Buying chest of drawers with wooden bottoms - how to find them

PirateSwan

Hi I am moving into a new home shortly and will be buying furniture for the first time. I am after a chest of drawers but want a set where the drawers have solid wooden bottoms,, not that flimsy material that comes away from the bottom of the drawer in five minutes. If I search for solid wood' will that ensure the drawer bottoms are ok? 
Thanks in advance for any help

tetrarch

You could always replace the flimsy stuff with your own piece of plywood, cut to size. This would mean that you're not massively limiting yourself

Regards

Tet

gwynlas

Cheapest way is checking out those in your local auction house,

travis-powers

gwynlas said:

Cheapest way is checking out those in your local auction house,

Ironically this way you could pick up something in oak cheaper than something new made of chipboard which you could refinish.

Eldi_Dos

Another vote for auction rooms and charities that renovate and sell on furniture.

McIntosh furniture was made near here and many families had much loved and cared for pieces. But with the passage of time lots of it has been finding its way onto the market. Until quite recently it was difficult to move on but with the greater appreciation of mid century design that has changed. It is great to see these well made pieces being sought after again.

theoretica

Absolutely - solid old stuff.  I have a lovely oak one from the local auction house, at Ikea prices. Also check local faceboook/private sales.

If you are new to buying at auction, make sure you decide beforehand exactly what you will offer and don't try to make last minute decisions and get carried away.  Also find out what fees (often 25-30%) the auctioneer will add on top of the purchase price.

liberty_lily

Another vote for local auctions, although Ebay is also an option. We got this one on ebay recently for £175 (plus delivery costs which took it up to just over £230)...solidly made and characterful 😄 The one I almost bought new (from Made.com) was closer to £700!

Bendy_House

Pirate Swan, I'm sure you are aware of heavily-advertised companies that push their 'solid' wood feature? I have nothing against them, as I simply know next-to-now't about them, but they seem to be decent value?

Anyhoo, I mention them only because, when it comes to fully 'solid' timber, you often have to accept a structural compromise. Some parts - large flat panels - are just not happy being 'solid', as they struggle to cope with natural movement. I would personally prefer a ply drawer bottom, for example, since in my experience they stay the original size, whereas 'solid' bottoms really struggle. The only item of fully-solid timber we have, in hardwood similar to (but seemingly not) oak, has its drawer base made up of T&G slats to cope with the movement. Not successfully, as it's shrunk so much that gaps have appeared. If it had gone the other way - expanded - then the drawer front would almost certainly have been pushed off.

Another piece of near solid wood (this time Dutch oak) has oak-veneered ply drawer bases. That hasn't budged an iota.

Wanderingpomm

I bought a La redoute quilda set of drawers recently and they are solids wood 

Clive_Woody

PirateSwan said:

Hi I am moving into a new home shortly and will be buying furniture for the first time. I am after a chest of drawers but want a set where the drawers have solid wooden bottoms,, not that flimsy material that comes away from the bottom of the drawer in five minutes. If I search for solid wood' will that ensure the drawer bottoms are ok? 
Thanks in advance for any help

You also want to check how it has been constructed, have they used proper carpentry joints (dove tails, etc) or is glue and dowl holding it together.

Proper joints and construction will feel much more solid and outlast you.

greensalad

I bought ours from Oak Furniture Land and they are solid throughout