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There are many things people collect, from teapots and horses, to collector plates and beanie babies. No matter what your weakness is when it comes to collecting things, you need a great way to display them that will attract attention and go well with the decor already in your home. Choosing a display cabinet to suit your decor needs is a major decision and the first thing you should decide on is the style you need.

When looking at these types of cabinet for your home, there are literally tons of styles to choose from. You will need to decide if you want a full wooden cabinet, or if you would prefer the look of solid glass. You will also need to decide whether or not you want your cabinet to be lit, as many of these cabinets come with a lighting option if you are willing to pay more for it.

The Many Different Styles

One of the most popular options for display cabinets is the corner display cabinet. This is because it takes up minimal space, comes in a wide variety of styles, can be lit or unlit, and if you get a floor to ceiling model, you will not have to worry about running out of room or your cabinet possibly taking up too much space. Corner display cabinets also come in many different finishes, from oak and teak to cherry and walnut. Your personal preference for the color of wood is your only limiting factor here.

If a corner cabinet does not suit your needs, then you might want to consider an antique display cabinet. Cabinets designed from the 1700s all the way up to the early 1900s are popular all across the country, especially in Victorian homes. The only problem with looking at antique curio cabinets is the fact that you will be paying quite a chunk of money for any piece you are looking at. This also gives rise to another problem, which is determining whether or not the piece is truly an antique. It can be hard to tell with all of the forgeries on the market, so purchasing an antique piece from a yard sale or garage sale might seem lucrative, but if you are truly looking for an antique piece, you will need to know how to spot the differences.

Aside from knowing exactly what to look for in an antique piece, you will also need to know what is a bargain, and what is not. If you truly love a piece and must have it, there is no price to small to pay, but if you are looking to get a great antique cabinet without paying too much, you will need to shop around. The best way to do this is to compare prices at several antique shops in your area. While no two antique pieces are the same, you should be able to ball park a price so you know what you can expect to spend on the cabinet of your dreams.

Styles For the Space Conscious

If you live in a smaller home or apartment, you may be wondering what display cabinet options you have without sacrificing more space in your already crowded home. The corner wall display cabinet is always an option, but a more space economical choice is the wall display cabinet.

This type of display cabinet can be hung on the wall similar to a picture frame. While they are not very large, they are capable of displaying your collection in great fashion, as they can hang over the couch or fireplace, which is something you can not achieve with any other type of cabinet. They also come in a wide variety of wooden finishes, though this type of cabinet is usually not featured in solid glass, nor are they lit. However, if you want to light them yourself, it is a great do-it-yourself project which you can undertake for minimal cost.

The Final Cost

The cost of any cabinet you decide on really depends on the style. Of course you should expect to pay more for any antique cabinet you like, but for a cheap corner display cabinet, it should not cost you more than a few hundred dollars. Even cheaper still are the wall hanging style cabinets which could be priced as low as $100, depending on the shop you are purchasing from.

If you are not keen on paying full price for any type of display cabinet for your home, then you might want to consider the do-it-yourself option. You can find an unfinished piece at cost which is priced much less than a finished piece. Finishing it yourself will be cheaper, and you will be able to obtain the exact look you want, with the many different kinds of finishes available on the market.

The students at a college or university might pay scant attention to any display cabinets, especially if they pass them almost everyday. However, when an institution of higher learning anticipates the arrival of alumni or other guests, then it might well want to perfect the contents of its standing or wall display cabinets.

Of course, the most well planned cabinet could well escape the notice of visiting alumni, if it is not in a well lighted and prominent location. Still, authorities at an institution might hesitate to move a darkly lighted antique display cabinet. They could then find it necessary to highlight that case.

That was the situation that faced one of the Seven Sisters’ colleges, back some thirty five years ago. That school wanted to put on display some items that related to its long history. In order to make sure that visitors did not fail to see the elaborate display, the school authorities arranged for a couple of the female students to don a 19th Century costume. Those students then stood adjacent to one of the designated antique display cabinets.

The same weekend that this all female institution placed costumed students next to assigned cabinets, it also arranged for the placement of clearly printed signs in the more than one glass display cabinet. That action underscores the importance of having bold and easily read signs in as many glass display cabinets as possible.

The faculty members who aided the above mentioned effort were largely members of the college’s biology department. Today, that department could easily put together a great display, one that could fill a large corner display cabinet. It could share with visitors the various ways that biology students are undertaking field work, in order to study various environmental issues.

Of course, if that corner case fell at the end of a long hall, it might well get examined by only the most ambitious of the college’s visitors. For that reason, this college might again want to ask students to highlight a display, by wearing a costume. On a special weekend, the college could ask one or more students to don the sort of attire that is used for collecting water samples from rivers, lakes and ponds.

Members of the art department at a college or university would have colorful items to put in a display case. Visitors might also like to learn about the process used for creation of those colorful items. Still, any effort to display examples of that process could go unnoticed, if they lacked the “pizzazz” of the final product. For that reason, the art department might schedule a time for putting next to the appropriate case, students dressed in an artist or sculptor’s clothes.

The PR department at any institution of higher learning should contact the librarian prior to any “big weekend.” On that weekend, the library display case ought to have interesting and captivating material. The display cabinet in the library would be a good place to show off items relating to one or more extracurricular activities. That cabinet could, for example, contain copies of the campus paper.

At PR department at a faith based institution should make certain that any case in the campus worship center has a well planned and noticeable display, on any weekend when visitors are expected. It would be good to have both examples of students’ thoughts on moral issues, as well as examples of students putting into action the various concepts of their faith.

The gymnasium at a college or university normally has some trophies in a glass or oak display cabinet. The people who oversee the items in that cabinet might want to highlight the trophies anytime that large numbers of guests are on campus. They might think about having uniformed members of one or more sports teams standing next to the trophy filled display case.

Actually, by working with faculty and a photographer, the PR department at a college or university should manage to arrange for a captivation display in a prominent case outside of every department office. That would include the offices of the mathematics department.

Unless the reader doubts the ability of anyone to design a captivating display for a mathematics department, then that reader needs to learn about a field trip once taken by a Calculus III class. The class professor wanted her female students to see the various land formations that can be “described” using the equations presented in a Calculus III textbook.

She took her students outside in February, when snow was on the ground. She pointed a wooden stick into a pile of snow, and asked for an equation that could describe the slope of that snow pile. If a photographer had captured that moment on film, it would have made a great addition to a display case.

This article will not attempt to predict the nature of display cabinets in the near or distant future. This article can not, however, play down the importance of highlighting any well planned cabinet.

This article has suggested a couple ways that an institution of higher learning could highlight the contents of any case that holds a well planned display. The reader should use those suggestions as a way to get thinking seriously about what might help draw attention to any items currently on display in one or more of the institution’s large or small cases.