Irish dresser facts for kids

An Irish dresser is a special kind of wooden furniture from Ireland. People also call it a kitchen dresser. It has open shelves or cupboards at the bottom. There's also a flat surface for working. The top part has shelves to show off dishes and other important items. These items could be valuable or have special memories.

An Irish dresser from County Carlow, made in 1844.

History of the Irish Dresser

An Irish dresser from County Carlow, made around 1890-1900.

Irish dressers are different from Welsh dressers. An Irish dresser is usually made as one single piece. It has cupboards or open storage at the bottom. This open area might have one or two sections. Sometimes there was a wooden piece in the middle.

These dressers were often made from pine wood. Older ones were usually stained a dark color. In the 1900s, bright paints became popular. So, many dressers were painted and repainted often. The inside shelves were usually painted a lighter color. This helped the displayed items stand out more.

Some dressers were built right into the kitchen wall. Others were used to divide a room. They could even support a small loft space above. Dressers were often a wedding gift. The groom would either make or buy one for the bride. Before these wooden dressers, Irish homes had stone shelves. These were built into the walls. Some shelves were made of slate and had wooden doors.

Why Dressers Were Important

The National Museum of Ireland says the Irish dresser was very important. It was often the most important piece of furniture in Irish homes. Families used it to show how well-off they were. They displayed items, mostly ceramic dishes. These dishes were called "Delph" or "ware" in Ireland.

In the 1700s and 1800s, many families were very poor. Some did not even have eating tools. So, showing off dishes and utensils meant a family had higher status. Even broken items were kept and fixed. People called "tinkers," often from the Irish Traveller community, would repair them.

The shelves had bars to hold plates in place. They were different heights for different sized plates. This helped show off large serving platters and small saucers. It also made the plates shine and kept dust away. In southern Ireland, large plates went on the bottom shelf. In the north, they went on the top shelf.

Dressers usually had two to four shelves. They often had fancy wooden decorations. If a family could not afford wood, they used paper or cloth. They would cut and drape it over the shelf edge.

Early Dresser Features

Early dressers often had open storage at the bottom. This area held containers of milk, butter, and fresh water. These older dressers had special feet. They were called sleigh, shoe, or boot feet. These feet helped spread the dresser's weight. This was useful on uneven dirt floors.

The feet were attached strongly. They could be removed if they rotted from dampness. These feet showed influence from English and Scottish settlers. They were mostly found in northern Ireland.

Decline of the Dresser

In the late 1900s and early 2000s, dressers changed. They were used less for everyday kitchen storage. Instead, people used them to display souvenirs. They also held other items with special memories.

The use of traditional Irish dressers greatly decreased. This happened as modern kitchens became popular. From the 1970s, many Irish homes got built-in kitchens.

Variations of the Irish Dresser

Coop Dresser

The coop dresser was a special type of Irish dresser. The bottom part was used to keep hens or other birds. Keeping birds indoors kept them warm. This helped them lay eggs all year. It also protected them from animals that might hunt them. The bird section often had slats to make an enclosure.

Hanging Dresser

The hanging dresser was an earlier version of the full dresser. For poorer homes, it was smaller and cheaper. A hanging dresser was just the top part of a full dresser. It hung on the wall and had no bottom storage. People sometimes called it a cup rack, tin rail, or just the rack.

Some hanging dressers were very fancy. They had carved designs and small drawers. Simpler ones were more like a basic rack. These hanging dressers kept delicate and expensive dishes safe. They also put them on display for everyone to see.