How to Display a Kitchen Hutch

Cover the hutch shelves with shelf paper, doilies or scarves to coordinate with your color scheme or create more contrast for your dish display. For example, if you have cream or white china, using a patterned, dark or bright shelf covering will add visual interest to the hutch display.

Cut wallpaper to fit the back of the hutch behind the shelves, if desired. Remove the shelves if they come out. Measure the height and width of the inside back of the hutch, and cut the paper to fit. Alternatively, measure the height and width of the space behind each shelf, if the shelves are stationary.

Use small dots of picture-hanging putty or museum wax along the back edges of the paper to hold the paper in place. This method makes it easy to change the paper when you want a new look.

Set all the dishes and other items you may want to display in the hutch on a table or counters nearby. Sort the items by priority. The most attractive items deserve priority in the hutch to create an appealing display. If the hutch is your main dish cabinet, select the dishes you want to keep in easy reach to go in the hutch.

Create shapes with your display to increase the visual impact of your hutch. For example, visualize a pyramid in the hutch's display area and put a dynamic item, such as a decorative platter, in the center of the top shelf at the apex of the pyramid. Display a high-impact item on each shelf to make the pyramid's shape, such as a pitcher 6 inches from the center on each side of the next shelf down and a large bowl 1 foot from the center on the shelf below the pitchers.

Continue angling the special pieces farther toward the ends of the shelves for as many shelves as you have. Arrange the less interesting and smaller pieces between the pieces that make up the pyramid. Alternatively, arrange your dishes in vertical rows with the best pieces at the front and center of each shelf.

Add one or more wire shelves to increase your space for dishes, if needed. For example stack bowls on the top of a wire shelf and dessert plates underneath. Hang a doily or scarf over the wire rack for a decorative effect, such as lace for antique dishes, colorful silk scarves for retro china or solid-colored natural fiber scarves for a sleek, updated kitchen.