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Bedroom Furniture 101: Terms, Misconceptions, and FAQs

Bedroom Furniture 101: Terms, Misconceptions, and FAQs

It’s true, we’re passionate about high quality, affordable bedroom furniture. But many of us at Woodstock Furniture & Mattress Outlet haven’t always been furniture experts. What is a dresser, and how is it different than a chest? What is a chest of drawers? Is a chest of drawers the same thing as a chest? Exactly what is a chesser? How about armoires, bureaus, and wardrobes? Since many of us had these same questions when we first embarked on our careers in furniture, we thought we’d answer these same questions for you, our customers! Welcome to Bedroom Furniture 101.

Bedroom Furniture Terms & FAQs

Just about everyone knows what a bed is. Or a mattress. Or a nightstand. However, once you get into storage bedroom furniture, things can get confusing. Exactly what is a dresser, what is a chest, and what’s the big difference?

We recently had a customer looking for a chest of drawers who thought they were called “chester drawers”. Don’t forget, we’re from the South too y’all! No judgement here. We totally get it! We’ve also had customers admit that they’d been calling chests “dressers” their whole lives, and vice versa. Don’t worry, we’re here to help clarify a few things!

Dressers, Chessers and Chests, Oh My!

After the bed itself, clothing storage is likely the second most important piece in the room. This can take the form of a dresser, chest, chesser, armoire or wardrobe.

dresser and chest

Heron Cove Bedroom & Bay Creek Bedroom

Dressers

Dressers are best suited for bedrooms with lots of available space. Evolving from the traditional dressing table or “lowboy”, the dresser is long in length and not much higher than your waist. Additionally, most dressers are paired with a mirror on top. This provides ample storage space inside, as well as a large amount top space.

Chests

Don’t let the name fool you. “Chest of drawers” is just the formal name for the furniture piece commonly known as a chest. Unlike the dresser, the chest is tall and fairly narrow. The real benefit is that a chest’s drawers are arranged vertically, so it takes up significantly less floor space in your bedroom than a traditional dresser.

Chessers

If Goldilocks was picking furniture for her bedroom, she’d probably pick a chesser. If the dresser is too big, and the chest is too small, the chesser would be just right. Wider than a chest but taller than a dresser, the chesser boasts the perfect balance between size and storage capacity.

Armoires & Wardrobes

Finally, we come to the armoire or wardrobe. The key feature of this elegant furniture piece is an enclosed closet area for hanging garments, usually with sliding or hinged doors. In centuries past, this space was used to store armor, but it will suffice for your coats, jackets, dresses and other hanging items. Some wardrobes also include a set of drawers underneath or next to the “closet”, and are known as chiffarobes.

Woodstock Furniture & Mattress Outlet is Metro Atlanta’s Home for High Quality, Affordable Bedroom Furniture

Hopefully this clears up a few common misunderstandings about the various pieces of bedroom furniture. Look for another post in the future where we’ll dive into a few other bedroom furniture categories – like media chests, vanities and more! Lastly, if you’ve got any other questions, we’d love to hear them! Tweet us @WFMOShowroom, or shoot us a message on our official Facebook or Instagram!

From chests to chessers, and dressers to armoires, WFMO is where North Georgia buys its bedroom furniture! Our commitment at Woodstock Furniture & Mattress Outlet is to offer you better quality furniture at lower prices. You’ll be hard pressed to find a wider selection of affordable, high quality furniture anywhere else!

Swing by the blog again soon as we’ll have a look at some “undercover” recliners that don’t look like recliners at all!

 
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