CLOSETS OF OLD

Variants offer insight for designing today

ARMOIRE A freestanding piece of furniture for in-use clothing, with doors, behind which you might find shelves or a clothing rod. CABINET Once meaning a small, private room, it’s a case with shelves or drawers or both, used for storage. CHIFFEROBE From chiffonier + wardrobe: a freestanding armoire or wardrobe with a builtin chest of drawers.

CHIFFONIER A tall, narrow chest of drawers, sometimes fronted by a door. CLOAKROOM A room fitted with pegs or hooks for temporary storage of outer garments. Also, a euphemism for a guest bathroom. CLOSET The chiefly American word for a closed space or recess with a door, used for storage.

CLOTHES PRESS An 18th-century word for a cabinet or trunk for storing clothes, especially a tall cabinet with shelves to hold folded items.

CUBBY From a word for a stall or pen: one in a group of small, boxlike enclosures open at the front. CUPBOARD Once a table for dishware, it came to mean a closed cabinet or wall recess with a door and shelves.

DRESSER A chest of drawers, sometimes with a mirror on top, especially one used to store clothing. When used in a dining room, it’s more often called a sideboard.

LOCKER One of several in a row of compartments used for storage, usually with a lockable door. PANTRY A small room or closet for storage of foodstuffs or dishware.

TRUNK ROOM A small storage room, sometimes in the attic, for storing steamer trunks, luggage, and out-ofseason clothing. A cedar closet might be included or nearby. WARDROBE A cabinet specifically designed for clothes, most often with a pole and hangers.