Design Dilemma // Topping an Armoire

We have a large armoire in our bedroom that currently houses my personal assortment of all things girly- heels, baubles, handbags and scents. I love that my little collection shutters up quite nicely when I want things put away and though it's far from a showpiece, frankly I've become a little spoiled by this behemoth workhorse and would have a hard time parting with it now. But designing our bedroom around it has put me on the fence about it several times. Lately, I've looked to the interwebs for a bit of inspiration on how to style up my currently unadorned piece and collected a few observations that might help you solve a similar design dilemma for cabinets and plant ledges that don't quite reach the ceiling, but look a little unattended in the absence of anything on top. 

Michael Verheyden

I've seen several designs now that incorporated small collections of pottery or artifacts to top off an armoire. An off-center grouping, similar in color and varied in size makes good use of the space, while creating an interesting visual. 

Emily Henderson

My apprehension with topping off our armoire has a lot to do with creating clutter - probably bad memories of dusty baskets and fake greenery that was once a go-to pairing. I certainly would want any objects to make sense in our bedroom design plan and I'll probably take the less is more approach with any objects. I like how Emily Henderson kept the visual clean by using only a few objects in varying heights to draw the eye upward and fill the space over the cabinet above. 

Katie Brown via Country Home

Creating a focal point above the cabinet works to diminish anything lacking in the piece itself. Stand alone, large scale artwork is a dramatic distraction, especially when used above shorter pieces that still have quite a bit of negative space above them.

Ariele Alaskso / Isaiah Palmer via Design Sponge

One idea I had not considered is to create dimension by using both the background or adjacent wall space in addition to the top of the piece itself. Even better- a swing arm lamp would help break up the boxy shape of the armoire, while allowing for a little mood lighting when wanted.