A dresser was originally a side table on which food was prepared or ‘dressed.’ It would have been natural to have shelves above it on which the implements and vessels used for preparing the food could be stored. 
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The complete dresser, combining work top, storage below and shelves above, in one fixed unit, was not developed until the 18th century |
Dressers became an indispensable item of furniture in all houses, the equivalent of the fitted kitchen. They were primarily functional, offering the maximum storage space on the smallest floor space.
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They were often built in, filling the wall from floor to ceiling. In cottages they allowed for the display of any valuable plate, while in grander houses they were of the plainest construction, being confined to the kitchen and out of sight. |
The functional kitchen dresser served also as sideboard and display rack, and was often the most valuable piece of furniture in the house, prized from one generation to another.
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More elaborate dressers became common in Wales, and other places where living, working, eating and even sleeping was all done in one room.
Regional variations developed, with closed cupboards and heavy boarded racks in the North, and pot-boards and lighter racks in the South. |
