BH | Studio Amboise Arched Display Cabinet

Before built-in closets, the tall cupboard, or armoire, was the great storage piece of the French house, holding linen, clothes and the best china behind a pair of doors. Many provincial armoires were crowned with a gentle arch, borrowed from the doorways and windows of the rooms they stood in, and that curve gave them their grace.

This version opens up at the top: an arched case with open shelves above for showing things off and a pair of short doors below, each with a long, slim pull, which close softly over an adjustable shelf for things best kept out of sight. Rounded feet with non-marking glides lift it from the floor and keep it steady. The wood-grain finish comes in Oyster, an off-white with a faint grain and a soft, chalky look, or in Jet. It needs some assembly.

Use it in a living room to show pottery, photographs and favourite books, with board games and spare candles hidden behind the doors. In a home office it holds binders below and plants and framed pictures above, and in a dining room it displays glassware over a cupboard of table linen. Oyster looks fresh with pale blue, cream and natural wood, Jet looks crisp, and either suits a light, coastal room with seagrass matting and a jug of hydrangeas.