Making the Most Out of Your Cedar Chests

Do you remember seeing that pretty wooden chest inside Grandma’s bedroom? It was always at the foot of her bed, locked up with a special little key and it was always so amazing when she would open it and show you the beautiful treasures locked up inside. She would store up old knick-knacks and every time she opened it, it always smelled so clean and woodsy. This is what we call a cedar chest, otherwise known as a hope chest. It is a valuable piece of furniture that will always be a classic, and will always a perfect addition to any home.

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Because of the quality of these chests, the cedar chest has been a popular piece of furniture to many because they are known to be sturdy and the fragrant cedar wood used would keep the inside of the chest smelling fresh and sweet. It was great for storing clothes and fabric, but throughout the years, it has garnered more attention than just being an added closet space at home.

Kiddie Treasure Chest

The cedar chests are great for keeping toys and other knick knacks for kids, especially if they have a lot of things scattered all over their room. The hope chests could act as some sort of toy treasure chest where the kids could treat it as such, and they could keep everything from toys to books to little secrets they want to hide from others.

The chests are sturdy furniture pieces in their bedrooms that are great for storage, but caution should be practiced when placing them in kids’ bedrooms. Keep the locking mechanism disengaged at all times, or opt for a lock free chest so the children won’t accidentally lock themselves inside the chest.

Heirloom Piece

Hope chests are most likely to spend years and years growing up with everyone at home, and soon, it could become a beautiful heirloom piece that could be passed on to the next generation. A good cedar chest would last a good long time and it will always hold special memories inside it.

The chests themselves are perfect for storing delicate things like wedding dresses and special books as the cedar wood is known to repel moths away. It will also keep the things inside smelling clean and fresh and away from dust and insects.

Extra Seating and Storage

The cedar chests are also perfect to be used as extra seating at home—in the patio or in the living room or even in your own bedroom. You could put a cushion on top of the lid to prevent scratches on the finish or add in a couple of throw pillows for that fresh burst of color.

The chests are also perfect to keep stray objects from cluttering the space, all locked up in your beautiful chest.

Fuss-Free Comfort and Style with Platform Beds

When it comes to your bed, you can’t compromise its quality. Having a great bed can make all the difference in how you sleep, and how you wake up. What kind of bed are you sleeping on? Chances are it is an ordinary box spring type of bed. Jump into a better sleeping experience by switching to platform beds. And with all the benefits that you will get from it, you will definitely not want to get out of a bed like this.

Platform beds are designed to hold the mattress on a single plane. The primary advantage is more stable support for you and your mattress. Since the mattress lies on top of a solid frame, it will not sag or sink at the middle over time. If you are the kind of person who enjoys sleeping on a firm bed, then you will love what a platform bed can do for you. You can adjust the firmness of your mattress if you prefer softer support. The height of your platform bed will also depend on your preference.

Another benefit of platform beds is the additional space options. The uniform space underneath a platform bed is perfect for additional storage. You can simply stack baskets underneath it for your magazines, shoes, and the like. Some platform beds even come outfitted with their own wide drawers. You can opt to leave the area underneath your bed bare, and unhidden by bedspreads for a modern, clean look.

One last great thing about platform beds is that they can match any kind of room décor. The fuss-free lines of a sleek platform bed will look perfect with modern and minimalist interiors. A more elaborate platform bed with carved headboards will not look out of place in a more opulent room. You can even opt to get matching cabinets to match your platform bed.

Blanket Chests for Your Bedroom

For people who need a lot of storage space in their rooms or have a lot of little things to put away, blanket chests are your perfect bet. These roomy storage spaces add a touch of quirkiness and warmth to your bedroom, and serve as perfect containers for whatever you need stored away for future use.

Blanket chests are a great addition to any room that needs a lot of storage areas because they are not as tacky as plastic storage boxes, which may be cheaper but have less personality. If you want something that will add to the unique look and feel of your room and not detract from it, get yourself a blanket chest and store all other personal belongings there.

You can decide to get one or two blanket chests, depending on how much storage space you need; however, if your room is cozier than most others, you will probably need to relocate the other chest as having two big ones in the room may just overwhelm you and make your room look cluttered instead of organized. The important questions you need to ask yourself are: how much storage space do I need? How big do I need my storage area to be? These questions will help you determine the type of chest that you will need to place in your room or other areas of your house.

The great thing about these blanket chests are that they can serve as a decorative piece in your room. If these are meant to store things that you will not be using often, you can put a mantelpiece over the chest and decorate it with different accessories for a more personal touch, such as picture frames and other trinkets. So instead of just being a mere storage area, the chest also then becomes a decorative piece. However, if you prefer the classic look, leave your chest bare and let it stand on its own in the room.

So for roomy storage areas and a touch of décor in one, get yourself some blanket chests now.

What Do You Put Inside Hope Chests?

Cherry cedar chests are common sights in most historical homes – until as recent as fifty years ago, they were a staple in every household. These beautiful heavy pieces are usually made of solid wood like oak or maple, and were used for storage of delicate items like clothing, important documents, jewelry, and even silverware. When families moved towns or homes, they usually brought their wooden chests along because it protected their possessions from the wear and tear of travel.

Today we have modern and efficient forms of transportation, as well as architecture that already incorporate storage with the interior design of a house – but hope chests can still have a number of indispensible functions in your home. Here are some ideas on what to put inside your cedar chests:

Use it as a place for linens – you can keep your hope chests under your bed or inside your wardrobe, and store your holiday linens inside them. Solid wood has a very sweet natural smell that will be absorbed by the fabrics you store inside them. It also has natural insect repelling properties. So special sheets which you only use during holidays can be stored inside the chest, and will always come out smelling good and well preserved.

Use it inside your den – Cedar chests can be useful storage space for albums or games which are always being brought out by your family. Bringing out or keeping these favorite items will be as easy as opening and closing the chest’s wood lid.
Turn it into a versatile piece of furniture inside the bedroom – Hope chests with flat covers can be used as low chairs, footstools, or even squatting tables. You can place it at the edge or side of your bed and put pillows or throw covers on top to make it more comfortable.

Why Wouldn't You Want Wooden Bedroom Furniture?

Nowadays, people are experimenting with fiberglass, metal and even plastic as materials for furniture around the bedroom. All these, though, as you will see, pale in comparison to a nice and solid bed, dresser, etc. made from wood. There are so many advantages to having most, if not all your bedroom furniture made out of this marvelous material which has time and again withstood the test of time. These advantages range from subtle ones such as aesthetics to more blatant ones such as durability and lifespan.

First of all, wooden bedroom furniture shines in the area of aesthetics. The natural, yet polished look a well crafted bed or dresser is one that is literally timeless, one that transcends movements and periods from historical to stylistic and artistic. This aura of timelessness also makes wooden pieces of furniture go well with virtually everything, from modernist metal lamps to art deco plastic shelves, and even with computer workstations. In short, a solid wood cedar chest in your bedroom or a wooden nightstand may very well be the safest choice you make with regards to the overall aesthetics of the bedroom.

Next, having your bedroom furniture created out of wood, especially solidly constructed hardwood, means that your investment will practically still be around after you are not anymore. Hardwood furniture is known to last well into the next generation, making your wooden beds and dressers very suitable as heirlooms and hand me downs. Who knows, a hundred or so years later, your furniture might even sell for several times its original price, as an antique.

The best assurance for any piece of wooden furniture for the bedroom is to ensure that it is constructed from only the best quality hardwoods and carved by the best craftsmen. This is the best way of ensuring that your investment is well worth it.

Add a Shelf to Your Bedroom Furniture

The bedroom is not just a place for sleeping – for most people, it is also a venue for studying, relaxing, and thinking. When it comes to bedroom furniture, choosing what pieces to bring in is a really personal matter. After all, you will be using these items yourself most of the time. At the same time, the pieces you choose should be of lasting quality and function. This is especially the case for shelves and cabinets in your room.

Clothes and shoes already have their home inside a cedar chest or hope chest. But you should also consider having a tall shelf or cabinet inside your room. Here are some uses that you might have for this versatile bedroom furniture:

A personal library – bring your favorite books and magazines inside your bedroom so that you can peruse them whenever you feel the need for a little intellectual stimulation. At the same time, if you do some work or studying inside your bedroom, it is greatly convenient to have your reference materials neatly lined up in a shelf, rather than piled up haphazardly on top of your hope chest.

Your prized collection – whether you collect figurines, or action figures, or designer bags, your favorite items can have their proverbial home right in your bedroom, where you can see and maintain them more easily. It can become a decorative aspect of your space as well.

Use it as an extension of your wardrobe – if you like shoes, take a leaf from the page of some popular fashion icons - a neat organizing trick would be to line shoes up in an open shelf. It can make choosing what to wear for the day much more easier by being able to see everything in one look. It also makes your dressing space feel like an upscale store.

Before you buy a shelf, make sure that it is made of quality materials used for bedroom furniture, such as solid wood. Solid wood furniture will last for years and will retain a beautiful appearance that increases over time.

Putting Your Hopes in Cedar Chests

Cedar chests have been known to keep precious clothing and fabric in preparation for a married life, such as dresses, table cloths, quilts, and towels, among others. This is why chests like these are also known as hope chests, and sometimes, glory boxes. Hopes in the form of these clothing items are well-kept and are most often heirloom that have been passed down from generations to generations. A cedar chest can also be used as a wonderful centerpiece in a living room, or an added décor to just about any room.

In order to keep the items inside from being destroyed, cedar chests should be sturdy and durable enough. Cedar wood is known to have a very distinct scent, is resistant to any types of weather, and is a natural moth-repellent. For that reason, you should make sure that the hope chests you are eyeing are made of cedar wood, or, at the very least, created with a cedar lining inside. Eco-friendly chests are just some kinds that you might want to prefer over others. They make sure that the chests you buy are made out of real wood, unlike some furniture that are made out of man-made composite wood, that can sometimes prove to be less sturdy. And because these hope chests are made from real wood, they are sure to last a very long time, maybe long enough for you to pass on to your daughter when the right time comes.

Cedar chests come in different styles. For a more classic look, go for chests that are less elaborately carved, keeping a simple look to it. But you can also add a more contemporary style to go with the classic by choosing a chest that has less cornered shapes, like a curved shape in front.