Chests of Drawers

Chests of drawers go back to medieval Europe where the nobility often had a “coffer” which was just a wooden box with a hinged lid. Eventually one drawer was added beneath this main chest. In the 1600s a “mule chest” with two short drawers or one long drawer and a hinged top became popular in both America and England for a century.

In 1991 Dutch designer Tejo Remy bought 20 second hand drawers from various European flea markets, tied them together with a jute strap, and came up with his unique chests of drawers, one of which is in the Museum of Modern Art.

We know that storage is the main purpose of a chest of drawers to mainly store socks, underwear, and other smaller items that are not hung in a closet. Nowadays there is a large variety of designs, finishes, colors and woods to choose from as well as styles that will fit in with your other bedroom furniture.

Cedar, pine, oak, etc. are normally-chosen woods. The chest of drawers can be lovingly handcrafted. Imagine maple hand rubbed with oil and beeswax and containing no formaldehyde or toxic glues so that the piece is safe for a child’s bedroom or nursery and can be handed down for generations.

We know the general purpose of a chest of drawers in a bedroom, but have you considered the other uses? Place one in the workshop. Or if you use small items in your craft work (embroidery floss, knitting or crocheting yarn, etc.), you can organize them and keep them all in one place. If you use paints on pictures or fabrics or to make greeting cards, you can place them in a drawer. Handmade greeting cards also use rubber stamps, stamp pads and inks, embellishments, card stock, and more — you can contain those in one special drawer.