The Best Dresser Alternatives For Your Bedroom

Whatever their size, dressers can provide much-needed storage space for clothes, accessories, and other items in a home. Whether it's a practical option from Ikea or a sleek mid-century bureau with elaborate details and a beautiful finish, they are many homeowners' go-to for storing a vast wardrobe. However, dressers are just one of the many options out there for storing clothing in your bedroom. 

For all their functionality, conventional dressers can often be too bulky for a given space. They can also take up a lot of room near the floor when something with a higher profile (like an armoire or rack) might be a better solution. In addition, while they can fit quite a lot, their contents are not always easily accessible or visible at a glance, which can lead to pulling many items out to get to the one thing you are looking for. This is particularly true in children's rooms, where one hunt for a sock may mean an avalanche of open drawers. Dressers can also be a tipping hazard for little ones, making them far from the most child-safe option. If you are looking for an alternative to a traditional dresser or bureau, we've rounded up a few alternatives that work in a variety of spaces and boast plenty of benefits depending on your decor style and storage needs.`

Clothing racks are a simple solution for several wardrobe storage issues, including a lack of closets or a need to maximize space. Many can be moved from room to room on wheels or folded up compactly when not in use, which works great for storing seasonable items. They are also a great alternative to traditional dressers for those with more things they'd like to hang rather than fold, resulting in fewer creases and wrinkles. 

Racks also work well if you want to display your favorite items as a decor element rather than shove them into dark drawers. Additionally, they take up less floor space than a dresser and are usually a fraction of the price. According to Legacy Decor, there are other reasons to opt for a rack, including remedying mold or pest issues by keeping clothes out in the fresh air where you can see them. Racks come in various sizes and decor styles and can be combined with shelves, baskets, or bins underneath for storing smaller items like socks or underwear that are tricky or inconvenient to hang. 

If you have room for a freestanding piece of storage but want something more unique or functional than a set of drawers, you might try an antique wardrobe or armoire. These beauties typically offer a mix of shelves, hanging racks, and drawers that fulfill all possible storage needs for your wardrobe. They are particularly great for mixed-use spaces like studio apartments or home offices where you'd like to provide storage space but wish to avoid employing a chest of drawers. If you only require specific cabinet segments for storage, a wardrobe with double doors is also an excellent spot to stash a TV or fold-out desk. 

According to Digs Talk, a wardrobe or armoire can fulfill all the needs you might have within one functional piece, including space for hung clothes, shelves for folded items, and drawers for things that you want to keep out of sight. Known to be quite large, they are also a stunning centerpiece to any room, particularly in spaces that employ vintage design trends.

Whether you are looking to hide your wardrobe behind doors or place it all out for display, built-in cabinets are an excellent alternative to traditional dressers. You may also be able to combine drawers with other elements as part of your built-in if necessary. Whether behind the doors of a traditional closet space, or an entire wall of built-ins forming a wardrobe room or dedicated area, built-ins are perfectly customizable for whatever you might need. While they might take up some space, they are also great for reducing the visual clutter of freestanding furniture in a room in favor of a more sleek and camouflaged look. 

Perhaps the most functional and custom dresser alternative (per Recommend), you can choose what types of storage you need and where you need it. Have more dresses and coats? You can include more hanging space. Sweaters and t-shirts? You can add more shelves for stacking items. You can also purchase plenty of containers and dividers to keep things looking neat, or opt for smaller, shallower drawers in your design for holding things like socks, belts, and ties. 

Another great alternative to a traditional dresser is a set of shelves with storage bins for keeping clothes tidy. Options include floating shelves along a wall, freestanding bookshelves, metal utility shelving, or storage cubes. Whatever your needs, you can choose a selection of bins, baskets, and containers that best accommodate the items you're storing. 

Using shelves is a perfect option if you are unsure what your furniture needs will be in the future or if you need a temporary fix. Also, the shelving can be used later in other parts of the home when no longer needed. You can choose models that reach as high as desired, gaining extra vertical space that doesn't bulk up the room at floor level. Additionally, this stylistically versatile option allows you to employ totes, bins, and baskets that reflect whatever style or personal aesthetic you want, all of which are useable elsewhere. The individual containers are also portable, so they are great for folding laundry in another room or storing things elsewhere off-season.

A cute and stylish alternative to a conventional dresser is a stack of vintage suitcases or trunks to store items you traditionally keep in drawers. These portable suitcases add unique flair while keeping items at the ready and easily accessible. Just like when traveling, you can fold your pieces vertically and compactly, which allows you a better grasp of what is in each suitcase at a glance. While a stack of vintage pieces adds a cool statement to any room, Tiny Living suggests you can also store clothes in your everyday suitcases, which works great when you want to maximize the space that suitcases regularly take up when empty. 

Similar options include vintage steamer trunks, which are great for bulky items like coats and sweaters, not to mention seasonal attire that you're packing away until you need it. Large trunks can also double as surfaces like nightstands and coffee tables in smaller, multi-use spaces.