A Description of the Chiffonier and Its Uses

(Above photo - French Chiffonier Cabinet Antique Inlay 1880 Amboyna )

Every household has odds and ends that can’t fit just anywhere else. Your sideboard could be too big for the small items, and a side table might not have the space to store everything. Enter the chiffonier, and you have a highly functional piece of furniture that helps declutter your home.

What Is a Chiffonier?

(Above photo - Victorian Chiffonier Sideboard Antique Mahogany 1860 )

A chiffonier is a furniture piece that looks more like a sideboard but is small in size. Unlike the sideboard, the chiffonier also has its entire front enclosed with a door. Chiffonier is a French name that indicates that the original use for this piece of furniture was a storage place for odds and ends that couldn’t fit anywhere else. Today, people substitute the chiffonier for the sideboard, never distinguishing one from another.

During England’s Empire Period, people had mixed tastes for the cumbrous and bizarre. It was at that time the chiffonier first emerged. The earliest versions of chiffonier were made from rosewood, which was popular.

The earliest form of the chiffonier had brass handles and a raised shelf with a pierced brass gallery on the rear. Some chiffoniers had a mirror. Its doors have brass-beading edges and are well-paneled. When the chiffonier was made, it could have clawed or padded feet. Some of the exclusive pieces featured gilded bronze sphinxes.

Uses of a Chiffonier

(Above photo - French Regency Chiffonier Antique Cabinet )

Like the sideboard, the chiffonier is essential to any home. You can use it in the dining room for additional storage. But that isn’t the only way you can use a sideboard.

1. Hidden Storage

Even though more minor, the chiffonier provides lots of storage space. Behind the door, there are several drawers or shelves to help you store pretty much anything you do not want to be seen by your guests. Suppose provides the perfect way for you to declutter your home. You can use it to keep things like napkins, cutlery sets, plates, and pretty much anything else.

Once you have kept away all the things that couldn’t fit anywhere else, you will have an elegant piece of furniture to compliment your home’s interior décor. Besides, you can use the top shelf to hold additional items.

2. Display For Your Favorite Objects

(Above photo - Victorian Chiffonier Antique Sideboard Burr Walnut 1850 )

If you’re aren’t using the chiffonier’s flat top to serve meals, why don’t you turn it into a display surface? You can use it to hold items such as flower vases, artwork, and lampshades. It all depends on where you have placed the chiffonier. With the chiffonier’s flat surface, you can play around with items and decorate your house anyhow you wish.

3. Complementing Your Interior Décor

Did you know that just having a chiffonier in a room is a good thing in itself? The brown can create a welcome contrast with other decoration elements in your home. For example, setting a chiffonier against them is a good idea if you have white walls.

Conclusion

(Above photo - Antique Chiffonier Sideboard - Victorian 1860 )

Are you looking for a chiffonier to buy? The market has pieces ranging from antique to modern pieces. Of course, an antique chiffonier is likely to cost more than a new one because its value has accumulated over time.