Pride of place: How to choose the perfect display cabinet for home

It should match the aesthetic of your room, easily visible and protect your treasured items

Family photographs, paintings and posters, a book shelf make a house a home. Medals and trophies deserve a special place in your home, too: for impressing visitors and making you feel good.
Archit Anand, a 26-year-old Mumbai resident, has a “wall of achievements” at home to display medals he earned in speed skating and chess as a school student.

“My most prized collection is my room with medals, something I would never trade for anything in life. These trophies and medals are worth my whole childhood. All this taught me the value of hard work; that success never comes easy; that we all fail only to win later. My own adult life is still envious of my childhood,” says Anand, a corporate professional.
Academic or sport certificates, awards, medals, and mementos are usually tucked away in safes and closets for safe keeping. They should be displayed proudly, says Saba Kapoor, designer and co-founder of Nivasa, a design studio in Gurugram.

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“Your achievements should be celebrated, and what better way to celebrate them than by displaying them in a prominent spot in your home. Pick a location like your living room where guests won’t miss them. Frame your certificates and place your awards on a shelf or cabinet. If you have multiple framed certificates and medals, you can create a gallery wall as well. Moreover, make sure the achievements cabinet/wall is well-lit,” she says.

Cabinet of achievements

Displaying your achievements is projecting confidence and pride. “There is a growing demand for achievement cabinets in today’s market. People are increasingly interested in celebrating their accomplishments in a visible, creative way, and achievement cabinets provide just that,” says Amruth Sampige, co-founder of Dash Square, a Bengaluru-based luxury furniture retailer.

Companies, schools, colleges, and sports teams use display cabinets to commemorate their achievements and milestones, or to motivate employees.

Achievement cabinets are “designed to showcase an individual’s accomplishments, personalised to fit a specific theme or person. These cabinets are crafted with great attention to detail, using only high-quality materials and skilled artistry to create a functional and aesthetically pleasing display,” says Sampige.

“Unlike ordinary cabinets that serve merely a practical purpose, achievement cabinets are a constant source of inspiration and motivation for the owner by reminding them of their hard work and dedication.”

Customised cabinets are costly and take time to make, so opting for one depends on personal preference and budget. Readymade cabinets may serve the purpose of showcasing accomplishments while being affordable.

Display tips

When it comes to showcasing personal and professional accomplishments, selecting the right shelves, cabinet or consoles is the key. The display should accommodate your items while matching the aesthetic of a room.

Determine the length and depth of the rack and pay attention to the size and number of items intended for display. Wide shelves can hold heavy items and shallow ones small and delicate objects.

“It’s important to consider the available space when choosing a cabinet. Make sure to measure the area where you plan to place the cabinet to ensure it fits appropriately and leaves ample space for movement. You don’t want the cabinet or rack to overwhelm the space or make it look cluttered. Furthermore, pick a cabinet that is aesthetically pleasing and functional as well,” says Nivasa’s Kapoor.

Pritika Singh, who works with Mohh, a design studio in Gurgaon, says: “As a corner with an emotional connection, there isn’t any one appropriate spot to place trophies in my opinion. However, usually, the entry foyer or lobby, a study/lounge room and the living room are the best places to have your achievements corner–it can brighten up the room whilst adding that personal touch.”

Bookshelves often double up as achievement cabinets, giving gravitas to a space. “In a recent project, we designed an inbuilt wooden bookshelf in the study room that displayed our clients’ impressive book collections as well as highlighted their extraordinary achievements,” say Ninada Kashyap and Komal Mittal, co-founders and principal architects at Alkove-Design, a Pune-based architecture and design firm.

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“Built-in bookcase shelves and well-designed racks are popular choices, but for a minimalist and modern look, sleek floating shelves offer functional storage that can be installed at any height and in any configuration. We recommend using these stylish shelves to showcase certificates, awards, and other valuable memorabilia, thereby creating an elevated display of these accolades.”

Should it be an open or a closed rack with a glass facade? “Mementos or trophies are often made in metal that have the tendency to tarnish or oxidise over time. However, one needs to keep in mind that they use an anti-reflective glass as light in the space can cause reflection hampering the very visibility of the trophy,” say Nishtha Duggal and Rohan Gera, say Nishtha Duggal and Rohan Gera–principal architects and co-founders of New Delhi-based The Concreate Story.

If you have awards and achievements, display it with verve. As they say, if you have it, flaunt it.