cart in dining room

I can’t tell you how good it feels to finally have my tableware neatly organized. This will make entertaining and setting my tables a whole lot easier and hence infinitely more enjoyable.

Now all we need is to end the quarantine so we can have an opportunity to have guests around our table!

dining room

Dining Room Storage Resource List

To get the look, click on the items below for direct links to the products. Where actual items were no longer available, I’ve provided many similar options. 

(This post contains some affiliate links for your convenience. Click here to read my full disclosure policy.)

organizing your tableware

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19 Comments Filed Under: Lifestyle, Organizing   Tagged With: dining room storage

« Home Style Saturdays 186 | A Place for Inspiration for Styling Your Home
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Comments

  1. Judy Eichner says

    Tuesday, April 14, 2020 at 1:46 pm

    This is great! I am now inspired to organize my China cabinet and buffet. The family china as well as the china cabinet was passed down to me when my Father passed away but I just combined it with my china and collectibles, but never organized it all. Now’s the time for me to organize it and display my Grandmother’s China in the top of the cabinet where it can be seen. Thank you for this post and the inspiration!

    Reply
    • Lory at Designthusiasm says

      Tuesday, April 14, 2020 at 2:16 pm

      Thank you, Judy, and I’m so glad you were inspired! I had very much the same situation, where I was organized until I started fusing into my own collection bits of other people’s collections. Part of cleaning out is also knowing what to keep and what to let go of, so you can appreciate what’s left… 🙂

      Reply
  2. Leslie says

    Tuesday, April 14, 2020 at 4:32 pm

    Wow! This is wonderful! Thank you for sharing! I have a weakness for dishes but your collection makes me weak in the knees! So beautiful and sooo beautifully organized!

    Reply
  3. Deb says

    Tuesday, April 14, 2020 at 5:53 pm

    Beautiful and very well organized! I wish I had room for more!

    Reply
  4. Tj says

    Wednesday, April 15, 2020 at 10:03 am

    Great job making your dish collection look so stunning and organized. So beautiful.

    Reply
  5. Susan says

    Thursday, April 16, 2020 at 9:07 pm

    Gosh girl, you have a lot of dishes. A weakness of mine too.

    Reply
  6. [email protected] says

    Saturday, May 16, 2020 at 9:04 am

    hi lory, sharing on the weekend edit sometime today ;0)
    This storage closet of plates calms me! xo laura in Colorado

    Reply
    • Lory at Designthusiasm says

      Saturday, May 16, 2020 at 7:27 pm

      Thanks!! yeah, I’m like that too. I need organization to be calm… 🙂

      Reply
  7. Barbara at Mantel and Table says

    Saturday, May 16, 2020 at 9:27 pm

    That must have been so fun Lory – I love organizing if I actually have a place to put things! 😉 Congrats on getting it all done! 💗 Happy Saturday!

    Reply
  8. Ellen says

    Sunday, May 24, 2020 at 9:36 pm

    Love the storage for your dishes. I have several sets of casual and fine china. The issue I found is COFFEE CUPS and MUGS. Sheesh, does anyone use those anymore for meals other than breakfast? They take up so much room.
    Thanks for sharing!

    Reply
    • Lory at Designthusiasm says

      Sunday, May 24, 2020 at 10:14 pm

      Yes! That is so true. For the coffee/tea cups that come with the china sets, I nest 2 or 3 together. Mugs I keep in a kitchen cabinet. I use only white mugs so I can keep them in the glass front cabinets, but hubby loves those mugs with school logos or teams on them. You can be sure those are hidden behind wood cabinet doors… 😉

      Reply
  9. Alice Genzlinger says

    Friday, June 12, 2020 at 9:12 am

    This is my first time responding to your post because the font is so hard to see but organization I should say is my thing. I really dislike to dust so every one of my dishes are behind doors. Your idea to turn a closet into China storage. Is ideal.

    Reply
    • Lory at Designthusiasm says

      Saturday, June 13, 2020 at 10:19 pm

      I’m so glad it resonated with you!

      As for the font, are you reading on your phone? Is it the size, color or the font itself? I keep making it larger and darker, but when people are reading on tiny devices, it’s still hard to see. Not sure what else to do as its nearly black now. If you are reading on your phone, perhaps if you turn it sideways, the font gets larger. Maybe that will help?

      Reply
  10. Sharon says

    Saturday, June 13, 2020 at 3:53 pm

    Lory, you’ve got some great tips here! Thanks. I have a thing for all kinds of plates but you’ve got quite the stash too! I have to ask though, where did you get those gorgeous candle hurricanes on your dining room table?

    Reply
    • Lory at Designthusiasm says

      Saturday, June 13, 2020 at 10:31 pm

      Thanks for the kind words, Sharon! You can find the hurricanes here: https://rstyle.me/+SBvL86tTSjORXvtpO5nxbA

      Reply
  11. Susan says

    Tuesday, December 29, 2020 at 3:48 pm

    I love that painted detail small sideboard that’s below the mirror with the wine glasses on top of it. I think it’s adorable the way it is. Don’t paint it because it’s unique and it’s not mass produced and white trendy. I love your organization skills with trying to tame all of those dishes. I have dishes for just about all of the seasons and some odd holidays. I love the H shelves. I might invest in those because they will break up different sets of dishes so that I will be able to see without constantly moving things just to get to a single set etc.. Love your ideas

    Reply
    • Lory at Designthusiasm says

      Tuesday, December 29, 2020 at 6:00 pm

      Thank you, Susan!

      Regarding the sideboard, too late… 😉 It’s already painted. I actually like the room much better now, but I understand if it’s not your thing. Here’s how it came out: https://designthusiasm.com/white-chalk-paint-vintage-sideboard/

      Reply
  12. Eileen says

    Saturday, January 23, 2021 at 10:36 am

    I love everything you have…..except those SKULLS!! Yikes. I’m French vintage all the way. NO skulls, lol.

    Reply
    • Lory at Designthusiasm says

      Saturday, January 23, 2021 at 2:50 pm

      Are you referring to my Halloween candles that are in the cabinet?

      Reply

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Want to organize your tableware once and for all? Want to organize your tableware once and for all? ⁣
⁣
If you like to entertain as much as I do and you collect a ton of dishes and accessories to set a pretty table, you probably store your growing collection all over the house.⁣
⁣
Here's how I conquered my dining room storage and finally organized my tableware for easy access! ⁣
⁣
LINK IN BIO for details.
Sometimes being organized requires a creative appr Sometimes being organized requires a creative approach to storage solutions. ⁣
⁣
If you run out of space in the obvious places, you have to think outside the box and look for unusual, albeit convenient, places to keep your stuff.⁣
⁣
Click the LINK IN BIO for 8 surprising places that I store things!
The most effective kitchen organization begins in The most effective kitchen organization begins in the most often used places. ⁣
⁣
As crazy as I am about being organized, I kept putting off our under sink cabinet because it seemed so difficult to fit anything in there in terms of storage systems.⁣
⁣
With pipes running in several directions, I finally decided to take it on and it was so simple, I can't believe I put it off this long!⁣
⁣
Check my LINK IN BIO for simple ways to declutter your under sink cabinet.
Have you got a reproduction piece of painted furni Have you got a reproduction piece of painted furniture that looks more forced than timeworn? ⁣
⁣
You can save it with chalk paint!⁣
⁣
Check my LINK IN BIO for details on how to upgrade a painted chest of drawers!
A few months ago I was tired of looking at my daug A few months ago I was tired of looking at my daughters awful bath, but we just weren't ready to do the full renovation.⁣
⁣
Are you looking to update a builder grade bathroom? ⁣
⁣
Check out these bathroom makeover ideas to help you upgrade your bathroom on a super tight budget!⁣
⁣
Find it at the LINK IN BIO.
Looking for organizing hacks to keep your home ord Looking for organizing hacks to keep your home orderly? ⁣
⁣
You might want to think about banishing these 12 things from your home!⁣
⁣
LINK IN BIO.
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