How to Style a Small Hutch

We’re sharing how to style a small hutch with brown and white transferware today!

Every year about this time, I get the urge to do a MAJOR decluttering sesh. I start looking at the routines and rituals that are working well for us and the ones that are not working well at all.

Even before the year began I felt a significant need to declutter multiple areas of our life if I’m being completely honest though.

So, these past few months, I’ve been re-evaluating everything from the dishes we use every day to the bath towels hanging on our hooks to our weekend schedules.

While it might seem overwhelming to go through everything, it’s actually exciting to know from this point forward we’re saying goodbye to a house and lifestyle we merely like for one we truly love.

There is one thing I know that will probably never tire of though, and that’s my love of ironstone and transferware.

Not only is it really beautiful it’s also practical and utilitarian too. You can literally dress it up or down in every season!

Decorating with Transferware Collections and Ironstone…

My Mom and bestie S recently gifted me with a few new pieces of brown and white transferware for my birthday which was super sweet.

I know I’ve shared easy tips for styling a bookcase in the past. But I was so excited to add these to my collection that I wanted to share how to style a small hutch with brown and white transferware in case you might be adding new pieces to your collection as well.

If you don’t have a brown and white transferware or ironstone collection, no worries, these simple tips, and tricks will work with almost any collection!

Here’s a look at how to style a small hutch with brown and white transferware…

Step One: Gather the Collection Pieces You Want to Display

Before you get started styling and decorating, make sure your small hutch is clean and free from dirt and debris.

Then gather the collection pieces you want to display and lay them all out. This will help you see what you actually have and help you choose what you want to highlight.

It will also show you how well your color palette flows together. Brown and white transferware come in varying shades of brown from a pale caramel to rich chocolate.

Depending on the items in your collection, you might be able to mix and match these colors. Especially, if they have a similar tone or crazing.

Step Two: Style the Middle Shelf First

I know it might seem weird to style a small hutch with brown and white transferware by starting with the middle shelf, but it helps to set the tone for the entire hutch.

Especially given it’s the shelf you’re most likely to notice when you walk into the room.

Step Three: Add Pieces with Height to the Back

Place your taller pieces in the back so you can create vignettes with your smaller pieces in the front. This will help your collection have a more layered feel.

We use little wooden blocks like these all the time to help lift pieces up!

Step Four: Allow Triangles and Symmetry to Be Your Guide

Once you have the middle shelf like you want it and have started adding pieces with height to the back, style the other pieces around it allowing triangles and symmetry to be your guide.

 This was a really easy trick I learned when working for a designer with million-dollar clients.

Nearly every time we felt stuck on shelf styling, we would step back look for triangles and allow symmetry to be our guide. We would also make sure our color palette was consistent too.

Step Five: Add Life with Plants, Greenery, or Flowers

My preference will always be a tone-on-tone look for styling any hutch or bookcase. Honestly, I prefer most rooms that way because cutting down on visual clutter helps bring a sense of calm to any space.

That said, adding plants, greenery or flowers is a super simple way to bring life to a small hutch with brown and white transferware.

How to Style a Small Hutch: Things to Keep in Mind…

Now is a great time to freshen up the spaces in your home. You don’t have to completely redecorate unless you want to.

Sometimes streamlining your collections and celebrating them en masse in bookcases, hutches, buffets, and tabletops is enough to give the room a renewed sense of purpose and a feeling of tranquility.

So, get a game plan together and get started. You never know where your creativity might lead!

Other Bookcase and Hutch Ideas to Enjoy:

• Marrying a Farmhouse Hutch and Dresser
• 8 Easy Tips for Styling a Dining Room Hutch
• $12 Library Hutch
• Simple Tips and Tricks for Styling a Bookcase
• How to Turn a Display Case into a Bookcase

Many blessings,

CoCo