Dresser & Chest of Drawers

At a glance

• Family: Dressers & Commodes
• Periods most often found: Victorian dressers with marble tops and mirrors date from about 1850 to 1900; Eastlake designs from 1870 to 1890; Colonial Revival and Golden Oak dressers from 1890 to 1920; Art Deco waterfall dressers, mostly American, from 1930 to 1950; mid-century dressers from 1950 to 1970.
• Typical price: about $1,200; range $300 to $6,000 and more for exceptional pieces
• What drives value: Style, original hardware, marble top, veneer condition

What it is

A dresser, or chest of drawers, is the bedroom's main storage piece. American usage covers everything from the tall Victorian dresser with an attached mirror to the low Art Deco "waterfall" dresser with rounded, cascading veneered edges. In France, the equivalent forms are the commode (low, two or three drawers, often marble-topped) and the chiffonnier or semainier, a tall narrow chest with five to seven drawers, one for each day of the week.

How to identify and date it

Pull out a drawer and read it. Hand-cut dovetails are irregular, few and widely spaced; machine dovetails, common after about 1880, are small, even and numerous. Drawer bottoms on older pieces are thick, hand-planed boards set in grooves; plywood points to the 20th century. Secondary woods (pine, poplar, oak) and the color of unfinished surfaces should look uniformly aged. Check whether the hardware has extra screw holes, a sign of replaced pulls, and whether the top has been refinished while the sides have not.

Periods and styles

Victorian dressers with marble tops and mirrors date from about 1850 to 1900; Eastlake designs from 1870 to 1890; Colonial Revival and Golden Oak dressers from 1890 to 1920; Art Deco waterfall dressers, mostly American, from 1930 to 1950; mid-century dressers from 1950 to 1970.

How much is it worth?

On the US retail market, most dresser & chest of drawers examples ask around $1,200. Simple or worn pieces start near $300, while documented, signed or exceptional examples can pass $6,000. The main value drivers are: style, original hardware, marble top, veneer condition. These are indicative ranges, not an appraisal; see our price guide for French antiques for the method.

Questions buyers ask: antique dresser with mirror value; antique dressers value; antique furniture prices; antique bedroom furniture value. The answer depends on the points below, which are worth checking before you compare prices.

Before you buy

• Test every drawer under load
• Look for runners worn into grooves
• Check that mirror supports are solid
• Inspect veneer for lifting along edges
• Confirm the size for your room and doorways

Living with it

A dresser can be repurposed as a dining-room sideboard, a hall console with a mirror above, or a bathroom vanity once the top is sealed.