$5,625
H 42.5 in W 46 in D 23 in
Antique American Empire Mahogany Wood 4-Drawer Chest, circa 1800-1840
Located in Pasadena, CA
Antique American Empire mahogany wood 4-drawer chest with claw feet and original brass pulls
Mahogany
Circa 1815 French Empire 4-Drawer Commode
Located in Chapel Hill, NC
Circa 1815 French Empire 4-drawer commode. Restrained, elegant design typical of the period. Subtly
Bronze
$4,400
H 38 in W 46 in D 22.5 in
18th Century Painted French Empire Style 4 Drawer Commode in Pale Blue
Located in Atlanta, GA
19th Century Painted French Empire Period 4 Drawer Commode in Pale Blue is a true testament to the
Wood
$3,200
H 35 in W 49.5 in D 22.5 in
Villa Garnelo French Empire Style Crotch Mahogany 4 Drawer Commode Dresser Chest
By Villa Garnelo Internacional
Located in Philadelphia, PA
. Villa Garnelo French Empire Style Crotch Mahogany 4 Drawer Commode Dresser Chest. Item features a
Mahogany
$2,650
H 35.5 in W 50 in D 22.5 in
Henredon Empire Neoclassical Marble Top Mahogany 4 Drawer Dresser Chest Commode
Located in Philadelphia, PA
Henredon Empire Neoclassical Marble Top Mahogany 4 Drawer Dresser Chest Commode. Item features 4
Marble
$4,400
H 33 in W 40 in D 19 in
Baker 4 Drawer Marble Top Neoclassical Empire Revival Console Chest Dresser MINT
By Baker Furniture Company
Located in Rockaway, NJ
Baker 4 Drawer Marble Top Neoclassical Empire Revival Console Chest Dresser MINT
Marble, Brass
Empire Mahogany 4 Drawer Chest
Located in Houston, TX
Beautiful 2-tone Empire Barrel faced Mahogany Empire Chest with four drawers and brass tone round
Mahogany
Antique American Empire Mahogany Wood 4-Drawer Chest, circa 1800-1840
Located in Pasadena, CA
Antique American Empire mahogany wood 4-drawer chest with claw feet and original brass pulls
Mahogany
An Elegant Danish Empire Mahogany 4-Drawer Commode
Located in San Francisco, CA
An elegant Danish empire mahogany 4-drawer commode with ebonized highlights; the rectangular top
Empire Walnut Veneered 4-drawer Commode
Located in San Francisco, CA
The richly-patinated commode of well figured walnut veneer flanked by ebonized columns
Walnut
A French Empire Period Walnut and Bronze Mounted 4-Drawer Commode
Located in Atlanta, GA
having a rectangular top above a hidden drawer above three drawers flanked by brass mounted columns
Walnut
Sold
H 37.25 in W 51.25 in D 25.5 in
French Empire Period Walnut 4-Drawer Marble-Top Commode, circa 1820
Located in Atlanta, GA
unmarked upper drawer with hand hold pulls underneath above three large drawers flanked by columns with
Walnut
Sold
H 46 in W 21.5 in D 37 in
Rway French Empire Neoclassical Mahogany 4 Drawer Tall Chest Dresser Highboy
By RWAY
Located in Philadelphia, PA
Antique Rway French Empire neoclassical style mahogany 4 drawer tall chest dresser highboy. Item
Mahogany
A Danish Empire Mahogany Bow Front Chest w/Inlaid Canted Corners
Located in San Francisco, CA
A handsome Danish empire mahogany bow front 4-drawer chest with inlaid canted corners; the bowed
French Empire Mahogany & Marble Commode
Located in Baton Rouge, LA
French Empire style crotch mahogany 4 drawer chest of drawers. Wonderful old marble sits over this
Russian Empire Commode Secretary
Located in Los Angeles, CA
An exceptional Russian Empire fruitwood and ebonized 4 drawer chest/secretary. The top drawer
Lapis Lazuli, Marble, Carrara Marble, Brass
French 19th Century Empire Mahogany & Marble Commode
Located in Baton Rouge, LA
French Empire crotch mahogany 4 drawer chest of drawers. Wonderful old marble sits over this unique
French Empire Chest
Located in West Palm Beach, FL
A Bronze Mounted French Empire 4 Drawer Chest In a Beautiful Old Weathered Worn Finish With a Black
Wood
French empire chest of drawers
Located in So. Egremont, MA
Empire 4 drawer chest has marble top. Columns with brass details at both sides end in lions paw
Brass
4 Drawer French Empire Commode
Located in Woodbury, CT
MOTTLED GREY MARBLE TOP COMMODE WITH FADED MAHOGANY SOLIDS AND VENEERS, BRASS MOUNTED TOP DRAWER
Marble, Brass
French mahogany Empire style marble marble top chest with Swans
Located in Hudson, NY
A French mahogany Empire style marble top 4 drawer chest with carved Swans on two corners. with
Marble
Sold
H 31.75 in W 36.5 in D 20 in
19th Century Circa 1860 French Empire Walnut Marble Top 4 Drawer Commode
Located in Atlanta, GA
19th century circa 1860 French empire walnut marble top 4 drawer commode.
Marble, Brass
19th Century Flame Mahogany Chest of Drawers
Located in High Point, NC
19th century flame mahogany chest of drawers from England. The top is made from a single plank and is wonderfully grained. This follows down to simple sides and two over four drawers...
Mahogany
$4,995
H 68.88 in W 48.25 in D 22.88 in
Antique Empire Flame Mahogany Highboy Chest of Drawers, Circa 1880s
Located in South Bend, IN
A gorgeous antique Empire or Victorian flame mahogany highboy dresser or chest of drawers with Mother-of-Pearl inlay Scotland, Circa 1880s Measures: 48.25"W x 22.88"D x 68.88"H. V...
Mahogany, Mother-of-Pearl
$230,584Sale Price|33% Off
H 51.19 in W 55.12 in D 201.58 in
Rare Victorian Firescreen with Taxidermy Hummingbirds by Henry Ward
By Henry Ward
Located in Amsterdam, NL
England, third quarter of the 19th century On two scrolling foliate feet with casters, above which a rectangular two-side glazed frame, with on top a two-sided shield with initial...
Other
Small American Empire Sideboard in Mahogany, circa 1820
Located in INTERLAKEN, NY
A fine petite American Empire sideboard in mahogany and bookmatched figured mahogany. Features rectangular top over two drawers above base cabinet with two doors flanked by turned io...
Mahogany
Unavailable|$1,800
H 48.5 in W 48.25 in D 24 in
Antique American Empire Crotch Mahogany Chest Drawers Step Back Dresser Paw Feet
Located in Philadelphia, PA
Antique American Empire Crotch Mahogany Chest Drawers Step Back Dresser with Paw Feet. Item features column supports, lift off upper small 3 drawer section, beautiful wood grain, no ...
Mahogany
Empire Dresser Chest of Drawers Solid Cherry
Located in Cookeville, TN
Beautifully crafted Empire style solid cherry wood chest of drawers. Dovetail joints, turned legs and drawer pulls. Amazing aged patina. In classic empire style, the top drawer is th...
Wood
$12,500
H 71 in W 45.5 in D 25 in
Antique American Empire Rosewood Dental / Medical Cabinet, circa 1820
Located in Portland, OR
Antique American Empire rosewood dental / medical cabinet, circa 1820. This incredibly rare cabinet, in two section, made of figured rosewood throughout and having a neoclassical ped...
Rosewood
$15,500
H 86 in W 85.5 in D 74 in
Antique American 4 Poster Acanthus Carved Southern Bed in Mahogany, c. 1820
Located in INTERLAKEN, NY
Period Antique Federal American 4 poster bed in West Indies mahogany, c. 1820. A fine example of a Southern bed featuring carved tobacco and acanthus leaves in a fine tight grained C...
Mahogany
$29,000
H 103 in W 62 in D 91 in
Antique Queen-Size Carved Four-Poster American Empire Bed, Philadelphia, c 1825
Located in INTERLAKEN, NY
An extraordinary American empire four-poster bed in cherry wood from the Philadelphia area that appears in the book, Philadelphia Empire Furniture by Boor. Features an elaborate seri...
Cherry, Poplar
1800s American Federal Mahogany Butler's Secretary Desk
Located in Germantown, MD
An early 19th Century Federal Mahogany Butler's Secretary Desk recently refinished. Measure 45.75" in width, 21" in depth and 44" in height.
Mahogany
$9,750
H 65 in W 52.5 in D 24 in
Rhode Island Empire Butler's Chest of Drawers with Desk in Mahogany, circa 1825
Located in INTERLAKEN, NY
A beautiful example of an early American Empire chest with full-column front and stand-up butlers desk. Provides ample storage as a chest of drawers, and doubles as a secretary with ...
Brass
$2,381
H 49 in W 41.125 in D 19.5 in
Antique American Empire Flame Mahogany Step Back Chest of Drawers
Located in Chicago, IL
Antique American Empire Flame Mahogany Step Back Chest of Drawers This Antique Empire style cabinet has ample storage and display space. This piece would be great for a bedroom to s...
Wood, Mahogany
Empire Flame Mahogany Chest of Drawers
Located in Pasadena, TX
A gorgeous American Empire five-drawer highboy dresser or chest of drawers Stunning book-matched flame mahogany, with carved columns and paw feet. Very good original vintage conditio...
Mahogany
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.
Simple or sophisticated, equipped with console, cart or custom cabinetry, these stylish bar areas deserve a toast.
Whether you’re just moving in or ready to give your home a makeover, our guide will give you pointers on tables that are fitting for every room, nook and hallway.
The furniture equivalent of a Swiss Army knife, it's the multifunctional piece you didn't know you needed.
Italian studio DimoreMilano mustered great ingenuity when crafting these sculptural shelves, which are built without any screws.
Leaping into a design project, whether it's refreshing the bedroom or redoing the whole house, can be overwhelming. Luckily, we know more than a few interior designers. You asked questions on Instagram, and now they're answering.
Introduced nearly 500 years ago, curiosity cabinets are finding new fans among today's collectors and designers.
In the hands of New York Heartwoods cofounder Megan Offner, unwanted local trees become works of design art.
From Brooklyn townhouses to Maine campgrounds, Trattie Davies and Jonathan Toews relish a challenge, like transforming a former warehouse space into the new 1stdibs Gallery.