I have mine on an open shelf, below my island table, but clearly that won't work for you. But I've had various Le Creuset pans in various kitchens, and frequently inverted the lids and stacked them. They've never chipped. If you're still concerned, how about cutting circles of drawer liner stuff, and using it as a protective layer between pans?

Ha! This is a funny question to me -- because I have two DO's -- a large and a small in different colors. And I have a small kitchen! So, I keep mine on the stove on display :) It's OK for me because I use them frequently, so I don't mind. And I do think they're pretty. If I'm using other pots/pans on the stove, I just store the DO's in the oven until I'm done. Last solution is that they go on top of my china cab in the DR, but I've only had to do that once or twice...

So normally, they sit on the stove waiting patiently, but not too long!

Half the time all of mine are like sara's on the shelf of my open island and the rest of the time they are on the burner waiting to be used. I only have the 7.5 LC and then I have my MIL's LL cast iron that I inherited. I use them all the time so I wouldn't want them up anywhere. I like to bend down to get heavy things not reach up. Hope this helps you decide where to put them. c

I kept mind on the stove in the old kitchen too, because the only place they could have gone was in the very far away pantry.

If you're really worried about chipping, you could layer them with that thin foamy stuff they wrap things in for shipping. Or even little bubble wrap. A different take on putting those cushy paper things between the good dishes. After awhile, you'll get used to the feeling of stacking them and you might get rid of it. :)

I've got 2 of them in my lower deep 36" drawer under cooktop. I've never stacked them eithe, but I like all the other ideas above for your space!

I have 3 different sized ones, and I keep them on the bottom shelf of my pantry.

I got a 7.25 qt LC DO after finishing the kitchen. Couldn't fit it elsewhere, so it's in an upper cabinet in our pantry. Then I got a 3.5 qt LC DO this past May. I flipped the lid of the larger one upside down, put a piece of foam packing stuff/cushy stuff to use between dishes on the upside down lid, and placed the smaller DO on top of that.

I don't use mine all the time, so it's not a PITA on a daily basis to take them down. Since they are heavy, and I do have to stand on my small step ladder to reach them, I just take it slow and try to be careful as a precaution.

I know this may sound crazy but...I have a designated lower cabinet to store my LC and Staub cookware. I too was concerned about chipping and nesting. Now I think I'll cut out some rounds of the foamy cabinet liner and invert the lids and stack! Great idea!

I don't have any LC at the present, but I was planning on purchasing the DO now that I have more space with the remodel. Do you think a cabinet that is 11" - 12" deep would fit the DO?

FWIW, we keep the the plastic clips (that came with the DO's) on the rim of the DO's while they are stored, which probably helps prevent chipping.

I have the 3.5, 5 & 7 LC DOs. I keep the 3.5 & 5 on my range all the time. I use those two and the grill on my JA range almost every meal, so they're handy. The 7 is kept out on the countertop, with the lid in the drawer below. I don't use that one unless I'm making a lot of sauce or soup, so I generally store/display onions or potatoes in it.

Mine 6.5 qt is from Target, but it sits on my stove. My smaller cast iron Dutch oven has the lid upside down and is in the bottom drawer under the rangetop.

I looked at the LC website and don't see the dimensions for the various size french ovens. (btw what's the diff between a french oven and dutch oven?)

Can anyone tell me what diameters will fit on an 11" - 12" deep shelf?

I meant what quart sizes will fit on an 11" - 12" shelf ?

Judydel - there is no difference between a french oven and a dutch oven. "Dutch oven" is the commonly used term, but for some reason LC calls it a "french oven" just for the U.S. market. If you were shopping for LC in France, you would see it named "cocotte", which simply means "casserole". I guess LC thinks Americans like pots that have "french" in the name.

I have the 5.5 quart size, and the diameter is about 10-1/2". So that size or smaller would definitely fit on your 11-12" shelf. I don't know about the larger sizes; maybe someone here will comment, or you could go to a store and measure.

Judydel, I have the 7-quart round, and it's @11-1/4 in diameter across the top and @14-7/5 handle-to-handle width. Mine fits on an 11-3/75 shelf. My ?3-quart oval is 13" handle-width, so it has to go in sideways.

Just to confuse the matter further lol:

Le Creuset does call a dutch oven a french oven, and they sell those in either an oval or round shape. However they also sell a rondeau version of the round french over which for the same volume has less height.

I have the 6 3/4 qt blue rondeau which nests a round Le Creuset stoneware casserole inside. Then I have a 6 3/4 qt oval green french oven with a 3 1/2 qt round french oven nested inside. Both these combinations fit nicely behind each other in their own base cabinet drawer.

Easy-reach corner cabinet. I store all the heavy and bulky pots there--including the LC round dutch oven, and the huge LC lobster/stock pot (I can't remember if it is 16 or 20 quarts).

I think the name thing went something like this: A "dutch oven" is an American term for a covered, cast iron pot that one can put into the coals of a solid fuel fire. I don't know, but likely the origin is that there were some Dutch or German people who did that.

But then Le Creuset enters the American market. Americans don't know the word "cocotte", but it sounds too much like "coquette", which is naughty. They don't want to call them casseroles (which is when we called them at home) because there are a lot of stoneware casserole dishes and they want to differentiate. They look around and see that the usual term is "dutch oven", but either they say, "But we're French!" or when they test the term people ask, "But weren't they made in France?" Or a comedian makes a "dutch" ovens made in France joke. Et voila! It's a French Oven. Which makes absolutely no sense outside of the advertising world.

And because it makes no sense in English, you see the blurbs describing them as "ovens", which is woefully inaccurate. They're POTS.

I have a 3.5 qt and a 5.5 qt round oven and a 3.5 qt buffet casserole or braiser. My old upper cabinets were 12" deep with thin backs and doors. All were stored on the bottom shelf of an upper cabinet. The round ovens fit but I couldn't quite shut the door on the buffet casserole. My new cabinets are Brookhaven with 13" depth and I have a pots and pans cabinet under the cooktop so I am not anticipating problems. Cabinets are installed but everything is still stored away since kitchen is not done.
They are heavy so it is best that they be stored in the comfort zone between high and low.

I have one of these next to a fireplace.

Here is a link that might be useful: Pot stand

I have a 6qt oval and I store it in the lazy susan with the lid inverted and nest it on top of one of those old black roasters. It has never chipped.
I am getting my dream kitchen in a couple of weeks though and I love some of the ideas posted here...especially the one about using it to store potatos and onions. I use it often in teh winter but come the warmer months I don't.

This is such a great post!

I am one of the idiots who stored her le creuset incorrectly and have chipped it quite a bit. What you do not do is place it in a large deep crowded cabinet with other pots and pans stacked on top of it. The good thing is all of the chips are on the outside - I managed to keep the inside intact.

Thanks everybody for your great ideas!

Kitchendetective - I'd love to see a pic of your pot stand. I really really want the Le Creuset pot stand (linked below), but (A) it's $350, and (B) I have no corner to put it. I saw it at Williams-Sonoma with pots in it, they had it on a table, and it looked beautiful, and a great storage idea to boot. Sigh.

Here is a link that might be useful: Le Creuset Cookware Stand

I have no desire to use my Le Creuset big dutch oven as decor. It goes in a deep bottom drawer with other heavy pans. I do hang my pots on a pot rack, not as decor but because I like to reach up and grab what I want and I don't have enough cabinets for 50 years worth of pots and pans!

Wow, I never thought they might chip. My two Dutch ovens, one round, one oval are at bottom of cabinet, sometimes kind of nested partially inside each other.

I have a metal shelving unit just for all of my colorful pots. It is at one end of the kitchen on a wall. I can't lift them myself any more so I don't use them as often but I still love to cook in them and display them. I did get chips on some of them when they got packed up quickly after the flood. They did not get enough padding between them.

Fun thread! I have 2 LC DOs, the 5-1/2 qt. and the 7-1/4 sizes, and I store them in one of my base cabinets with the pull-out drawer, the smaller pot on top of the larger, with the lids inverted, and a piece of cardboard in-between them. I was intrigued by the OP's mention of a LC stand, but her old link is broken (from 2009). She said it was $350 in 2009. Now it's $450!

LC Cookware Stand at Willams Sonoma

This photo is one I grabbed off the internet. It's not mine.

I just keep mine in a lower pullout. I have two. When I had a 36 inch gas cooktop I often left one sitting on it during the fall/winter. Now that I have 30 inch induction I keep them in the cabinet. That display shelf is nice! I might even have a a place for it but the thought of everything being covered with dust and cat hair would deter me from investing in one.