Michelle, I have a Hoosier kitchen (aka Kitchen Queen) and have had a number of uses for it. Right now it is where I park all of my dinner party stuff. Cups, napkins, paper and plastic plates (disposable), extra stainless steel silverware (the same batch my dad used for guests at his house), glassware, cake plates, table cloths, sturdy plastic plates (like for picnic, but also my Melmac), party trays, cookie tins, etc. Table place mats are in there, and the lower drawers (like the metal bread box drawer) have a few other items (batteries, pads of paper, extra cooking implements.) And with the pull-out porcelain-topped work surface, I can load it with either all of the plates and silver and cups and such, or I can load it with food for people to serve themselves.

In past year's I've used the top portion as a bar, but I don't really have enough bar stuff to make it worthwhile to use it that way. It used to have a really tall upper cupboard, where there used to be a flour bin/sifter thing, I think (not present when I got it), I drilled holes for those little L shaped shelf holders and put in two shelves. For a while I kept my cookbooks in there, but I have too many, so that is the cake plates and some crystal I use for fancy meals.

I'm working on finishing (one of these days!) a buffet for in the dining area, and some of this stuff will be moved in there, but most of what will go in the buffet is stuff that has languished in a trunk for years.

SRS