Edwardian chest of drawers

Dating from the Edwardian period, this substantial wooden chest has been given a fresh look while retaining its original construction and fittings. The arrangement of two smaller upper drawers above three full-width drawers provides plenty of practical storage. The smaller drawers are useful for accessories and everyday items, while the deeper drawers offer generous space for clothing, knitwear and bedding.

The original brass drop handles have been retained, with their aged patina sitting particularly well against the new off-white finish. The drawer fronts feature simple horizontal mouldings, while the sides have recessed panels and the base sits on small feet. The paintwork has been dry-scraped, creating an irregular, heavily worn appearance with areas of natural wood showing through. The result has a relaxed Scandinavian feel without losing the proportions and details of the original Edwardian chest. This is a heavy, well-built piece of furniture, made at a time when chests of drawers were intended for everyday use over many years.

A good, substantial antique chest of drawers, recently refinished in our workshop. The distressed off-white paintwork is intentional, with extensive areas of exposed wood, uneven colour and a dry-scraped surface. The original brass handles remain in place and show the patina expected of their age. All drawers have been worked on in our workshop to ensure they fit and run well. However, these are original, heavy wooden drawers and require a firmer hand to open and close than modern drawer runners. They are not soft-gliding drawers, and this is part of the nature of the piece, but do open and close well. General signs of age and marks from previous use remain beneath the new finish, in keeping with its Edwardian origins.

The combination of the original brass handles and the scraped-back off-white finish works particularly well on this chest. It's a lovely balance of old furniture and a more relaxed, Scandinavian-inspired look. Most of all, we like that it's a proper, heavy chest with genuinely useful deep drawers, carefully worked on in our workshop and ready for many more years of use.