Homes: Storage that goes well beyond the utilitarian

You might think of storage cabinets as utilitarian. But designers are forever fascinated with how a simple cupboard can be built, dressed and adorned in ways that showcase craftsmanship and inventiveness.

There are sleek, low-slung consoles with jewelry-esque handles. Swanky Deco-style bar cabinets. Rustic credenzas hewn of timber. And some pieces clad in artistic flourishes, or that are even art themselves.

Far from workhorses, these casegoods are dressage ponies, ready for their closeups.

“These new cabinets are detailed in a way that’s not just a rectangular box with straight metal legs. They have interesting details. And people who are designing casegoods these days are thinking about these details, thinking about what the legs and doors look like, etc.” says San Francisco interior designer Jay Jeffers.

He also says “the use of mixed materials is a trend – rattan, ebonized oak and casegoods covered in grasscloth.”

Jeffers has come up with