Stow or Show?

That is the eternal question in a house full of people and stuff. Do you assign a place for everything, and put everything in it's place, or do you let it all hang out? Who knows. But at the Furber house, it's a combination of the two.

Because I think stacks of books, piles of white napkins, rows of glasses or baskets of photographs can be some of the prettiest accessories in my house, I've always been a big fan of open storage. My dining room is a museum of simple everyday objects that I think are beautiful:

However, not everything in a house with three kids is so beautiful, or easy to organize. I recommend a simple Q&A to decide whether to show or stow:

Would you want to look at it every day for the rest of your life?
If yes, then proudly display it.
If no, then tuck it away in a built in, a closet, or invest in a very pretty piece of furniture that has lots of storage and fill it up! Last year I bought this chest for my entryway:

My husband rolled his eyes at how frivolous (and kind of expensive) it was, but that did not deter me, and now I have five big drawers that I can fill up with whatever I want. The possibilities are so vast, I still haven't decided what I'm going to use it for. I need to decide quickly, though. We seem to have a squatter's rights system of claiming storage in our house and I fear if I don't designate a purpose soon, I'll find it filled up with dog toys, old Golf Digests, or Legos.