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Ruthin is a Welsh dresser and rack, with a matching base that can be used on its own. It sits between the two ends of what we make: more ordered than Oakamoor, less formal than Denbigh.
That middle position is the reason people choose it. A Denbigh dresser is a piece of eighteenth-century cabinetmaking and it asks something of the room around it. Ruthin is Welsh country in character and asks less, while still being properly ordered rather than rough.
Every piece is made to order in our Suffolk workshop, to your dimensions, in one of the four standard timbers and in the finish you choose. Nothing is held in stock.
What the range covers
| Piece | Notes |
|---|---|
| Ruthin dresser and rack | The full dresser, base and rack together |
| Ruthin dresser base | The same base without a rack, used as a sideboard or server |
Related type pages: Welsh dressers, dressers, dresser bases and sideboards and servers.
Ruthin is known for the dresser, the rack and the base. If you want another piece drawn to match — a side table, a cupboard, a set of chairs — we will make it to the same proportions and the same detail, so the room reads as one.
Timbers
Ruthin is priced in the four standard timbers: oak, cherry, mahogany and walnut.
Oak is the usual choice for a Welsh dresser. Cherry darkens over the years to a deep reddish brown. Mahogany is the most formal of the four, and walnut gives the strongest figure.
Character oak, pippy oak for tops in light, medium and heavy grades, oak selected for medullary ray and clean timber with no knots at all are all available on application. More on our timbers.
Make it yours
A dresser is the piece most often altered, because it usually has to fit a specific wall and hold specific things.
- Height, width and depth, made to the millimetre. Rack height is the measurement that most often needs adjusting, whether for a low beam or a tall ceiling.
- The rack. Shelf count and spacing set around the plates or jugs you intend to display, with or without a plate groove.
- Base configuration. Door and drawer arrangement, cupboard depth, shelf positions.
- Ironmongery. Solid brass knobs, swan neck handles or turned wooden knobs.
- Finish. Polished, painted, limed, sand-blasted, rub-through paint or natural, and colour matched to a sample you send us.
Take the base on its own if a full dresser is too much for the room. It works as a sideboard, and the rack can be added later if you move.
If you want Ruthin proportions with a detail borrowed from another range, say so at the enquiry stage. Read how commissioning works, and order free timber and finish samples before you choose.
Questions about Ruthin
Can I buy the base without the rack?
Yes. The Ruthin base is made as a piece in its own right and is often used as a sideboard or server. If you want the option of adding a rack later, tell us at the drawing stage and we will allow for it.
Will it fit under a low ceiling or a beam?
Almost certainly, because we make to your dimensions. Give us the height to the underside of the beam and we will set the rack height accordingly, adjusting shelf spacing so the proportions still look right.
How does Ruthin compare with Denbigh?
Denbigh is formal eighteenth-century cabinetmaking, with raised and fielded panels, cock beading and moulded detail throughout. Ruthin is Welsh country in character and quieter. Both are made to the same standard in the same workshop.
