Dresser – a piece of furniture with sliding longitudinal drawers and a tabletop, which is used for storing clothes, linen and other household items. The chest of drawers combines the spaciousness of a closet and the compactness of a cabinet, which allows it to be used even in cramped conditions. The height of the chest of drawers is smaller than the closet - this allows children and elderly people to easily pull out the necessary thing.
The advantage of the chest of drawers is its versatility. For example, a model that has shelves with doors along with drawers turns into a small closet, and if you hang a mirror above it, the chest of drawers can replace a dressing table.
Various objects are usually placed on the surface (tabletop): souvenirs, framed photographs, flowers in pots, books and even a TV. In addition, the tabletop with edges at the edges can be used as a changing table. Using a chest of drawers, you can divide the room into zones without cluttering the space.
- Dresser
Chest of drawers
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Long - a spacious chest of drawers with a large number of drawers, shelves and compartments. The dimensions of this product do not allow it to be used in small rooms.
Chest of drawers a - a spectacular-looking model, reminiscent of a sideboard. In such a chest of drawers you can store silverware, sets and other beautiful items, and also use it as a bar. Usually located in the living room.
A chest of drawers with a mirror is similar in appearance to a dressing table. In addition, a mirror visually expands the space of the room. This chest of drawers can be placed both in the living room and in the bedroom.
Chest of drawers with ironing board – has a folding board that allows you to iron things. This option is suitable for small spaces.
Transformable chest of drawers - allows you to change its shape and purpose. For example, one model turns into a TV stand, wardrobe or buffet, and a chest of drawers with a hinged lid transforms from a table into a dressing table. A transforming chest of drawers saves room space and is the best option for small rooms.
Transformable chest of drawers
Chest of drawers with mirror
White or gray chest of drawers for the bedroom? Which is better?
A well-chosen white chest of drawers for the bedroom will enrich its Scandinavian or other stylish interior, and will also hide everything that you would like to hide from the world. A variety of accessories and decorative elements will look good on the chest of drawers, giving the bedroom a unique style and, above all, character. This is a place where you need to feel safe and comfortable.
White bedroom dressers come in different sizes, shapes and styles. They can be matte or glossy. It's up to you to decide which model you choose. Whether it's a modern, wood, gray or white chest of drawers, each one, when properly integrated with the rest of the decor, will be unique. But if you've kept the entire interior white, it might be better to opt for a gray chest of drawers for contrast.
As the above paragraphs show, bedroom chests of drawers are not only varied, but can also serve different functions. From a small wardrobe alternative to a TV stand or dressing table, these are just some of the possible uses. Remember that the style of furniture should match the design of the entire room, and by choosing white, you can visually increase the space of a small bedroom.
Material
Wood is an environmentally friendly, beautiful and durable material. Such a chest of drawers is often covered with fine carvings, elegant patterns and other decorations, and also has original inserts and elegant handles. Disadvantages: high price and significant weight of furniture.
Important: inexpensive wood species include pine and birch; cherry, ash, maple, walnut, and oak are considered more valuable. Inexpensive species (for example, pine) can become deformed over time and do not withstand impacts well - leaving scratches and dents. To increase the resistance of the chest of drawers to shock and moisture, you can open it with varnish.
A common solution is to choose a chest of drawers made of birch or pine, lined with oak or maple veneer. This option will be the optimal balance of quality and price.
Chipboard and MDF - resemble wood, but are much cheaper. In appearance and service life they are inferior to natural wood. At the same time, a chest of drawers made of chipboard has a lower price and is more toxic than its counterpart made of MDF. Users note that some drawers made of thin chipboard quickly fail. In general, MDF is a more durable material.
Such chests of drawers are laminated or covered with veneer. Laminated models are distinguished by a variety of colors, resistance to moisture and mechanical stress, while veneered models perfectly imitate solid wood and look impressive. Both laminate and veneer offer some protection from toxic fumes.
Important: when purchasing chests of drawers made of chipboard, pay attention to its cuts: it is better if they are covered with a more durable and reliable PVC edge than a melamine edge. It is advisable that the drilled holes are also sealed. This will partially protect the user from toxic fumes.
- Rattan is a type of wood that combines attractive appearance, lightness and strength. This chest of drawers will fit perfectly into an interior decorated in an exotic style.
Plastic is lightweight, easy to clean, resistant to moisture and temperature changes.
Chests of drawers are made from it for the bathroom or kitchen. Disadvantages: low strength and modest appearance.
Summarize
A chest of drawers is a traditionally handy piece of furniture that can not only solve the problem of storing household items, but also decorate a room. There are many varieties of this small cabinet with drawers. Dressers - dressing tables, changing and ironing tables, floor-mounted and wall-mounted - all of them are designed to make the life of their owners easier. There are even special chests of drawers for cats. Among this variety, narrow models are distinguished by increased practicality, without losing beauty and convenience.
Boxes
Quantity
The number of drawers and shelves depends on the dresser model. Classic design - 4 longitudinal drawers located one below the other. Their number can vary between 1-5. Wide boxes can be “divided” in half, as a result their number reaches 6-10 or more.
Some models have drawers of different widths. The most common option is several wide drawers at the bottom and 1-2 drawers, divided in half or equipped with partitions. Small drawers are good for storing jewelry, thread, needles and other small items that need to be kept organized.
Sometimes you can find chests of drawers with secret drawers, which are also closed with doors, or models with a random arrangement of drawers. The design of the chest of drawers often includes shelves with doors (often glazed) or without them. There are also exclusive design solutions, for example, a chest of drawers whose drawers slide out in any of the four directions.
Interesting: linen, clothes, and various household items are placed in drawers. Books, dishes, souvenirs and other things that can be shown to guests are stored on open shelves with glass doors.
In a high-quality product, doors and drawers open easily and without additional effort. The drawers should not fall out even when pulled out sharply.
All chest drawers in the closed position should be in maximum contact with each other and adjacent to the body. In addition, they must fit tightly to the back wall and rest on a special bar - this removes part of the load from the side guides.
Extension mechanism
Roller guides are relatively cheap, but have several disadvantages: the possibility of the drawer skewing, its incomplete opening (maximum 5/6 of the length), noise when moving. True, incomplete opening of the box protects it from accidental falling out. The guides themselves can be either plastic or metal - this is a more reliable option.
Important: to prevent the risk of the drawer skewing, its width should not exceed 60 cm. The thickness of the steel of the roller guides should be at least 1 mm.
For silent operation of the box, you should choose mechanisms with rubber rims on wheels.
Ball guides - withstand significant loads, ensure complete and silent drawer extension. Disadvantages: high price and the possibility of the drawer skewing. Such a mechanism requires careful handling.
Concealed mounting guides - unlike previous mechanisms, they are attached not to the walls of the box, but to its bottom. This system ensures maximum opening of the drawer, but at the same time prevents it from falling out. Concealed mounting guides are easy to use and have a long service life.
Dimensions
The dimensions of the chest of drawers depend on the dimensions of the room, the location of the product and the number of things that are supposed to be stored in the model. A large chest of drawers in a small room and a small one in a spacious room will be dissonant with the environment.
If the chest of drawers is installed close to the wall, then its dimensions can be any. If the model will be located next to other furniture or stand in a corner, then it is necessary to measure the free space. You should take into account the presence of a plinth (it will not allow you to place the model close to the wall), drawer drawers and the width of the dresser door, which will require additional free space.
Therefore, in order not to be mistaken with the dimensions when choosing a chest of drawers, measure the distance from the edge of the open door to the back wall of the product. It is desirable that the results be less than the parameters of the location where the model is planned to be installed.
The size of the chest of drawers is also affected by its purpose. This exquisite model, which performs a primarily decorative function, is small in size. The same applies to furniture for storing small items. A chest of drawers designed to store linen, clothes, books and other things will be much larger.
Important: in order to correctly place accents in the interior using a chest of drawers, you should choose the optimal ratio between the height of the room and the height of the furniture. A room with a low ceiling requires a narrow and tall chest of drawers, while a room with a high ceiling requires a wide and low model.
Chest of drawers in the bedroom
A narrow chest of drawers can stand in the bedroom, then its high drawers will serve to store bed linen. Most often, a cabinet has high lower drawers and small upper drawers.
The upper ones are intended for storing underwear and personal items. A bedroom closet should be environmentally friendly, easy to clean, and the drawers should not creak so as not to disturb the rest of the sleepers. Modern models can have not only drawers, but also doors that hide shelves. However, narrow options, as a rule, do not have such branches.
Important! When determining a place to install a cabinet, you need to make sure that its drawers will open freely. If this cannot be achieved, it makes sense to refuse the purchase or choose a hanging model.
A chest of drawers can appear in the bedroom as part of a furniture set, or it can be purchased separately.
When choosing a model, you need to take into account the style of existing items. A tall narrow cabinet on legs, equipped with a mirror, will successfully replace a dressing table.
Location
In the living room, a chest of drawers is used as an analogue of a closet: clothes, books, dishes, and photo albums are stored in it. Therefore, such a chest of drawers should be quite spacious.
A chest of drawers in the living room often serves as a TV stand. In this case, two options are possible: install the TV on a wide tabletop (classic) or hang it on the wall, and the chest of drawers will be under it (modern). It is advisable that the furniture have legs and several small drawers. The chest of drawers is perfect for storing DVD players, discs, and 3D glasses.
It is better to choose a chest of drawers with a mirror for the bedroom as an alternative to a dressing table. In this model you can store not only cosmetics, but also bed linen, children's clothes, and toys. You should not choose a tall chest of drawers, as it does not fit well with low bedside tables, banquettes and poufs.
In the kitchen, a chest of drawers is rarely used, although such furniture can become an additional storage place for dishes and other kitchen utensils. The chest of drawers should have a durable, easy-to-clean and moisture-resistant coating. The same applies to bathroom models.
The chest of drawers fits perfectly into the corner of the room, where the closet either will not fit or will take up too much space. In this case, a fairly spacious and compact chest of drawers will be an excellent solution. You can choose a corner model that will fit perfectly into the corner of the room.
Important: if the chest of drawers is placed next to a doorway, make sure that the furniture will not interfere with the opening/closing of the door.
Chest of drawers in a modern interior: choosing the right one
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A chest of drawers is an irreplaceable and functional piece of furniture that should be in the interior of every apartment or house. The chest of drawers can store a lot of things, it is spacious and easy to use. When I first moved to live separately from my parents, the chest of drawers became my first acquisition. Before purchasing, I asked my friend, the owner of a furniture workshop, what characteristics should be paid attention to first of all. After all, the chest of drawers must fit into the overall style of the room, have many compartments, be stable and not bulky. A friend gave me valuable recommendations that I decided to share with you.
First of all, you need to decide on the room where the chest of drawers will be located. This could be a bedroom, living room, dining room, dressing room, kitchen, hallway, bathroom, children's room. There are also mobile models that can be easily moved from room to room. Then you should pay attention to the material from which the chest of drawers is made, consider the fastenings, and evaluate the quality of the handles and legs. And now I propose to consider all this in more detail.
Bedroom chest of drawers
Such a chest of drawers should be spacious and not take up much space. It’s good if the chest of drawers has many compartments of different sizes and purposes. In some we can store underwear. In others, something larger, for example, things that cannot be hung on hangers.
Chest of drawers for the living room
The chest of drawers that we place in the living room must fit into the overall style of the room. It should be pleasing to the eye, because this is where we receive guests and arrange friendly gatherings. The chest of drawers for the living room is original and decorative. For example, it can be an always appropriate classic, or a more modern variation of a chest of drawers, with a place for a TV and automatic closers.
Dining room chest of drawers
Special chests of drawers of very interesting shape are designed for the dining room. They are low and long, with many drawers, shelves and doors. You can beautifully display expensive dishes on the shelves, and store other valuable utensils, such as silverware, behind the doors.
Dresser for dressing room
Of course, not every home has a dressing room. But if you are lucky enough to become its owner, then you should select the chest of drawers especially carefully. It should be roomy and small in size. There are wall-mounted and floor-mounted models. A floor chest of drawers is usually on wheels. You can sit on it while trying on this or that thing.
Chest of drawers for the kitchen
Kitchen chests of drawers are distinguished by their versatility and compactness. They have a huge number of hidden shelves and drawers. If you pull one handle, several drawers slide out at once, thereby opening access to the next ones. Thanks to this intricate design, you can make the most of the space.
Chest of drawers for the hallway
In the hallway, a chest of drawers not only welcomes us after a hard day at work, but also pleases the eyes of guests. Beautiful, compact, with compartments for shoes and various things. Small drawers are convenient for storing keys and all kinds of small things. The chest of drawers, as a rule, is not very high so that you can sit on it and put on your shoes.
Bathroom chest of drawers
A bathroom chest of drawers is very similar to a kitchen chest of drawers. They both usually have what is called a "pharmacy section". In small hidden drawers you can store all kinds of washcloths and brushes. The larger drawers contain detergents, powders, and rinse aids. The pull-out shelves are perfect for storing towels and bathrobes.
Chest of drawers for children's room
Here the flight of imagination can not be limited. A chest of drawers for a children's room is similar to a chest of drawers for a bedroom. It should also have many compartments of different shapes and sizes. We will store socks, T-shirts, and underwear in the same drawers. Others have larger items that cannot be hung on hangers. For the little ones, there are chests of drawers with a built-in changing table.
What should you pay attention to when choosing a chest of drawers?
The materials from which the chest of drawers are made can be very diverse. The top part is most often wood or stone. The front of the drawers is made of glass, wood, MDF, metal. The boxes themselves are made of plywood. As I already said, in addition to stationary ones, there are mobile models that can be placed in a new place every day. Depending on the back wall, wall-mounted, wall-hung and island chests of drawers also differ. As for the latter, they perfectly divide the room into zones. Drawers on island chests open on both sides.
The legs must be stable and not too high to support the weight of the entire contents. This is especially worth paying attention to if you are purchasing a chest of drawers for a child’s room. In some models, the legs are hidden with a special strip that matches the chest of drawers. In others, they can be adjusted in height. Dresser handles are a different story. They can be of any shape and size. Some chests of drawers do not have handles at all; they are equipped with either recesses for fingers or open by pressing the panel. In short, there are many options. You can easily choose to suit your taste!
Style
Rococo - graceful curvilinear forms (curved walls and legs), rich decor, pastel shades. Material: valuable wood species, such as mahogany or oak.
Classic - strict symmetrical shapes, a minimum of decorative elements, restrained tones. Material – various types of wood, MDF, chipboard.
Modern is a combination of grace and simplicity. The color scheme is pastel. Material – various types of wood, MDF, chipboard in combination with metal, plastic and glass elements (corners, inserts).
Provence is reminiscent of Rococo style chests of drawers, but it is characterized by rougher forms and simpler decor. Unlike previous styles, chests of drawers are usually not varnished. Colors are pastel. Material: simple wood, such as pine or birch.
High-tech/minimalism – simple geometric shapes, lack of decor, black and light colors. Materials: metal, glass, plastic.
Models for the living room
A small or heavily furnished living room can, however, accommodate a narrow, tall cabinet. Toilet items are rarely stored in the living room; most likely, the drawers will be filled with family photographs, documents, letters, and other small things. The ability to put away random items allows you to make the room tidy. But a chest of drawers, even a tall and narrow one, will not only allow you to restore order, it will also decorate the room.
For a living room, the appearance of the furniture is very important. And the small size of the model does not at all prevent her from being beautiful. Elegant tall cabinets in the Gothic style look chic and fit seamlessly into the interior of a rich, sophisticated living room.
A white Provence style cabinet should be in harmony with the rest of the furniture in the room. Light, cheerful furniture will enliven the room and make the living room more comfortable.
Beautiful wooden cabinets in the Empire, Baroque, and Rococo styles will decorate the interior with their exquisite shapes and decor. For lovers of chic exclusives, the art style is suitable, allowing you to use elements of all of the listed styles, as well as innovative design elements. However, we must remember that a narrow chest of drawers does not shape the appearance of the room, it only complements the decor. Therefore, the choice should be dictated by the general style in which the living room interior is designed.
Color
The color of the chest of drawers, like its style, should be in harmony with the interior of the room. You can focus both on the color of nearby furniture and on the shades of the floor, ceiling, and walls. Products that are too light in most cases are discordant with the decor, while products that are too dark look bulky. An interesting option would be a chest of drawers that combines two different colors, made from two materials - MDF and chipboard.
Laminated chipboard imitates well the color of natural wood of almost any species. This allows you to find a model that suits a specific situation.
The chameleon chest of drawers looks very impressive - for it to change its color, just change the angle of view. This illusion is achieved by combining different varnishes. Chests of drawers with photo printing (reproductions of famous paintings, family photos) are also popular.
Equipment
Handles are made in different versions: from antique-style to ultra-modern “push-out” systems (opening occurs by lightly pressing the facade).
Legs – can be either adjustable or non-adjustable. Adjustable legs make the chest of drawers stable on uneven floors.
Doors can be hinged (traditional), sliding (similar to a wardrobe) or lift. In the latter case, the door first pulls out and then lifts up. Some models combine two types of doors, for example, lift and hinged.
Closer – ensures smooth closing of the drawer with little effort. It is important that the closer moves smoothly and does not cause a sharp collision of the drawer with the body, otherwise this may damage the product. A closer is simply necessary if there are small children in the family - it will prevent possible injury (pinching the baby's finger).
Stopper – prevents the drawer from accidentally falling out, which is important if there are small children in the house. On the other hand, practice shows that in wide chests of drawers such a lock makes it difficult to access small things at the back wall of the drawer. Also, when deciding whether a stopper is needed or not, consider the length of your arms.
Illumination makes it easier to use the chest of drawers in the dark: to find the right thing you do not need to turn on the light in the room. This function is found in models made in high-tech style.
Wall mounting – increases the stability of the chest of drawers. This fastening is important if there are children in the house who can hang or climb on the chest of drawers. Users note that some chests of drawers may become unstable if several drawers are opened at the same time. The disadvantage is the complexity of installation.
Important: if there is no such fastening, it is better to open the drawers one by one.
Adviсe
- First of all, the chest of drawers must be safe for health, which is confirmed by a quality certificate.
- The chest of drawers must have detailed assembly instructions.
- The surface and walls of the chest of drawers must be smooth and free of defects. Avoid purchasing furniture with cracks or chips.
- You need to make sure there are no defects in the model. Check the reliability of connections and retractable mechanisms.
- It is worth checking the convenience and quality of the fittings (handles, hinges, drawer guides) and locks, if any. It is better to choose more expensive metal fittings (aluminum or steel) than cheap and unreliable plastic ones.
- The optimal thickness of the material from which the case is made is 18 mm.
- The thickness of the back wall of the chest of drawers must be at least 6 mm, otherwise it may become deformed from impacts from the drawer during intensive use of the model. If the wall is poorly secured, then this model is not worth purchasing. Some models do not have a back wall at all - they are not suitable for zoning a room.
To make the chest of drawers last a long time, you should follow several recommendations:
- filling the chest of drawers must be done from the lower shelves and drawers - this will more evenly distribute the load on the product;
- regularly check the quality of work and reliability of retractable mechanisms;
- provide the chest of drawers with normal temperature conditions without sudden changes;
- periodically carry out dry and wet cleaning;
- do not overload the boxes, otherwise their bottom may not hold up;
- To protect the top of the chest of drawers from harmful influences (moisture, hot drinks, etc.), it is worth purchasing protective glass.
Rules for caring for chests of drawers
Most models do not require careful maintenance and, of course, quality products do not require repairs. However, it is worth periodically checking the quality of the guides and lubricating the rollers with machine oil.
It is better to monitor the appearance of the chest of drawers more often. You should periodically wipe off the dust with a dry or damp cloth.
It is not advisable to use cleaning products. They may scratch the surface. Especially if the model is made of wood.
