Wall-Hung and Small Display Cabinets: Saving Space

A small display cabinet makes it possible for a collection to have its place even in a one-room flat. It stands on a chest of drawers, under a window, in the hallway, and shows what would otherwise lie in a drawer: glasses, porcelain, a collection, everything too beautiful to stand unprotected. This article explains what counts as small, how to place one, the difference from narrow and low, and which small old display cabinets exist, including the wall-hung display cabinet. It is part of our large guide to the display cabinet.

What counts as a small display cabinet

Under 120 cm tall and under 80 cm wide, a display cabinet is small. Three forms are common. The tabletop display cabinet, 40 to 70 cm tall, intended for a chest of drawers, a sideboard or a desk, often with glass on all four sides. The low freestanding cabinet, 90 to 120 cm tall, with glazed doors and sometimes a drawer, which serves as a surface for setting things down with a display beneath. The wall display cabinet or hanging display cabinet, 50 to 90 cm, hung on the wall with a glazed door, as was usual in the 1950s. A small glass case for keys or collectables is the fourth form, but more of a frame than a piece of furniture.

Small, narrow or low: what you need

The three words are used interchangeably but mean different things. A narrow display cabinet is tall and narrow, for a narrow wall of full ceiling height. A low display cabinet is wide and low, a sideboard with glazed doors. A small display cabinet is both low and narrow and the only one that works on a chest of drawers, under a window or against a sloping ceiling. If you have full ceiling height but little width, look for narrow. If you have width but want a piece to set things on, it is low.

Placement: the five places

On the chest of drawers: a tabletop display cabinet on a chest of drawers of the same colour makes a tall piece with storage and display, and solves the problem that old chests of drawers are too low to carry a picture. Under the window: a low small cabinet under a window receives daylight from above and glows without lighting. In the hallway: a small display cabinet 30 cm deep with a drawer is the most practical hallway furniture there is. In the bedroom: as a bedside table with glass, for perfume and jewellery, see also Chests of drawers and bedside tables. In the children’s room: a collection of toys or stones behind glass turns a child’s room into a room rather than a box.

Hanging or wall display cabinet: hung or standing

Searches for hanging display cabinets, hanging glass cabinets and display cabinets to hang up are numerous, and the answer is the same as for wall furniture in general: it works, but seldom as well as it looks in the photograph. A glass wall display cabinet with contents weighs 15 to 30 kg and needs fixing into solid masonry or concrete, not plasterboard. Old hanging display cabinets from the 1950s often have fixings that were not designed for the heavy glass of today. We restore wall cabinets, but for the same effect we recommend a small standing display cabinet on a chest of drawers, without the risk. If you want to hang one regardless, have the fixing done by a tradesman and use heavy-duty plugs at no fewer than two fixing points. Whether a hanging display cabinet in white or in glass: the weight decides, not the look.

Old small display cabinets: what exists

Small display cabinets are rarer than large ones, because most older display cabinets were built as salon furniture. Those that exist are mainly tabletop display cabinets from 1900 to 1930, often in mahogany with faceted glass, and small freestanding display cabinets of the 1940s in birch. The Louis XVI form on a small scale, 100 to 120 cm tall with one drawer, is what we most like to redesign: it takes black lacquer and a new fabric interior like our larger cabinets, as with the black Rococo display cabinet with matching chest of drawers. Anyone looking for a truly small piece for a collection will often find the same dimensions in the small drinks cabinet with a glazed door.

Price and alternatives

New small display cabinets cost €80 to €400 and are made almost exclusively of steel and glass or coated chipboard. Old tabletop display cabinets cost €50 to €300 at auction and are often in good condition because they never had to carry anything heavy. Restored and redesigned by us, small display cabinets usually cost €800 to €1,300. You will find current pieces in the Display cabinets category. The choice of colour is even more important with a small cabinet than a large one, because it often stands on another piece of furniture: read the colour guide and Black display cabinet.

Frequently asked questions

How small can a display cabinet be and still be useful?

Around 40 cm tall and 40 cm wide holds two shelves of glass or a collection. Smaller than that, it is a mini display case.

Can a small display cabinet stand on the floor?

Yes, if it is at least 90 cm tall. Lower cabinets on the floor sit below eye level and look forgotten. Put them on a chest of drawers or a table.

Does a small display cabinet need lighting?

Rarely. If it stands under a window or on a chest of drawers near a lamp, that is enough. See Display cabinet with lighting.