A chest of drawers is one of the most functional pieces of furniture you can find. They are good for storing clothing, including t-shirts, sweatshirts, shorts, blankets, and really anything for that matter that will fit. Blanket chests are their purpose as well, but it can be hard to locate certain items if there is a lot of stuff packed in them. Drawers are more versatile, as they can be used as a dresser or be placed at the end of a bed like a blanket chest. From a woodworking perspective, a chest of drawers is really just one large box filled with smaller boxes.

This project for the most part is not the most challenging, though some parts can be tricky. One average, a chest can be built in one weekend. The best approach is to focus on building each individual part and then assembling everything together at the end.

Here are a few chest woodworking plans that may interest you.

Apothecary Chest Plans. This project requires no advanced joinery, and included are photos, a full materials list, instructions, and measured drawings. It allows for storing a lot of smaller items and can be placed in almost any room in your house.

Rockler.com has a lingerie and jewelry chest plan that is fairly easy to build; it involves tracing, sawing, and assembling. You can customize it as well to add your own touch to it. Included are patterns for cutting, instructions, diagrams, and a cut list. The dimensions are 39″x19″x15″

Chest of Drawers Plans. This chest has seven drawers that feature molded fronts and overlay panels that provide a unique play of light and shadow. The curved workpieces come in full-size, and you can use the drawing to measure and trace. A cutting list, materials list, detailed diagram, instructions, and required hardware are all included. A “Guide To Building Wood Furniture” booklet is provided that contains tips concerning the woodworking “component theory”.

Chippendale Chest / Dresser Plans

This chest has two small drawers at the top and 5 larger ones on the bottom. The level of difficulty is intermediate to advanced. There are two plans included, one for the lower and upper part of the chest. They can be stacked on top of one another, or used separately. You can use cherry, pine, maple, or walnut. Provided is a materials list, diagram, required hardware, and instructions.

Woodstore.net has an elegant jewelry chest woodworking plan that offers plenty of space even for robust collections. Building it is made easier with simple joinery.

Woodcraft.com has almost 30 chest woodworking plans to choose from. Examples include lingerie chests, jewelry chests, tool chests, blanket chests, cedar chest, antique chests, and so on.