How to Display Starbucks Mugs

I'll show you how to display Starbucks mugs in style while reclaiming valuable cabinet space with this simple hanging solution!

Our family loves to travel, and I love buying souvenirs that remind me of our adventures! My favorite way to commemorate our vacations is with Starbucks city mugs. Almost every city has one, and since I'm bound to hit a Starbucks when we're traveling, it's an easy souvenir to pick up.

Over the years, I've amassed quite the collection, and it takes up a lot of room in the cabinet over the coffee maker. Today, I'm showing you how to reclaim valuable cabinet space and display your favorite Starbucks mugs!

Check out this list for more DIY coffee bar ideas for your home!

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Last year, I went through the painstaking process of painting my ugly 80's kitchen cabinets. Now, instead of an orange oak end panel facing the dining room, we have a bright white one. The perfect backdrop for my colorful mugs!

If you don't have exposed cabinet end panels like I do, you can make the same display on a sheet of painted plywood. Then you can mount it anywhere on the wall!

My Starbucks city mugs come from all over the world, so I wanted to give my display a global theme. But a world map wouldn't fit, and a travel quote would be covered up by the mugs and become unreadable.

I finally settled on a compass rose decal. The 11" x 11" size fits perfectly on the cabinet end panel!

Decals are a great way to decorate a plain, flat surface. I used one on my Game of Thrones cornhole boards, and the design doesn't interfere with the game and hasn't peeled up at all!

To apply the decal, simply rub the front and back of the paper with a scraping tool or old credit card. This transfers the design to the adhesive layer.

Peel off the backing, making sure that the design stays attached to the sticky sheet. If it's not cooperating, just give it another quick rub.

I marked the center point of the cabinet with a pencil, and lined up the middle of the compass rose with that point. Now rub the surface of the decal again to stick it to the cabinet surface, then peel off the backing.

Perfect! Now it's time to add the hooks!

I have a few different sizes and styles of mugs, so I held them up to the cabinet to see how they would fit. Eight mugs give the display some variety without covering up the decal or looking too cluttered.

Mark the spots where you want the hooks, then drill pilot holes into the cabinet. I used these hooks, and screwed them in by hand. The white hooks really blend into the side of the cabinet, so all you'll see are the mugs on display!

I played around with different mugs to see which arrangement I liked best. I wanted to match their geographical coordinates with the points on the compass, but we're so far north up here in Seattle, almost every city is south of us!

I didn't like how the mugs all hung at different angles on the hooks, so I cheated a little! Since these will be for display only (I have plenty left in the cabinet for coffee-drinking purposes), I put a little Gorilla Glue double sided tape on the back of the mugs where they touch the cabinet. Now they all hang straight!

I'm so happy to finally get my favorite mugs out of the dark cabinet and on display! It gives a pop of color to an otherwise blank space, and reminds me of all our wonderful adventures!