We have been looking for an amazing dresser for our primary bedroom for awhile. And by “we”, I really mean me. My husband couldn’t care less what I choose. Well, I take that back. He says he doesn’t care, but then when it arrives, it’ll become apparent that he does, in fact, care and make an annoying comment that makes it clear he’s not a fan and then deny that he’s not a fan even though it’s clear he’s not. Ahh, marriage. So fun, right? But okay, back to my main point here, which is how to choose a dresser. I have found picking out a dresser to be one of the hardest things I’ve done while decorating. I am not a fan of an overly matchy-matchy look, but I never know how to mix woods and textures and paint/wallpaper and linens. I think layered rooms are the best, but they’re the hardest to design, especially when it’s amateur hour over here. Dressers are expensive and bulky so you really don’t want to make the wrong decision, so it’s not like I can just be like, oops, that wood doesn’t really look good with those nightstands, let’s just return it. (Although you can from many places and I have done that far too many times, much to my husband’s dismay.) And then there’s the fact, that it’s hard to find a dresser in the exact size you need in the style you want. I’ve found several dressers I love, but the size is wrong, or they’re just too expensive for what they are and for my tendency to want to redecorate and/or move every few years.
The smart thing for us to do would be to approach the bedroom design holistically and choose everything from the start before we start ordering furniture so that we know it’ll all go together. The only problem is that we don’t have a lot of furniture to use while we’re working out all the details and currently, we need something in our bedroom to hold up our TV so I can set up my home office (said TV is currently sitting on my desk and it’s a pain). I am going to work on our bedroom design so that hopefully, we choose a dresser that really fits it, but I think that eventually we’ll want to do wallpaper, so it may get a bit crazy. But in the meantime, I’m shopping for dressers and want to choose something that is neutral and versatile enough that it can be used in a guest room or kids’ room or work with whatever paper we choose down the road (we won’t be wallpaper the bedroom for awhile). When figuring out how to choose a dresser, I have a few tips I’ve learned from experience or curated from the experts.
Start with the right size for your space: You’ll need to figure out what size dresser you can fit. Most primary bedrooms call for a wide dresser, but if you’re in a smaller space or looking to fill a narrow wall, you’ll want to consider something smaller and maybe a tall dresser if you need to optimize storage. Getting the proportions right is always the key first step. In addition to making sure it’ll fit the space (I like to have a few inches at least of wall space on either side), you want to think about how you’ll organize your clothes and whether you want just a standard six large drawers or a mix with smaller drawers for things like underwear and socks.
Mix and match with your nightstands: As I said, the matchy matchy bedroom set look isn’t a designer favorite. If it’s for you, go for it. It probably makes life a lot easier, but it can feel a bit contrived, so for a more styled look, you want to mix your woods and finishes. The key to mixing and matching is to make sure the woods compliment each other and the styles feel right together. Ultra modern nightstands won’t look right with a rustic dresser but could be the ultimate compliment to a beachy dresser or even an antique if you do it right. This is actually where how to choose a dresser becomes complicated imo. Mixing styles can work and the best designers are genius at it. And if you get all antique pieces, the room will look dated, and personally, all modern isn’t my favorite look either. I would map it out in Canva or photoshop to see if you like the different woods together.
Don’t forget the hardware: If your budget won’t allow for your dream dresser, consider getting a more affordable option and switching out the hardware. It’s one of the easiest ways to upgrade a dresser and make it stand out. You could mix and match with other metals in the room for a more stylized vibe. Again, I’d map it out in Canva or Photoshop, but hardware is a little easier to order and return than a full-on dresser, so you have a bit more room to play irl. I also like to check out bedrooms I love that I see on Instagram, Pinterest or my favorite designer’s portfolios and check out how they mixed and matched metals and finishes and copy that. You can also book time with a designer — some do hourly consults or single room projects and some offer their time on platforms like The Expert, where you can ask them questions like which hardware to get or if two finishes work etc.
And now the fun part, here are my favorite bedroom dressers. Let me know which you think would work best.
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