When it comes to decorative wooden boxes you have almost no shortage of themes or motifs to choose from. This is because a plain wooden box of any size or design is one of the most versatile of fashionable objects that exists. You can put a box like this in any room to add a touch of rustic hominess or exotic Asian elegance.
If you go shopping for decorative wooden boxes you will note that they come in many different types of hand painted styles. You will also note that you can buy plain wooden boxes made of wood. You can varnish this type of box yourself or put a decoupaged image on it to make it more elegant. You can also get all kinds of different closings for these boxes including latches, leather snaps and interlocking parts. If you are really handy with glue and a needle you can also line this type of box by yourself with velour, silk or cotton.
Perhaps one of the oldest and simplest of styles is the Chinese lacquered box, which usually does not have much detail but rather concentrates on a single symbol or motif from nature. Many of the Chinese symbols painted on wooden boxes symbolize different virtues or qualities. For instance a wooden box painted with peonies symbolizes love; a crane symbolizes longevity and a goldfish symbolizes money. It is very common for wooden Chinese boxes to be lacquered and painted with scenes of royalty as well.
However do not buy these if you do not like the Asian look for your home – this is not the most versatile of wooden box styles.
It is very, very common to find wooden boxes that have wooden floral motif painted on the top. This is a kind of country or western style of box that has become very popular over the years. Usually the floral design is of a rose and it can be painted on a decorative wooden box of either very light or very dark colored woods. In the Depression era it was not unusual to find boxes painted black that had been decorated with a floral motif (usually in pink or gold.) These are quite classic and traditional looking boxes.
As wooden boxes are more valuable if they have inlaid designs it is also quite common to find boxes that have been painted with what is called “faux marquetry.” These are boxes upon which checkerboard or other designs are painted to resemble the real thing. You can also find boxes that have been painted with a faux wood burl or faux wood grain. The irony is that some of these beautiful painted boxes are so artistic that they are almost worth as much as the real thing!