This is a large, dramatic piece of furniture, with walnut crotch veneers on the front of solid walnut drawers, with the special grain pattern flowing across all the drawers, circling out at the top, and back in at the bottom.

Handmade wooden handles are mounted vertically in the center of each drawer to avoid hiding the flowing grain pattern.

You can see nine drawers, in three different sizes, in this picture. But there is a tenth hidden drawer. The total amount of storage provided by this chest is very large... there are no panels between each of the drawers to take away space (except one cross-brace in the middle)- the drawers ride on narrow wooden rails in the side of each drawer.

The sides of the drawers are solid hard maple, with half-blind dovetails to attach the sides to the solid walnut drawer fronts. The drawer bottoms are plywood, but you could upgrade some of the drawers with aromatic cedar bottoms.

The top drawers are intended for jewelry storage, and are lined with felt. Each of these three drawers includes sliding trays with wooden dividers to allow jewelry to be sorted in varying size spaces, and to give access to the storage areas under the trays.

The top is four-way bookmatched walnut burl, finished and waxed "ooh so smooth" - everyone who has seen it loves to run their hand over the surface, and admire the wonderful pattern provided by nature.

The dark glossy walnut sides and the short tapered feet are a tribute to the rest of the bedroom set - certainly this piece is unique, but it can "blend in" with the rest of the furniture through little things like this.

The top three drawers and the hidden drawer can be latched closed with a discrete knob on the back of the cabinet. Certainly it isn't a burglar-proof storage for the jewelry, but can keep cleaning people and nosy friends at a party from playing here. A hasp allows the drawers to be locked with a small padlock, if you have shown the secret lock to too many of your friends.

This walnut lingerie chest with integrated jewelry, necklace, and scarf storage has 6 drawers for lingerie or other clothing. The top opens as a jewelry box, with a mirror under the lid. Felt-lined jewelry trays with wooden dividers organize the jewelry in various size compartments, with additional storage under the trays. The left side opens for scarf storage; the right side is for necklace storage and has a full-length mirror inside the right door. The scarf storage on the left consists of a padded/quilted back with 7 wooden rings to hold scarves. The right side has a similar quilted back that holds small metal hooks for necklaces.

The six drawers have solid walnut drawer fronts, surfaced with shop-cut walnut veneer (all cut from a single piece of figured walnut, with the pattern alternating left-to-right between drawers). The handles are turned walnut. The drawer bodies are solid maple, with half blind dovetails to the drawer front, and ride on oak rails.

When the top is open, the sides are released... The top may be latched or locked closed with a hidden mechanism, thus also locking the sides. When the unit is closed, it is not obvious that the top or sides open - it appears to be a simple 6 drawer clothing chest.

The cabinet sides are flat solid walnut panels floating in a walnut frame with tenon joinery.

The overall size is 18 1/2 inches deep and 50 inches high. When it is closed it is 21 1/2 inches wide, but with both sides open, it is 52 inches wide. (Since it will not normally stay open long, it can open in front of the window or fireplace.)

The top of the cabinet is 4-way bookmatch shop cut walnut veneer with a figured walnut "front edge" (lifting handle) and walnut sides. The top opens to reveal a mirror, the jewelry storage, and to release the sides.

This piece was accepted and displayed at the 2006 Texas Furniture Maker's Show^TM at the Kerr Arts and Cultural Center in Kerrville.

This was our first lingerie chest, designed to fill the storage need for hard to organize clothing, and to fit in a special spot in the bedroom, between the fireplace and window, without blocking the light switch or electrical outlet. We fell in love with the unit - it has pleasing proportions and is very functional. It contributed substantially to the design of subsequent lingerie and jewelry chests such as those above.

This also represented a painful lesson. It was made from inexpensive birch plywood, then stained walnut - the lesson where we finally learned that no matter how you tried, cheap wood and stain don't make a piece of fine furniture. And by the time you put all the energy into trying to make something cheap look fine with the finish, it would have been less expensive and far better to use good wood with clear finish in the first place.

If you want a simple unit like this, it would be made with solid hardwoods, or a mix of hardwood and furniture grade plywood. Overall the unit is 46 inches high, 17 inches wide, and 18 inches deep. Each of the 6 drawers is about 6 inches deep and glides on a waxed hardwood guides. The drawer sides in this unit are baltic birch plywood, which isn't bad, but they could have been hardwood such as maple or poplar. The bottom of the drawers are plywood, but could be built with aromatic cedar or solid hardwood if desired. There are dust panels between each drawer. The drawer hardware is antique brass color.