How to dress up a dresser

Christmas is just around the corner and if you're planning on entertaining this festive season, it's time to address your dresser. Whether it's a freestanding unit or shelves atop a kitchen base unit, a dresser can influence the style and mood of your space - and is the ideal spot for a collection of your favourite plates.

Here's how to stack and store with style.

Feeling festive

Add a final flourish to your Christmas decorating by giving your dresser a festive makeover. Painting the dresser in two colours gives it a nice contrast, as does the mix of items displayed on it. Hang a Christmas wreath and foliage in front of layer of plates and cast an atmospheric glow with a sprinkling of fairy lights.

A place for everything ...

Customising a dresser by lining the shelves with striped fabric allows laundry to be sorted by stacking it into neat piles, tied with a ribbon. Storage jars will keep laundry essentials, such as pegs, close to hand.

In the pink

Don't underestimate the power of pink. Warm up your country kitchen with a striking shell pink dresser, which works wonderfully with the weathered wood and rustic white ceramics in this kitchen from Neptune.

Pick a pattern

Using leftover wallpaper to cover a glass-fronted cabinet creates a decorative backdrop for special glassware and ceramics, and turns an ordinary piece of furniture into a focal point.

Moody blues

Adding colour to a kitchen is a big step, so why not start by adding accent shades? This clever kitchen dresser from handmade kitchen company Martin Moore's Architectural collection is elegant on the outside and a brilliant jewel-like shade of blue on the inside.