52 Projects – Number Six – China and an organized China Cabinet

I got a delivery a few weeks ago – check this out: 

These were BIG boxes, and they were heavy. I had no idea they were coming – my cousin David called me to tell me he had a special delivery from my Mom. J It took some arranging with my other cousin Terry (who I talked about here), but eventually the boxes made their way to me.

That may not seem like a big deal, except for the distance – my Mom lives in Ontario and I’m in Alberta, so these boxes came across three time zones, four provinces and about 2700 kilometers.

This was what I found inside: 

An almost full set of dishes from my Great Grandmother. It’s a very delicate flower pattern, which is beautiful.  A covered serving dish, bowls, plates, cups were all inside the boxes: 

The handles and edges are gold leafed, and it’s a beautiful set that has obviously seen a lot of love and use over the years. The gold is worn in spots on the massive serving platter.

This is a wonderful gift, but the big question for me was – ‘where do I put everything?’ There are a LOT of dishes.

I’d been wanting to organize our china cabinet in the family room, so this was my incentive to get started.

This was what I started with. What a mess – this was a place we’d stuffed books and odds and ends – then promptly ignored: 

It sure didn’t make a good impression when we had company over. It’s right beside our fireplace (you can see the brick on the far left), and our family room TV is on top – so you can’t miss our big, hot mess.

So, I cleaned it out and packed up the books. We plan to build a bookcase in the basement this summer, so they’ll be unpacked when that’s finished. 

It looks so much better already! The clutter is gone J

Then I started staging the bookcase – it took longer than I thought it would. 

Slowly, I got things put on the shelves. I have a doll collection from my late Aunt that I put in with the dishes. 

After about an hour of arranging and rearranging, I came up with this: 

I’m amazed at how much better the china cabinet looks. Great Gran’s dishes are out for everyone to see – and it’s a china cabinet again, instead of a junk collector J

One more project done – while I may not be doing one a week, I’m proud of myself.

Cheers! Kim