Skip to content
A dressing table is a desk for a different job. It needs a top at the right height to sit at, knee room to get close to the mirror, drawers within reach without standing up, and a position that puts good light on your face rather than behind your head.
Most fail on the last two: the drawers are too deep to see into, and the table has been put where it fits rather than where the window is. Both are design decisions, and both are ours to get right.
We make dressing tables, stools and mirrors to order, in solid timber, in Suffolk, usually with a bed and a wardrobe and made to match.
The forms we make
Dressing table #923. The standard pattern: a kneehole between two banks of drawers, a moulded top edge and solid brass ironmongery. The version most often specified.
Dressing table with cabriole legs. The cabriole is the S-curved leg of the eighteenth century, swelling at the knee and tapering to the foot, with no stretchers between the legs. It makes a small piece look lighter than it is, and it suits a formal bedroom with a Chippendale-style wardrobe.
Gothic dressing table in cherry. Pointed-arch tracery to the drawer fronts and frieze, in the manner of the Gothic collection. Cherry holds the tracery better than oak at this scale. Commissioned with the Gothic bed and wardrobe where a whole room is being made.
Gothic dressing table stool. Matching tracery to the frame, with an upholstered top. Seat height is set to the table, not to a catalogue figure. You can supply your own material, or we supply leather.
Mirrors
Dressing table mirror. The mirror that stands on the table, swinging between two uprights on a shaped base, so it tilts to the person sitting rather than standing. Made to match the table.
Cheval mirror in cherry. A full-length mirror in its own frame, standing on four feet and pivoting between two posts. Cheval means horse, and the name refers to the four-legged stand. The piece to have if you want to see an outfit rather than a face.
Oak bevelled mirror. A wall mirror in a solid oak frame, with a bevel ground around the edge of the glass — a shallow angled border that catches the light and gives the mirror a visible edge. Made to any size, over a chimney piece or a chest of drawers.
Timbers
Oak, cherry, mahogany and walnut are the standard four, and every piece here is made in all of them. Cherry is traditional for Gothic work and the cheval mirror; oak for a bevelled wall mirror.
Specials, quoted on application: character oak; pippy oak in light, medium and heavy grades, which suits a dressing table top particularly well; oak selected for medullary ray, within or without the timber; and clean timber with no knots at all.
Finishes: polished, painted, limed, sand-blasted, rub-through paint, natural, or colour matched to a sample. A painted base with a pippy or standard oak top is worth considering here. We can match furniture that is 100 years old to new reproduction purchases made the year before.
Order free timber and finish samples. You sit at this piece in daylight, so judge the colour in daylight.
Made to your size
Every dimension is open, and here they are personal.
Top height is set to the person who will sit at it. Kneehole width and depth are set so you can get close to the mirror without your knees hitting the drawers. Drawer depth is set to what goes in them: shallow trays for jewellery are more useful than one deep drawer, and we fit dividers where you want them.
Common changes: the table narrowed to sit between a window and a chimney breast; the kneehole widened for a particular stool; drawers swapped for a single frieze drawer; a mirror made integral to the table. See bespoke and commissioning.
We supply the glass. Mirrors are glazed in 4 to 6mm mirror plate, cut to the frame we have made for it, so nothing is left for you to arrange with a glazier afterwards.
Prices
Guide price on request, quoted by pattern, size, timber, finish, the amount of tracery and, for mirrors, the size of the glass. Special timbers, colour matching and natural finishes are priced on application. Standard lead time is typically ten to twelve weeks, and a one-off commission four weeks longer.
Frequently asked questions
What height should a dressing table be?
The height at which you can sit comfortably with your knees clear, which varies from person to person. We set it to you rather than to a standard figure.
What is a cheval mirror?
A full-length mirror held between two posts on a floor-standing frame, tilting to the angle you want. The name comes from the four-legged stand. It needs no wall fixing, which is useful where the walls are already occupied.
Can you make a dressing table to match my wardrobe and bed?
Yes, and that is how most are commissioned. If we made the other pieces we hold the drawings. If not, send photographs, dimensions and a sample of the finish. See matching antique furniture.
What is a bevelled mirror?
A mirror with a shallow angled border ground around the edge of the glass. It catches the light and reads as a better piece of glass than a flat-cut sheet, particularly in a solid oak frame.
