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Apothecary cabinets are a thing of the past. All the way up to the 20th century, every physician or a pharmacist owned an apothecary cabinet to store medicines, chemicals, tools such as spoons, mortar and pestle and various scales and materials used to create medicines.
But the need for an apothecary cabinet vanished with the invention of medicine pills and vaccinations, which were produced on a massive scale and that eliminated the need for pharmacists to create medicines.
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But that is not to say that an old apothecary cabinet has no use today for you; in fact, with some restoration work and brushing up, this old piece of furniture can actually become quite handy and can even look nice with proper restoration.
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While an old apothecary chest can be used as a decorative piece of furniture, it has plenty of good uses, as it allows you to store plenty of things in its drawers. It can be much more than just a decorative piece and can become an essential part of your setup.
What is more, an old apothecary cabinet can even be tailored completely to your needs. You can paint it, decorate it and style it in the way that it fits your entire composition and the color scheme of your home. In this article, we will take a look at how to use a vintage apothecary cabinet in your home décor effectively.
How to Use a Vintage Apothecary Cabinet in Your Home Décor
Whether you are one of those people who like the look of old vintage furniture and style your home in that way, then apothecary cabinets are a perfect choice to add to your collection. With some renovation work, it can look really nice.
But even if you prefer a bit more modern set up in your home, then you can adjust the apothecary chest even to that look. Here are some of the best uses for a vintage apothecary cabinet.
In the Living Room
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One of the best things of old pieces of furniture like this is that they can brighten up the place and make it feel more like home; it would give a living room a bit of warmth, and if you already have a wooden living room, then an old apothecary cabinet would certainly fit in very well.
As a Cabinet in the Entryway
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What is good about these cabinets is the fact that they tend to have plenty of storage room. And that feature is very handy when it comes to entryways because it would allow you to store plenty of things, like shoes or some other things that you need to store.
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Not only that but you can completely change its look by adding some color or simply tailor it to the whole design of your home and the entryway.
Storage Cabinet in the Bathroom
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Another good idea of how to keep an old apothecary cabinet in your home is to have it in the bathroom. After all, these were designed to contain large amounts of medicines and tools, which is perfect if you want to keep hygiene care essentials in the cabinet. These small drawers are perfect for keeping soaps, makeup tools, and other various items for hygiene.
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On top of that, you can even customize the cabinet and make it appropriate for the style of the bathroom. All you need is some quick and easy customization, add some color, and you’re good to go. A nice apothecary chest like this would really add some sophistication to your bathroom.
As a Console Table in the Living Room
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Living rooms often require console tables to fill the space or even for space dividing. A small apothecary chest or a console would be a perfect way to fill that void and to liven up your living room.
Not only is it good for storing things, but you can also adjust its look to suit your needs; whether you are looking for a rustic look or a more industrial one, you can always make adjustments to the apothecary cabinet to style it in a certain way. These old pieces of furniture would definitely brighten up your living room and add a touch of sophistication to it.
In the Kitchen
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Apothecary cabinets would be absolutely great for use in the kitchen, as well. They can act as many different things; it can be a kitchen counter, where you can put things on and store things in it; you can even use it as a kitchen console and store some essential from the kitchen in it, such as spoons, forks, plates and more.
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What is more, these cabinets would absolutely catch the eye in the kitchen and make your kitchen a bit warmer. It can also adapt to a variety of different styles – whether you want a rustic look, or a more industrial one, or even a modern look, you can always make modifications to the apothecary cabinet to suit the style of the kitchen.
For Storing Liquor Bottles
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This would be a really clever idea. The cabinet can be very handy for storing things and then finding them easy, as they have labels on the front of the drawers which will allow you to find things easily. This would be perfect for someone who likes to have plenty of liquor bottles or is a collector of such items because it allows for very easy storing that is also very effective.
Cabinet for Storing Wardrobe
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As we already said, apothecary cabinets are absolutely perfect for storing things easily and effectively and then finding the stuff that is stored in them very easily due to the labels. This would be great for storing wardrobe items such as personal wardrobe – socks, underwear, and other pieces of wardrobe.
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It can even act as a sort of a cabinet for storing journals and letters in it, so it can really be a personal cabinet as well.
For Storing Glass Jars
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Glass jars are becoming more and more popular in home design. These jars are not only useful for storing stuff, but also for producing pieces of decorations for specific time periods – Christmas decorations, for example. An apothecary cabinet would be the perfect place to store these cute jars, as it would not only fit the style but also offer a very practical solution.
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Not only would be a cabinet like that be practical for storing decorative jars, but also jars that contain essential things that can be stored inside, like food and vegetables. It would be a very practical way of storing these jars.
Ending thoughts on using an apothecary cabinet
Apothecary cabinets are not only decorative pieces of furniture. Often, they are disregarded because they look old and inappropriate for modern design. But with some love and dedicated restoration work, you can turn an apothecary cabinet into a very valuable and practical piece of furniture. You can tailor it to your needs and to the overall look and the décor of your home.
You can easily make some modifications to the cabinet to fit your home. Hopefully, you have learned a lot about how to use an apothecary cabinet at your home and got some nice ideas from this article.
If you enjoyed reading this article about apothecary cabinet, you should read these as well:
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