Vintage Christmas Cupboard

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Inspired by the vintage cardboard Christmas houses I found, I put together this little Vintage Christmas Cupboard in my dining room. I’m excited to show you how it came together.

Vintage Christmas Cabinet Decorating Ideas #christmas #vintage #putz #holiday #decor #ideas

Can you believe it’s already the week of Thanksgiving? This year has flown by, but it seems that November has gone even faster. I had a long list of ideas for the blog, and even though I worked constantly, I was hoping to get more done. Many of you have told me how much you enjoy the holiday content here on IBC, so I’m doing my best to give you all I can.

Having said that, I must confess that my creativity and mental fuel tank are just about tapped out. Although I had intended to fill your feeds with a new post every day this week, I’ve decided to take the rest of the week off and return to blogging on Monday. I’m heading home for a few days to celebrate Thanksgiving, and then it’s back to work on Sunday. It’s not a long break, but I’m hoping a couple of days in the bosom of my family will give me the recharge I need. I hope you also get a little break this week to reenergize and fortify yourself for the month ahead.

Now that I’ve shared my plans, let me show you my vintage Christmas cupboard.

Vintage Christmas Cupboard:

I debated whether to post this. I think it’s super cute, but it has issues, and in some ways, doesn’t feel “good enough” for the blog. Still, I think there’s beauty in the imperfect, so I’m sharing it and hoping you enjoy it.

 Vintage Christmas Cabinet Decorating Ideas #christmas #vintage #putz #holiday #decor #ideas

I picked up this cabinet this past summer. I found it thanks to my blogger friend Bre of brepurposed. She lives in Ohio and spotted it at an antique shop that happens to be only an hour or so from me. Bre wasn’t planning to purchase the cabinet, so I decided to go check it out. As you can see, it came home with me. It’s just the right size for this corner of my dining room.

If you’re interested, you can see more of my dining room Christmas decor here.

 Vintage Christmas Cabinet Decorating Ideas #christmas #vintage #putz #holiday #decor #ideas

 Vintage Christmas Cabinet Decorating Ideas #christmas #vintage #putz #holiday #decor #ideas

The cupboard’s been collecting junk for the past few months so I decided to give it a mini-makeover. The interior was previously painted brown to match the wood, so I painted over the brown with a brighter paint color. I also replaced the shelves since the old ones were falling apart. As you can see, I did a terrible job matching the stain color of the new shelves to the color of the cabinet. In my defense, the stain color on the can looked like the perfect match. I will likely end up staining some new shelves, but this works well enough for now. Perfectly imperfect!

A couple of weekends ago I spotted these little Putz paper Christmas houses on sale at a local antique store. I thought that when paired with some of my white serving pieces, this little village would make the cutest vintage-inspired Christmas cupboard.

 Vintage Christmas Cabinet Decorating Ideas #christmas #vintage #putz #holiday #decor #ideas

 Vintage Christmas Cabinet Decorating Ideas #christmas #vintage #putz #holiday #decor #ideas

 Vintage Christmas Cabinet Decorating Ideas #christmas #vintage #putz #holiday #decor #ideas

So I filled and styled the shelves, and the cupboard was complete.

I’ve been wanting a collection of little paper houses like this for years, so I’m thrilled to finally have them. I did mix in a couple of new houses that are meant to look like the old ones. It doesn’t bother me to combine new with old as long as the items look good together.

 Vintage Christmas Cabinet Decorating Ideas #christmas #vintage #putz #holiday #decor #ideas

 Vintage Christmas Cabinet Decorating Ideas #christmas #vintage #putz #holiday #decor #ideas

 Vintage Christmas Cabinet Decorating Ideas #christmas #vintage #putz #holiday #decor #ideas

I also added a few other antique finds, including a bowl of vintage cookie cutters. I’ve been collecting cutters with red or green handles as well as pine tree-shaped ones. Why? I’m not sure. I suppose I get overwhelmed looking through piles of cookies cutters. Having a few favorites in mind helps to narrow my focus when I’m out antiquing.

 Vintage Christmas Cabinet Decorating Ideas #christmas #vintage #putz #holiday #decor #ideas

 Vintage Christmas Cabinet Decorating Ideas #christmas #vintage #putz #holiday #decor #ideas

 Vintage Christmas Cabinet Decorating Ideas #christmas #vintage #putz #holiday #decor #ideas

I also found wood-handled kitchen tools on my antique adventures, so I tucked those in, too. They are nestled in my favorite baking pans from Staub. I often get questions about these pans when I share my recipes. I have them linked on my shop page if you’re interested.

And that’s it. My little cupboard is dressed for Christmas. As I said, it’s not perfect. But sometimes good enough is good enough. Right?

 Vintage Christmas Cabinet Decorating Ideas #christmas #vintage #putz #holiday #decor #ideas

 Vintage Christmas Cabinet Decorating Ideas #christmas #vintage #putz #holiday #decor #ideas

 Vintage Christmas Cabinet Decorating Ideas #christmas #vintage #putz #holiday #decor #ideas

I hope you enjoyed this look at more of my Christmas decor. I’ll meet you back here next week with more recipes, peeks into my home, and Christmas decoration ideas!

Have a blessed and happy Thanksgiving. May you be filled with love, gratitude, and turkey!

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18 Comments

  1. I love the cabinet and the decorating you did inside. I truly did not notice the different color of the shelf stain until you mentioned it! So, when people come over to visit – don’t mention it! lol. Hope you had a good rest & visit with your family.

  2. Hi Michael,
    I agree with the other people commenting. I think you did a beautiful job with your cabinet. I too love mixing old with new and I am tired of all the bloggers over decorating their homes or over styling vignettes. I have stopped perusing most blogs because of that. A little less is more touch is needed more often. I love your posts and have enjoyed your decorating skills. You have done a fabulous job on your home and you are definitely gifted in this area.
    Happy Thanksgiving!

  3. Hey Michael, your sweet cabinet looks great and I love how you are willing to mix new with old. I’ve grown weary of bloggers who place the word “antique” in front of every item they describe. Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family.

  4. I love your little cabinet, just the way it is. I even like the shelves not being a perfect match. You are such a talented decorator, I love your style. Happy Thanksgiving, enjoy your family time.

  5. I love the sweet simplicity of your darling cabinet. It looks like one that my beloved grandmother had in her home. It held all of her sewing notions, colorful threads,ribbons, buttons and lots of different scissors. Great job Michael, it’s beautiful!

  6. I love the rustic simplicity of the cabinet and how you’ve styled it with household objects and holiday treasures. It reminds me of long-ago Christmases at my grandparents’ house. Thank you for the warm memories.

  7. I love this Michael! I love decor that is rich with a story to tell and your touch seems to always find that! Perfect doesn’t have to be “ new” in my eyes. Anyone can walk into Pottery Barn (or any big store) and find beautiful things, but they lack the curated mix of old and new. Your spaces always inspire me, not just because of how they look but most importantly how they make me feel. Happy Thanksgiving!

  8. Michael, I have noticed that not being “good enough” seems to be a recurrent theme of yours, so please allow me to share just why I love your blog so much…while there are certainly many over the top, unstoppable, do it all bloggers out there, I find them to be unauthentic and frankly, a bit off-putting. I can never achieve what they are doing, so why even try? I come back to you for blog posts and Instagram inspiration again and again because of the quiet beauty, the thoughtful elegance and the feeling that, yes, I can do that too. Anyone can go to the big box stores and buy everything on the shelf, but only a true talent and lovely spirit can take something old from an antique shop and make it beautiful!! Take the rest you need and enjoy your holiday with family and find peace in being who you are, which is most certainly good enough!!

    1. Yes. I need to work on the whole “good enough” thing. It’s definitely a challenge of mine. Thank you so much for your beautiful and thoughtful insights and comments. They really do mean the world to me. Happy Thanksgiving, Tessa!

      xo Michael

  9. Michael, I am newer to your blog and it is now my favorite. You truly are gifted and I so enjoy your posts and personal style. I pray the time with family fills you to abundance! Thank you for giving so much of yourself and for sharing and inspiring others.

  10. Oh Michael, this brought tears to my eyes. I have similar putzes that were my grandparents’ from the ’30’s and ’40’s I believe. This year I’m determined to give them some tender loving care (repairing the cellophane windows). I also have just a few of the cookie cutters with the green handles. I hang them in my kitchen windows from thin red ribbon. Thanks for sharing this bit of nostalgia that has so much meaning to me and, I’m sure, many of your readers. I wonder if you ever heard of this decorating trick my mother used to do. Mom told me that she would make a thin mixture of baking soda, or cornstarch, and water and use a cotton ball to “dot” snowflakes on the windows so it always looked like it was snowing! It was also easy to remove with a damp paper towel. I resurrected this sweet tradition using stencil brushes in different sizes to give depth and movement to the snowflakes. Has anyone else ever heard of this? Once again you touched my heart. Many thanks and much gratitude to you and your awesome blog.