- May 23, 2022
- Juliane
Is a dresser always a dresser? Is a sideboard only a sideboard? What about a console table, or a cabinet with doors? Whether you’re in a style rut or looking for an inexpensive way to freshen up your home, thinking about your existing furniture in a new way could be the right answer. This is especially helpful if you’re moving or have recently moved.
There’s no coincidence that this is what I’m writing about as we’ve recently purchased our third home, and new furniture is not at the top of the list. It’s an incredible property that needs a lot of love before we can focus on getting the ideal furnishings. For many, the house itself is the big purchase, and often your old furniture doesn’t quite work in your new spaces. There are so many other expenses, especially with a home that needs some TLC (like ours).
The look, feel and function of your new home is important.
I know I can’t wait until enough (certainly not all, because I don’t know if that ever happens…) of the boxes are emptied and put away to start showing off the new digs. So, what can you do if your dressers look ridiculous in the new master bedroom? How about if you’ve lost a dining room, but gained an eat-in kitchen. And with recent events around the world, maybe your guest bedroom now needs to serve as an office too. So many questions and space planning troubles…But, my dear friends, much like your favorite 2am infomercial, I have a fun and easy solution that will only cost you 4 easy payments of $19.95…not really, it’s free.
Here is my mind-blowing, magical, “Huh, I didn’t think about that” solution to your furniture woes.
What is a dresser? It’s a pretty box with drawers and possibly doors in it to store things.
What is a sideboard? It’s a pretty box with drawers and possibly doors in it to store things.
What’s a console or entry table? Again, maybe more open shelves, but it too is just a pretty box with doors and drawers to store things.
This also goes for media centers, nightstands, armoires, end tables, sofa tables, you name it.
If it’s got a top, sides, shelves, drawers, doors, and stands on the floor, it’s all basically interchangeable.
Here are some examples from my own life of just some of the swaps I’ve made over the years.
My current dresser started it’s life as a sideboard.
It has been in my family for years and was ‘allegedly’ refinished by my father some time in the early 80’s. In my first house, it served its original purpose as you can see in the photo above.
At my next apartment, I used it as a media console to hold my TV. Sure, it was slightly higher than recommended, but that was never a priority for me. After getting married, and buying out home in Annapolis, we didn’t really have the space for a TV console, so we used a small floating shelf instead.
Then, at our first house in the Pittsburgh area, my sideboard became a dresser. And that floating shelf I mentioned became a landing spot at the top of the stairs in a tiny alcove between the bedroom doors.
Here in our forever home the sideboard has come full circle, happily residing in the kitchen as a bar.
So, put on your creative thinking caps and take a fresh perspective on the pieces around your house. If a piece of furniture that hasn’t been serving its visual and functional tasks, mix it up. When the needs of the space have changed, try thinking about moving things around to serve more of your needs. You probably have other furniture pieces already in your home that can solve these problems. You’ll be surprised at what you come up with using a new perspective!
