artichoke lamp landing page banner | byBespoek

Mid century dressers: Painted dressers in mid century modern style

With a perfect balance of style and functionality, mid century modern dressers are an ideal storage solution for a modern home. With plenty of storage space and vintage appeal, they can be just what you missed in your home.

Delivered to your door in 72 hours

Arrives fully assembled, easy

Handmade Premium Quality

Dressers and, for that matter, any other element with drawers is a good way to clear up the clatter in your home and put the non-essentials and those elements with little to no décor value out of sight, leaving the open surfaces available for those things that will help your personality shine through your interior design decisions. But far from being a purely practical element, mid century modern dressers can be highly aesthetical elements by themselves. With sleek elegant form, tapered legs and simple knobs rich in character, they can easily add to the overall aesthetic of the room and catch some well-deserved attention.

What is a mid century style dresser?

Mid century style or mid century modern design was an all-encompassing art and design movement that left its mark on very different areas of creativity – from painting and sculpture to lighting architecture and furniture design. Highly innovative, MCM style was rooted in the design philosophy that was formulated through movements such as International Style, Bauhaus or early Modernism. The designers working during this period focused on creating highly functional and affordable, yet undoubtedly stylish and elegant furniture that will meet the needs of the 20th century home. This resulted in a series of classic designs characterized by almost minimalist aesthetic and timeless elegance which is just as suitable for contemporary stylish homes.

Mid century modern dressers are also a part of this legacy. They are dressers which are rather simple in appearance, although perfectly balanced in their aesthetic expression. With clear and precise lines, they are streamlined furnishing elements that were made in line with the principle of form follows function. Most commonly and almost exclusively they are made in wood – a material that is so commonly used in mid century modern design due to its stylistic versatility and natural appeal.

Mid century dresser legs

Most mid century modern style dressers have tapered legs, and even when they are constant-width, they are still present almost always. The reason why mid century designers opted not to have the base of the dresser touching the floor is because that approach would significantly increase the visual footprint of the element. Mid century dresser legs serve the important function of allowing the light to flow underneath the element, ensuring that the room will feel spacious and not cluttered. In addition, the smaller visual footprint of the dresser with legs will ensure a contrast to the massive furniture of the eras preceding the mid century years.

Mid century dresser drawers

Mid century dressers always come with drawers and 6-drawers models are arguably the most popular and most numerous. This even number ensured a symmetrical and balanced expression, while at the same time they played an important practical role. Of course, not much needs to be said that they are the ideal way to clear up the clutter and keep your non-essentials out of view, while still keeping them organized.

Mid century dresser knobs are usually not too imposing – on the contrary, in many models they will be completely absent with handles being carved into the wooden drawers. When they are present, they tend to be rather simple, made out of metal and plastic in rusty or neutral shades.

Painted mid century dresser Vs natural colored

While wood is undoubtedly the most common material due to its unique stylistic expression and versatility, but the models are divided between painted mid century dressers and the ones with transparent finish that retain the wooden texture. The latter are somewhat more popular as they embody the ‘inspiration from nature’ postulate of mid century design, but painted models also come with unique appeal. Simple black and white, as well as neutral and pastel shades are all very popular options and they can very easily fit in more contemporary décor styles.

So, if you are not looking to get that mid century look spot-on, but rather a MCM vibe in a more eclectic style, painted mid century dressers might do the trick. The choice of color will largely depend on the style. For boho chic, you might want to go with pastels or even more saturated models while white mid century dressers are ideal for more contemporary and minimalist styles.

Mid century tall dresser Vs 6-drawers model

When it comes to making this choice, it might be worth mentioning that tall dressers were much less common in the mid century era than the 6-drawers models. So, if you want to stay authentic, the latter option will be more suitable. But as all of these models come with timeless style and elegance, neither will disrupt the stylistic balance of the room. So, your practical needs for storage space should be the primary criterion here.

Mid century modern dresser for sale

Due to their unwavering popularity and timeless appeal, mid century style dressers can still be purchased at a variety of places, retailers and even online auctions and other websites. Of course, you should always make sure that you are confident that the model you chose will meet the practical and stylistic demands as this can be a bit of greater investment. But, regardless, it will be a long term investment. And just with a bit of care your mid century dresser can last for generations.