The dresser in the MBR is relatively small, so I probably won't be able to help much. It's an older, dark-stained piece with a marble top. On it, off to one side, a lamp. That's the only permanent item. Although the lamp does sit on a piece of fussy needlework from a grandmother or great-grandmother, some kind of lacy bit that's there only to protect the marble. It happened to be at hand one day; I should find something more to our taste, but I don't really see the thing any more. Centered above on the wall, a painting. Other than that, the dresser top typically contains a bunch of clutter.

I have a few decorative boxes atop the dresser. One holds the remotes for the fan and the television, one holds extra buttons and a little sewing kit for quick repairs, one holds change, and one holds magazines that I'm reading. Basically, the boxes are an attractive way for me to control clutter.

Yeah, mine can pick up clutter. I thought if I could get something I like arranged there, I would be inclined not to clutter it up. Or maybe the clutter would look a little better:) I bought a couple of mercury bottle-looking things to sit on one side, but I feel I need to balance the other side. I thought about a silver-plated tray or a lamp.

Mine is pretty much clutter-free and I try to keep it that way. I have a fairly small but tall hammered iron clock with a copper face, a tall lamp on the other side with a small candle and a bank made from an old post office box and walnut. Handy for throwing in our change. I also have an old enbroidered dresser scarf I use occasionally. It was done by my great-grandmother. At Christmas I put a runner and a small Christmas tree on the dresser. Right now I have a diffuser in the middle and a couple of small boxes my grand-daughter gave me next to the clock.

Mine has my grandmother's lazy susan mirrored vanity tray with perfume bottles and a lamp that that my mother had made from a pair of my greatgrandmother's vases in the 1960s. I'm still looking for the right mirror or artwork for above the dresser.

Thanks for the picture. My dresser has that same curved front, only longer. I think it's even harder to balance a longer surface. Your room is beautiful porkandham! Where did you get those chairs (that's another thing I'm looking for - a nice, neutral not-so-huge chair for my BR).

My husbands laundry. : P

Mine is my grandmother's mahogany buffet so it is quite long. It holds a tall crystal lamp at one end which light shines on the art work (not a mirror) above the dresser.
At one end is a silver tray with 2 Italian cologne bottles,a lead crystal juice glass with a couple Parker writing pens, an enameled and gold compact (all from my mother).
On the other end but more centered is a large Venetian mirrored tray with my silver comb/brush/mirror set (gift from mom c. 1956),her W&D cigarette case,an Arthur Court napkin holder in which I place personal correspondence.
Very often my Bible and SS book are placed at any empty space, if not on my night stand or fainting couch where I read.
I have separate chests/armoires (closet system) for jewelry, scarves and gloves.

Here is a picture of what I described in my earlier post. Our dresser is also Lexington from the Bob Timberlake line. The diffuser usually isn't there but I had put it there recently when I was cleaning up Christmas stuff and it has stayed a while. The little boxes don't hole anything much (hair clips, etc) but my DGD gave them to me and she likes to see them when she visits.

Mine doubles as my bedside table, so the surface is used for a lamp, a kleenex box, a pile of books and magazines, and a notebook and pen, in case I accidentally think of something brilliant and don't feel like getting out of bed.

What I typically advise is, make note of the clutter that accumulates naturally on your dresser, and then after a few weeks, choose attractive ways to manage it. You are more likely to succeed by following your habits than trying to force yourself out of them.

You might end up with a couple of attractive boxes, a miniature chest of drawers, a silver or lacquered or cane-bottomed tray, a silver or china bowl - you get the idea.

Lake Girl - Thank you! How sad is it that I don't remember where the chairs came from?! I want to say it was either Overstock or Wayfair. They were inexpensive, and frankly, they're not all that comfortable. They're fine for DH and I to have a quick conversation away from the kids, but I wouldn't want to settle in and read a novel. Eventually we'll get some better chairs and relegate these to the playroom.

I just got back from Marshalls where I almost bought a lamp for the other end of the dresser. Couldn't pull the trigger. I've been trying not to buy something unless it's either just what I'm looking for (and price is reasonable), or so cheap I can give it away when I do find the perfect thing.

Here is one of ours. The lamps were on my grandmother's dressing table and the dark rectangle is a small oil by one of my favorite artists, but too dark for the camera to pick it up. The small plaque says "When in doubt, hug" and was made almost thirty years ago by my son.

"My husbands laundry." Heh heh.

I have a seven foot dresser in my room, as well as a chest of drawers (or chester drawers, according to Craigslist). The dresser tends to be a catchall, but on the rare occasion it is cleaned off, it has a jewelry box and a stand that holds necklaces, a lamp at each end, a plate that depicts a picture my older son drew and won a prize when he was three, and in the center is a mirror tray with a bunch of doodads on it. Mirror trays were a "must have" along with dresser sets (comb, brush and hand mirror)when I was a kid. I remember them on my grandmother's dresser.

The item most frequently found on my dresser is dust. I live in the world's dustiest house and the bedroom is the worst.

I probably have the bed that goes with your dresser!!

My dresser is quite long, and a bit high, so it does not catch as much DH clutter....sandyponder, I was just an hour ago wondering why my DH is home for an hour and a half, and suddenly every chair is FULLY draped in his stuff!!!

Sorry, the dresser.....It has an antique shaving mirror, a small jewelery box, an oriental decoupage box that my DM did, and two pictures that are lening against the wall, layered.

Nancy

There's not a single thing on my 72" dresser, but I'm a guy. There's a 42" plasma flush mounted onto the wall above it. A mirror on the wall near it, and a chair next to it. That's all it required for me. Fortunately, I don't end up cluttering things on the top of it because it's not close enough to the bed to access them, and I'm too worried about scratching the surface.

{{gwi:1540099}}

This post was edited by KevinMP on Sun, Jan 27, 13 at 10:07

....and you wouldn't be able to see the TV :)

Alright Springroz, I need the bed! I wished I had bought the bed and nightstands when I bought the dresser and "chester" drawers. I love the matching plantation bed. However, I already had a poster bed that was a pretty close match.

Thanks for the ideas, pics, and mental images yall are giving me!

Love all of these! I did a big vintage basket - I didn't want a lot of little things