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How to choose the best chest of drawers

The perfect chest of drawers, or dresser, can be more than a practical, convenient place to store clothes, accessories and trinkets. It can also be a furniture centrepiece that adds character and style to your room. Here are some ideas on what to consider when you pick out the chest of drawers or dresser that’s just right for your home.

A bedroom with a blue floor and white walls. Focus on RÅDMANSÖ chest of drawers in walnut, with a mirror and decorations on top.

Do you want your storage to blend in or stand out?

For a seamless look, you can choose a chest of drawers that matches – in colour and materials – the rest of your bedroom. For a bold design statement, go with a chest of drawers that stands out from your current décor instead. Then, once you’re happy with the look on the outside, take some time to focus on the inside as well. There are a lot of different interior organizers to choose from, pick the ones that fit both your drawers and your belongings.

Grab hold of the important details

The knobs! Most drawers fit with different types of knobs or handles, which give them completely different looks. Changing the knobs is also the easiest way to renew the look of an old chest of drawers. Storage units in solid wood allow for another way to personalize or renew them, with paint! There are styles and sizes to fit all preferences.

Hallway with RAST chest of drawers in pine and RAGGBERG coat racks with a shelf on the wall above. A bright red lamp and mirror.

A woman in jeans is sitting on the floor painting the side of a RAST chest of drawers with pink paint. Paper covering the floor below.
Close-up of one drawer of RAST chests of drawers pulled out to show socks and things inside. RAKLEV rug on the floor below.

Plan ahead for a perfect fit

However big or small your space, there’s bound to be one (or two?) IKEA chest of drawers that slots in perfectly, both in width and height. Just be sure to double-check the measurements and potential wall obstructions before you choose. Remember that you’ll need enough room to pull out the drawers all the way, once it is in place. Another detail to consider is whether you want the chest of drawers to have legs or stand straight on the floor.

RÅDMANSÖ chest of 5 drawers in a warm walnut colour, standing between a green plant and the window in a bedroom.
Close-up of RÅDMANSÖ chest of 5 drawers, with focus on the brass knob and the black metal legs. Blue tile floor below.

Top it off!

The superpower of any dresser or chest of drawers is obviously the huge storage capacity of those drawers. But to top it off, there’s that flat top just waiting to be the display for things you actually want to see, when everything else is neatly hidden in the drawers. A lamp, vase, piece of art, collectibles, candles or perhaps a mirror – this is the place to show the finest!

Bedroom with STJÄRNÖ bed frame, wallpaper in beige and white, a white HAVSTA chest of drawers with a round mirror above it.
Close-up of HAVSTA chest of drawers with a drawer pulled out to show the neat order with organizing boxes inside.

Stay one step ahead of tip-over accidents

Safety is fundamental when we develop our products. But no one can predict all different scenarios – like a pulled-out drawer being used as support to stand up or kids building a blanket fort. And accidents often happen when you least expect it. So, the best way to reduce the risk of tip-over accidents is to anchor your product to the wall. For peace of mind, every day.

A man in green sweater, assembling a chest of drawers, making sure to anchor it to the wall to avoid tip-over accidents.