A selection of dressers
Our selection of dressers includes some of the most impressive items of furniture we sell. In addition to our
pine dressers there is, for example, a
painted dresser in the Grosvenor range from
PD Global that is truly imposing. Purists seeking a Welsh dresser might prefer instead to view the
solid oak dressers we have available, while those seeking a practical kitchen dresser could do worse than view the traditional-style Sussex dressers in pine from
CPW Furniture.
The Origin of Dressers
The origin of the dresser dates back to the
late 1300s when the word was used to mean a table upon which food was prepared or
dressed. Over time cupboards were added to the base to hold equipment needed for the food preparation, such as knives or cleavers, and later a top to display the plates or dishes on which the dressed food would be served. In America the word dresser is used in connection with bedroom furniture, specifically a chest of drawers usually with a mirror on top.
The dresser can be an impressive piece of furniture. Many would originally have been made of
pine or painted wood, belonging as they did to the kitchen or to the owners of more humble households. However, rising classes would have combined pride in their display of china with their greater affluence and had dressers made of
oak. Older
pine dressers would thus be large affairs from the kitchens of big houses, while early
oak dressers might be more ornate but smaller, in keeping with cottages or smaller farmhouses.
Regional variations of Dresser
The term Welsh dresser, is perhaps one of the best known of the regional variations of this type of furniture, but other areas also had their own particular styles of dresser, such as
Sussex dressers or
Yorkshire dressers. The essential elements of each type were broadly similar, but variations would occur due to local custom and practice and, for example, the choice of timber locally available.
Glazed doors were a later addition to dressers and spice drawers would only be only slightly older as spices were so expensive and difficult to procure they would have been kept securely locked away. Dressers (and other large items of furniture) where the centre section stands forward of the rest of the piece are described as breakfront dressers.
Here at Right Price Furniture we have dressers in a variety of styles, materials, sizes and prices to suit most tastes and budgets. There are traditional styles in both large and small sizes and contemporary styles such as the
New Solid Oak Dressers.
We do see quite a few visits to this page after users have mistyped the word into google or any other search engine. Clearly their after dresses as they then search the site for
Monsoon Dresses,
New Look Dresses or
ASOS Dresses, an easy mistake to male.