As we approach Thanksgiving and the infamous Black Friday sales, you might be hoping to snag one of the new HD or 3D televisions. In the past, when searching for a television, you would typically also search for a cabinet such as an armoire to hold it. However, with the latest generation of televisions being so thin and so wide, they are more often simply mounted on the wall. So what do we do with those armoires?

I see our customers admiring the exquisite carving and workmanship in these particular pieces, yet not knowing what exactly to do with them. So today I wanted to share some other creative uses for armoires.

Now you may still have a smaller television, perhaps now considered an antique, that you could use in your guest room. Those on the smaller scale could still fit inside most armoires. So why not give your guest bedroom the same special treatment as your master bedroom? I really feel this is a great place to splurge on some beautiful furniture, as your guests will get to enjoy something beautiful when they stay with you.

If you like the idea of combining beauty with practicality, how about repurposing an armoire to contain the perfect home office? Now that computers are so slick and compact, you could create an entire home office within that space. You would simply affix one of the shelves 30-31” above the ground to serve as your ‘desk’, and then add in the rest of the shelves according to your storage needs – leaving space at the bottom for your printer and other large storage items.

On the top, you could arrange any remaining shelves to hold related office items. Baskets, bins and tray organizers would be perfect for keeping things neat in this space.

Many of our customers tell me they are working on renovating their older homes built in the 1950s to the1970s. These homes are usually lacking in storage solutions, and an armoire is a wonderful, beautiful piece of furniture to use for storage. If you have a niche in a hallway or a spare wall in a room that could use a piece of furniture, this is a great place to tuck away your winter sweaters, extra pillows and blankets or household linens. An armoire could easily be added to any empty space, niche or corner to allow for this type of storage. Couldn’t you just imagine a beautiful armoire storing all your pretty linens?

Here are a few that I think would be lovely just to use for storage and to add design depth to a room.

Speaking of storage, have you considered using an armoire in a powder or master bathroom? You would probably have to look for a more narrow piece so you’d have enough clearance, but a beautiful armoire is a perfect place to store your soaps, linens and towels.

Check out these picturess of inventory from our shop of wonderful pieces that would be gorgeous in the perfect master bathroom:

Along with great storage, an armoire adds a wonderful element of warmth and elegance to any room. In my own house, I have a television hidden away in an armoire with all of my winter sweaters stored away in drawers below. I had my carpenter add the drawers in so I could use the bottom half for storage. I’m one of those that wants to be able to hide my television if I’m not watching it, what about you?

Another wonderful place for an armoire is a kitchen. A kitchen, you say? Yes, we love placing an armoire in a kitchen, especially one with chicken wire or glass to showcase all your lovely kitchenware. Don’t hide all your fabulous pieces behind solid doors – show them off!

Here are a couple from our shop that would be perfect in a kitchen.

Another great place is in lieu of a buffet in a breakfast room. This is a wonderful place to store tall items such as pitchers, vases, platters, and other everyday serving ware.

Here are some of my favorites from our shop that would be lovely in a breakfast room:

What do you think is the perfect spot for an armoire? Do you have one in your house? We’d love to know how you use it!