A chest of drawers is the least glamorous piece in a bedroom and often the most useful. It absorbs the clothing that has nowhere else to go, provides a surface where there is no room for a dressing table, and in a small room it frequently does more work than the wardrobe. Getting the choice right is mostly a matter of measurement and honest assessment of what you own.
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Beyond that, our range at Furniture in Fashion includes free UK delivery, which keeps the total straightforward. That matters when you are working to a fixed figure, because a delivery surcharge on a bulky item can be the thing that pushes a purchase out of reach.
People buy chests based on how a room looks rather than on what needs to go inside, and then discover the drawers are the wrong shape for the contents.
Bulky items such as jumpers, jeans and bedding need deep drawers. Shirts, underwear, socks and accessories need shallow ones. A chest that is all deep drawers wastes vertical space on small items, while a chest of uniformly shallow drawers cannot take a folded winter jumper without cramming.
The practical answer is a mixed configuration. Two shallow drawers at the top for small items and two or three deeper drawers below covers most wardrobes. If you are storing spare bedding, favour the deeper configurations.
Count roughly how many drawers of each type you need before looking at a single product. It takes ten minutes and it makes the shortlist obvious.
This is the one that catches people out. A chest that is 50cm deep in a bedroom with 70cm of passing space leaves an uncomfortable squeeze. In tighter rooms, a chest around 40cm deep is usually the better decision even though it holds slightly less.
Remember to add clearance for the drawer to open fully. A 45cm deep drawer needs around 45cm of clear floor in front of it, and if the bed is closer than that you will only ever open the drawer halfway.
A wide low chest suits a room with available wall and gives a generous surface for a lamp or a mirror. A tall narrow chest suits a room where wall space is scarce but ceiling height is available. Both hold similar amounts. The choice is about the shape of the space rather than capacity.
If you plan to use the top as a surface, height determines whether that is comfortable. Around waist height works well for folding and for a mirror above. A very tall chest turns the top into storage you cannot see, which limits its usefulness.
The most forgiving option in a family room. Grain disguises minor marks, and a solid or engineered wood chest tends to look better after a few years of use rather than worse. Our modern wooden chest of drawers UK sale range covers the common tones from pale oak through to darker walnut finishes.
Reflects light, which is genuinely useful in a north facing bedroom or a room with a single small window. It shows fingerprints, so it suits adult bedrooms or households where a weekly wipe is realistic. Our modern high gloss chest of drawers UK selection is worth considering where light is the priority.
Visually the lightest of the lot, since the reflection makes the piece recede. Best placed where it reflects a window or a plain wall rather than clutter, and best kept out of the busiest walking routes.
Metal framed chests with wooden fronts give a lighter appearance than solid sided units and work well in a room that already has a lot of solid furniture.
Two chests can look identical and behave very differently after a year of daily opening. A few things are worth reading in the specification.
Runner type matters most. Metal runners hold up better under weight than plastic, and soft close runners protect the frame from being slammed shut repeatedly. Look at whether the drawer base is a solid panel or a thin insert, since heavy contents in a thin base will bow over time.
Check whether the back panel is fixed all the way round or only at points. A fully fixed back keeps the carcass square, which is what stops drawers sticking after a few years.
If the chest is tall, check for an anti tip fixing. In a household with young children this is not optional, and a chest with several drawers open at once can become unstable.
The obvious spot is often not the right one. Directly beside a radiator subjects the finish to repeated heating and cooling. Directly behind a door limits how far the drawers open. In front of a window it blocks light, though a low chest under a window can work well if the sill is high enough.
The alcove beside a chimney breast is frequently the best home for a chest, since it is dead space that a wardrobe cannot use. Measure the alcove at its narrowest point, because plaster is rarely as square as it looks.
If the room has to work as a bedroom and something else, a chest in the corner with a mirror above it makes a functional dressing area without a dedicated dressing table. Our modern bedroom mirrors UK sale range pairs with this arrangement well, and it uses less floor space than a separate table.
A chest rarely goes in alone. If you are furnishing a bedroom over time, buying the chest second or third works well, once the bed is in place and you can see the remaining floor area properly.
Matching a chest exactly to a bed is less important than most people think. Sharing a tone, or a handle finish, is usually enough. A room where every piece matches precisely can look flat, while a room with two related but different finishes tends to look more considered.
If you also need hanging space, work out the split between hanging and folded storage before buying either piece. Most people need more drawer space and less hanging space than they assume, and our modern wardrobes UK sale range should be sized against that assessment rather than bought at maximum capacity by default.
Chests are among the more involved flat packed items, mainly because of the drawer boxes. Assemble the carcass on a soft surface such as a blanket to protect the finish, and check the frame is square before fixing the back panel, since the back is what locks the shape in.
Fit the runners exactly to the marked positions. A few millimetres out on a runner is the usual cause of a drawer that catches. Once assembled, load the heaviest items in the lowest drawers, which improves stability and reduces strain on the upper runners.
For care, dust gloss and mirrored surfaces with a soft cloth and avoid abrasive cleaners. Wax or oil finished wood benefits from occasional treatment according to the manufacturer guidance. Every six months, check and tighten any visible fixings, since normal use gradually loosens them.
A chest of drawers is one of the few pieces where assembly quality visibly changes how the finished item performs. Work on a soft surface such as the packaging itself so the finish does not scuff, and check the parts list against the contents before you start rather than halfway through. The single most important step is squaring the carcass before you fully tighten the fixings and fit the back panel, because the back panel is what holds the unit square permanently. A carcass tightened out of true will give you drawers that rub on one side forever, and no amount of adjustment afterwards fully fixes it.
Once assembled, position the chest on a level surface and check it with a spirit level rather than by eye. On carpet, floor protectors under the feet spread the load and stop one corner settling lower than the others. Secure taller chests to the wall with the supplied bracket, which matters both for safety and for keeping the frame square as drawers are pulled in and out. Load the bottom drawers most heavily and the top drawer least, and avoid the temptation to open two full drawers at once on a tall unit. Finally, leave a small gap behind the chest rather than pushing it flat to a cold external wall, so air can circulate and the back panel stays dry through a British winter.
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Around 40cm is often more practical than a deeper unit, and remember to allow clear floor in front equal to the drawer depth so drawers can open fully.
Not exactly. Sharing a tone or a handle finish is generally enough to tie a room together, and slight variation usually looks better than a fully matching set.
A mix. Two shallow drawers at the top for small items and two or three deeper drawers beneath suits most wardrobes, with deeper configurations preferable if you store bedding.
They show fingerprints more readily than wood, but a soft damp cloth handles it quickly. Avoid abrasive cleaners, which can dull the surface permanently.
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