Antique items build their reputation on a lot of factors, from their date of making to the maker and the history related to it. Every piece of fine art holds some value that only becomes more valuable with time, like folk art and period furniture. China cabinets became popular in the 1600s after the queen of England introduced them as the cabinets for her collection of dishes. Soon enough, every rich person in Europe wanted a china closet of their own. Due to their popularity in history, antique china closets are still valuable.

Two types of china closets

The china closets were made at different times based on the requirements of the homeowners. While most wealthy families preferred the walk-in closets, others were interested in built-in cabinets, shelves, doors, and drawers. The walk-in closets were used for keeping dishes and platters. The smaller homes preferred built-in cabinets to save space and be more practical. Having a historic room in Europe can guarantee that you have one of the old built-in china closets. A larger number of antique china closets can be available with rich homeowners.
In the 1920s and 1930s, china closets became compact and more classic. Their practicality was reduced as people started using them as art pieces.

 

Many old homes in Europe today may still have the built-in china closets that were made in the early 1900s. You can search for them by looking at the antique store websites and references on the internet. If you want to make these patterns yourself just have a furniture stencil made.

How to find built-in china closets

 

The first step to finding a built-in china closet is to find a Victorian or Arts and Crafts-type home built between 1890 and 1920. You can locate the places where such houses were built. Once you know the place where the homes have built-in china closets, you can start picking your preferences based on the type of home. The homeowners may also have pictures of how the closets looked in the beginning. You can compare the images with how the closets look today. Make sure to know the right measurements before shopping. You can also find china closets at the architectural salvage suppliers. You can give your contact details to an agency that can alert you when they find any specific china closet that matches your description.

Online platforms are also a great way to look for antique items.
In a case where you fail to find a china closet on time, you can take the help of a local craftsman to recreate the china closet for you. Provide them with the images of how you expect your china closet to be. While switching to the new cabinets should not be your first option, you can bring back the old style with a fresh look to your home.