Closets and Wardrobes

[Geoff Bannister]

--- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "potioncat" <willsonkmom at ...> wrote:
>
>  
> > Geoff: 
> > I don't know how serious you are being, Carol, but in UK 
> > speak, dresses, shirts and trousers. would go in the wardrobe 
> > while socks, underwear and small items would go in drawers. 
> 
> 
> Potioncat:
> In Colonial America, houses were built without closets because taxes 
> on houses were determined by the number of rooms; closets counted as 
> rooms. Homes now have closets for each bedroom. Is that true in 
> England as well, or do bedrooms generally have a piece of furniture 
> (wardrobe) for hanging dresses, shirts and trousers?

Geoff:
Ah. Light is dawning I think. Your closet appears to be a UK built-in 
wardrobe.

> Geoff:
> > The word "dresser" is a bit old-hat. It might be used if you 
> > possess something like a Welsh dresser but they are very 
> > out of fashion with modern kitchens having wall-hung 
> > cupboards.
> 
> Potioncat:
> What is a Welsh dresser? Is it like a Wilson cabinet? (Sort of a 
> china cabinet.) 
> 
> While we don't have dressers in kitchens, we do have them in 
> bedrooms. In fact, I don't ever hear chest of drawers anymore. I'm 
> not sure what the difference is between a dresser, a chest of drawers 
> and a bureau, but I'm not especially domestic. 

Geoff:
Hm. A chest of drawers is a very common piece of furniture here. 
Sometimes on short legs, sometimes down to floor level and most 
often three levels of drawers, one level possibly having two 
half-width drawers.

If you've got a dresser in your bedroom, we will probably have a 
dressing table.

A dresser is an older piece of kitchen or dining-room furniture. the 
lower half will probably have a couple of wide cupboards to store 
bottles or glassware with a flat top for placing items on but backed 
by open shelving on which plates etc. will be stacked in such a way 
that they can be seen and may be the best crockery or even a family 
dining service on display.

A Welsh dresser is just a particular style which is popular for folk who 
have decided to have  a"period" style kitchen.

A bureau to us is a high desk with a drop-down leaf which acts as a 
writing area and which, when closed, covers shelving with writing paper, 
pens, stamps und so weiter.