$1,640Sale Price|20% Off
Edo Japanese Wabi-Sabi Dougu / Kusuri Tansu, Tool / Medicine chest Late 19th Cen
Located in 常陸大宮市, JP
Product of late Edo period (estimate 1860s-1870s) in Aomori prefecture, Japan. Originally made as tool chest or medicine chest, made of thick, fine grade reddish Sugi cedar. The rus...
Wood, Cedar
Daniel Cottier A Rare and Early Anglo-Japanese Ebonized Tall Chest of Drawers
By Daniel Cottier
Located in London, GB
A rare and early Anglo-Japanese ebonized tall chest of drawers, designed by Daniel Cottier with gilt painted swallow, stylized bamboo and plant forms with rosettes with a later black...
Marble
Unusual Tall Meiji Period Japanese Tansu Wabi Sabi
Located in London, GB
A tall Japanese tansu/chest of drawers of highly unusual proportions . Four drawers with storage well to top. Heavily patinated cedar with many age old repairs.
Cedar
Rare Queen Anne Chinoiserie Japanned Chest On Stand
Located in Lymington, GB
A sophisticated Queen Anne-period chinoiserie japanned chest raised on elegant cabriole legs with 'pony foot' carved detailing. This early-18th century chest on stand demonstrates t...
Lacquer
Early 20th-Century Black Japanned and Gilt Chinoiserie Bureau
Located in London, Park Royal
A beautifully proportioned early 20th-century bureau, richly decorated in the English chinoiserie taste with gilt and polychrome scenes against a deep black-japanned ground. The fal...
Hardwood
$9,445Sale Price|20% Off
Giorgio Collection Chest of Drawers Japanese Tamos Burl Wood
By Giorgio Collection
Located in New York, NY
Chest in moka Japanese tamos burl veneer with high-gloss polyester finish. Six full extension drawers. Two top drawers with bottom lined in velvet. Chrome stainless steel handles and...
Chrome
Antique Low Japanese Chest with Drawers, Distressed Wood, 19th Century
Located in New York, US
Low Japanese Chest with Drawers Distressed with age, sourced in Japan
Wood
$3,880Sale Price / set|20% Off
3 Fabulous 20th Century Japanese style Stacking Tansu Chest of Drawers
By Baker Furniture Company
Located in Pemberton, NJ
3 fabulous 20th-century Japanese-style stacking Tansu chests of drawers. Each section can be used separately for versatility or stacked together to save space. Originally used to ...
Iron
Meiji Period Tansu/Chest Of Drawers
Located in London, GB
A three drawer cedar Meiji period Japanese chest of drawers. Unusually large drawers for a piece of Japanese furniture of this time period. Nicely patinated with original forged ir...
Cedar
Primitive Charred Edo Period Tansu/Chest Of Drawers Wabi Sabi
Located in London, GB
A 5 drawer charred cedar & elm Japanese tansu from the early 19th C. Both a beautiful & very practical piece of furniture. Heavy patinated through years of use with original iron h...
Cedar
A Large Early 19th C. Late Edo Period Tansu Cabinet/Chest Of Drawers Wabi Wabi
Located in London, GB
An eight drawer early Meiji period cedar tansu cabinet/chest of drawers. A beautiful and very practical piece of furniture. Heavily patinated through years of use with original iro...
Iron
Pair of Four Drawer Painted Mahogany Chests Designed by David Rosen for NK
By David Rosén
Located in New York, NY
A pair of four drawer painted mahogany chest circa 1940s designed by David Rosen for Nordiska Kompaniet (NK). Nordiska Kompaniet, started in 1890, is a manufacturing company that has...
Mahogany
19th Century French Lacquered Petite Chest with Exquisite Chinoiserie Decoration
Located in West Palm Beach, FL
Louis XV-style antique black-lacquered petite commode or bedside table, having a shaped top with gilt bronze border, over three-stacked drawers flanked by bronze Rococo mounts, raise...
Bronze
Kuramata Side 1 Furniture in Irregular Form 1989
By Shiro Kuramata
Located in London, GB
A Kuramata side 1 eighteen drawers cabinet in cherrywood. Shiro Kuramata was a Japanese designer from 1965 when he founded the Kuramata Design Office in Tokyo until he died in 1991...
Wool
Early Meiji Keyaki Sendai Isho-Dansu Chest with Iron Hardware and Storage
Located in Yonkers, NY
An early Meiji period Sendai Isho-dansi chest from circa 1860-1880 with eight drawers, petite door and dark patina. This early Meiji-period Sendai Isho-dansu is a striking example of...
Iron
$2,520Sale Price|83% Off
17th Century, William and Mary Chinoiserie Trunk on Stand
Located in Nashville, TN
Featured is an extremely rare 17th century Dutch William & Mary Chinoiserie style coffer trunk on stand. This gorgeous piece was constructed of oak in the traditional William and Mar...
Oak
Pair of Large Early 19th Century Chinoiserie Decorated Lacquer Chests from Paris
Located in Vancouver, British Columbia
Never in the 35+ years that we’ve been in business have we ever had anything like these rare matched chests. From Paris, this incredible pair of early 19th Century (C.1800) are in ex...
Brass
Christie's, French and Company Magnificent French and English Furniture 11/1998
Located in valatie, NY
Includes: The Rothschild 'Palmes Et Fleurs' Cressent commode, the Balfour desk, Japanese Laquer commodes, Louis XV Ormolu-Mounted commode by J.
Paper
Shopping for a commode or a chest of drawers?
Commode is the French term for a low chest of drawers, but it is also sometimes used to denote any case piece with a particularly intricate design. The commode dates to circa 1700 France, where it was used as an alternative to a taller cabinet piece so as to not obscure paneled, mirrored or tapestried walls. Coffers, or chests, which were large wooden boxes with hinged lids and sometimes stood on ball feet, preceded chests of drawers, a fashionable cabinet furnishing that garnered acclaim for its obvious storage potential and versatility. The term commode was also used to refer to a piece of bedroom furniture — a washstand or nightstand that contained a chamber pot.
As time passed, French and British furniture makers led the way in the production of chests of drawers, and features like the integration of bronze and ornamental pulls became commonplace. Antique French commodes in the Louis XV style were sometimes crafted in mahogany or walnut, while an Italian marble top added a sophisticated decorative flourish. This specific type of case piece grew in popularity in the years that followed.
So, what makes a chest of drawers different from a common dresser? Dressers are short, and chests of drawers are overall taller pieces of furniture that typically do not have room on the top for a mirror as most dressers do. Tallboys and highboys are variations of the dresser form. Some chests of drawers have one column of four to six long drawers or three long drawers in their bottom section that are topped by a cluster of small side-by-side drawers on the top. To further complicate things, we sometimes refer to particularly short chests of drawers as nightstands.
Even though chests of drawers are commonly thought of as bedroom furniture to store clothing, these are adaptable pieces. A chest of drawers can house important documents — think of your walnut Art Deco commode as an upgrade to your filing cabinet. Nestle your chest near your home’s front door to store coats and other outerwear, while the top can be a place to drop your handbag. Add some flair to your kitchen, where this lovable case piece can hold pots, pans and even cookbooks.
When shopping for the right chest of drawers for your home, there are a few key things to consider: What will you be storing in it? How big a chest will you need?
Speaking of size, don’t dream too big. If your space is on the smaller side, a more streamlined vintage mid-century modern chest of drawers, perhaps one designed by Paul McCobb or T.H. Robsjohn-Gibbings, may best suit your needs.
At 1stDibs, we make it easy to add style and storage to your home. Browse our collection of antique and vintage commodes and chests of drawers today.
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