Store & Display

Non-essential items out of sight, keepsakes in the spotlight – our readers have clever ideas for both.

- Johane Neilson and Marian van Wyk

Top drawer

This striking cabinet in Janine O’Grady’s home in Paarl not only provides practical storage for scarves, belts, handbags and magazines, but together with the shelves and artworks above, it also transforms the hallway into a one-of-a-kind gallery.

“I don’t really like hallways,” says Janine. “When I was a child, we had a long passage where my brother would hide behind a piece of furniture, waiting to scare me.

“Fortunately, this space is short and wide, which means it can be put to much better use.”

The cabinet previously stood in a car mechanic’s workshop. “The drawers were black with oil,” recalls Janine, owner of Makietie Linne. “I sanded them down, painted the legs and replaced the wooden top with glass – and look at it now!” Janine installed shelves for displaying her artworks and photos as she didn’t want to drill lots of holes in the wall. “Now I can change things up as the mood takes me.”