I've discovered the many uses for dressers, especially the long 6 drawer dressers that are only about 30 inches tall. You can hide all sorts of things in them. In my dining room, I have couple of French Provential dressers acting as "buffets". But instead of storing dishes in them, I'm storing office supplies, scrapbooking supplies and small office equipment. By all outter appearances, they just look like nice curvy, elegant buffets belonging in the dining room.
In my office, I have another dresser that holds various art supplies and some more scrapbooking equipment. Again, it looks like a nice little credenza for my office instead of a bedroom dresser.
And the surfaces are great for holding family pictures, TVs, stereos, or other equipment you use frequently.
For the living room, a night stand on each side of the couch is wonderful for storing the remotes for electronics, extra batteries, magazines, etc. And if you need storage for a blanket, opt for a storage ottoman or bench instead of the usual coffee table.
In my bedroom, I have a storage wicker bench where I hide my clothes hamper. And the surface of the bench can hold the clothes I lay out for the next day.
I also just bought a desk that has six drawers. Two of the drawers are file cabinet drawers, so I'm able to clear out a filing cabinet and utilize the desk drawers, saving space. My new desk is much nice than that old filing cabinet and will serve several purposes as well.
So if you need to declutter and make the most of your space like I do, look for multifunctional pieces of furniture. Watch Craigslist for some nice bargains on some well-made solid wood furniture for cheap. If you buy actual wood pieces, you can paint them or restain them to match your decor. And they'll last forever.
This beautiful piece I picked up for $50 from a wonderful couple on Craigslist. This winter I'll sand it and stain it to match my dining room table. When it was originally made, it was painted a beautiful off-white color with gold trim, but someone painted it white with black trim--not my taste. So I'll fix it later. I bought another piece very similar to it but just different enough to be interesting and it's on an opposite wall. I'll sand and stain it too so they'll match. When I'm done, they'll look new and beautiful.
