19th c. Dutch Cupboard

There is nothing on the outside to prepare you for the inside, where the door swings open on a deep worn blue that runs the length of every shelf. Found in Villeneuve-lès-Avignon, this Dutch cupboard dates to the 19th century, a four-pane glazed door up top over a solid paneled door below, the wood left pale on the outside against that blue within. Cupboards were often painted inside a strong color like this so the plates and glassware stood out against it, the blue turning a plain storage piece into a backdrop. Sylvie fills the top with old art books and a small vase of Queen Anne's lace, the blue doing all the work behind them.