Storage furniture is any furniture designed primarily to hold and protect possessions, from clothing and linen to books, papers, tableware and valuables. It is among the oldest categories of furniture, beginning with the simple medieval coffer or chest, which served as storage, seat and travelling trunk.
Over time, storage forms became more specialised. The chest of drawers developed in the late seventeenth century, followed by the tallboy or chest-on-chest, the linen press, the wardrobe and the bow-fronted and serpentine commodes of the eighteenth century. Dining rooms acquired sideboards, chiffoniers and cellarets, libraries gained bookcases and cabinets, and kitchens had dressers, pantry cupboards and dresser bases. Victorian and Edwardian makers produced many matching bedroom suites. Antique storage furniture is valued for its solid construction, practical capacity and fine timbers, and it often provides more character and better build quality than modern equivalents. When buying, check the runners, drawer linings, backs and feet, and confirm that the piece will fit through doors and up stairs.
