Decorating a hutch
Decorating a hutch can be challenging, but I have a few tips to make it a snap.
If you don’t recognize this room, it’s our mountain home, CEDAR RIDGE. It is available for vacation rentals year-round, so please check it out. The views are extraordinary. This is a no-filter picture I took with my phone. It looks even more amazing in person. Some of the mountain peaks in the distance are obscured from view due to the clouds. The collander shown can be found (affiliate link) HERE.
You can see the fall view HERE and the winter view HERE. I honestly didn’t want to spend much styling this hutch. Really it’s a wall shelf, but because I have it above our buffet, it looks more like a hutch.
I like to include something fresh from my yard if I can. It obviously doesn’t last forever, but looks so fresh and happy. These blooms smell delicious!! There is probably something in your yard right now that would look scrumptious in your home.
Check out the latest podcast episode
EPISODE 77 SNEAK PEAK AT THE 2018 HOME DECOR TRENDS
I had a booth at Round Top and an online shop for 2 years. When I closed it a few months ago, I had a few things left over. I wrapped up some of the things and brought them here.
Here are a few tips for styling your hutch.
- Use a limited color palette. Using few colors means it all looks like it goes together. If you use a lot of color, it can still look great, but takes more skill to pull off the look.
- Use museum putty. It will keep everything in place. If something were to bang against this shelf, everything should stay in place since I used putty to hold the platters against the back. (affiliate link) CLICK HERE FOR MUSEUM PUTTY
- White platters are always in style. They work well in almost any home and with almost any decor style. I found some for a great price (affiliate link) HERE.
- Less is more. Well as a collector, I wish it weren’t true, but too much stuff will make your hutch look cluttered. Try paring it down to the minimum. Then if you need to you can always add more. As I say I brought some things from Texas, so I don’t have a lot here. I could add more to the shelf later, but it looks fine the way it is.
- Keep the top clear. I recommend not putting anything on the top of your hutch or shelf. I think it just looks cleaner. If you really want something up there, I would stick with one big thing, rather than a bunch of little things. I know not everyone agrees, so go with what you want.
We went to the farmer’s market, so we got overrun with peaches and tomatoes. That’s my kind of problem.
I love the way the sun pours into the room. If you have any tips for styling a hutch, please drop them in the comments.
Your hutch looks perfect between those 2 windows and it’s decorated so nicely, I love how it looks. Museum putty-great tip! Thanks
North Carolina mountains – pretty every season of the year! Such a lovely room!
Your dining room is lovely. I like the way you have your hutch. I have some lovely square white china plates that my husbands’ grandmother made, I intersperse them with my Blue Willow and it looks very nice. I have used Museum putty, I read about it years ago in a magazine.
I love it here in the NC mountains. Your hutch looks great and so do those tomatoes and peaches!
Penny, I’m enjoying seeing the progress on your home.
I have been thinking of getting the same chairs you have around your table for my kitchen. Are they comfortable and are they “weighty” enough to feel substantial? I enjoy your blog!!!
Yes they are comfortable. Weighty? I don’t know about that. I don’t know if I would say they feel ‘substantial’ but they work for us. Thank you!!!
Anita where can you buy the chairs?
They are from World Market.
Anita, you always have great & helpful tips, ie. museum putty, using white plates, etc.
In my home, I change out the plates by season – brownstone for fall & winter, Christmas plates during the holidays, & floral or a spring color for spring & summer. It’s simple & creates interest. I like change & enjoy the seasons. Also, for years I’ve had silk grapevine ivy on top of my large hutch with it dangling down ever so slightly on the sides. This adds texture & greenery.
On another note, I love, love, love your podcasts!
Great idea to change the plates with the seasons. Yay on the podcast!!
Museum putty. Hmmmm. I really DO learn something new everyday. 🙂
Oh yes, it’s magic.
I LOVE the hutch set up! It is wonderful! Did you add a top to 2 dressers or is that a buffet underneath it? I love the hutch shelf on top. Can they be purchased or are they one of a kind? I really love this post! I would love it if you did a post on how you married the top and bottom. It looks amazing!
Karen, that is a very large antique buffet from Europe. The top is also an antique. I didn’t plan to put them together, but couldn’t find a place for the top, so it ended up here.
Karen, that is a very large antique buffet from Europe. The top is also an antique. I didn’t plan to put them together, but couldn’t find a place for the top, so it ended up here.
Karen, that is a very large antique buffet from Europe. The top is also an antique. I didn’t plan to put them together, but couldn’t find a place for the top, so it ended up here.
Museum putty – great tip. My mom used museum putty all the time. She even used it to hold up lightweight decor on the walls. I used to tease her by saying if all the putty gave out at the same time, her house would fall apart. That memory makes me smile! Thanks for sharing your great tips and style.
That is so cute Cindy!!
goodness, I didn’t realize you lived in Houston ! So do I, in the Galleria area in a condo building at Post Oak Blvd & San Felipe !!! We absolutely must meet soon. I would so enjoy it. As I mentioned, I adore Yvonne and hope we find time to fit me into one of her podcasts soon. Please reach out to me when you have time. I cannot tell you how much bloging has mean to me. Sending love, Marsha
Marsha, I would love that! Yes I’m in the Heights, not too far away. I’ll try to touch base with you in August.
Where to find museum putty?
The link is in the post. Here it is again. CLICK HERE
You can never have too many tomatoes or peaches! Love the uncluttered hutch. I’m workin’ on it!
Have a relaxing stay?
Ginger
Beautiful home! I use museum putty. I learned my lesson the hard way about plate stands slipping off a shelf. ‘-(
I didn’t know not to decorate the top shelf. Good tip. Thanks.
Anita:
My husband and I have the privilege of staying at your Cedar Ridge Mountain retreat in late Oct. We look forward to our stay and discovering the area around Asheville and Black Mountain.
Oh that’s is marvelous!! I hope you enjoy it. We’ve trimmed the trees some more, so the views are amazing! October will be such a nice time to visit
Anita:
Out here in California we use Quake putty which is essentially museum putty but at a much better price! 2.64 ounces for $3.97 instead of $12.00 for 3 ounces for museum putty.
https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_2?url=search-alias%3Dtoys-and-games&field-keywords=quake+putty
Love all of this! Do you mind sharing where the chairs are from? Thanks for showing us your decorating tips and tricks!
Carolyn M.
Those are from World Market. I don’t think they have any more, but it’s worth checking.
I love how you used the colander. and those chairs!!!! All the heart eyes!!
I never thought of using museum putty…thanks for this tip!!
What a gorgeous view and you do a beautiful job of decorating the interior! Thanks for the tip about museum putty. I hadn’t ever thought to use it, but that is a great idea. Thank you for sharing!
It’s so helpful to save your dishes.
Anita, your mountain home is beautiful. I live in Charlotte and we spend a lot of time in the mountains and I think your view is spectacular. You are a lucky duck. I appreciate your thoughts on decorating a hutch. It is very tempting to display all the pretty things you have. One of the first posts I ever wrote was called “Don’t Get Knick Nack Paddywhacked” and it was basically about the importance of editing and curating your decorative accessories. Thank you for sharing your expertise on Share Your Style.
Great tip on the museum putty. I will have to try it out. The hutch/shelf looks great with all those white accents. Love it. Thanks for sharing at #HomeMattersParty
Oh yes I love museum putty.
Love that wall shelf/hutch, and the room really looks comfortable and inviting. The Blue Ridge mountains are so pretty.
Pat