Choosing a dresser comes down to five measurements and one test. The measurements are wall width, height under the window, drawer count, what the case is built from and how the drawers run. The test is whether it can tip. Merit Home Furniture lists 80 dressers and chests across our Vancouver Island stores, and 70 of them can be ordered through Duncan.
A dresser, in this guide, is the wide, low piece with drawers side by side. A chest is the tall, narrow one with drawers stacked in a column. On the list I reread on October 16, 2026, the Duncan pieces run from $449 to $2,599 before applicable taxes. Almost all of them are Mako. Whether a piece is solid wood or veneer over board depends on the maker, and each page says which.
What to look for when buying a dresser?
Buying a dresser well means checking it in this order, because each step rules pieces out before the next one matters.
- Wall width. Measure the bare wall, then take off room for a bedside table and its lamp or a door swing. Our dressers run 48 to 66 inches wide; chests are 30 to 40.
- Height under the window. A low dresser sits under a sill or holds a mirror or a television. Measure the sill from the floor before looking at anything taller than 30 inches.
- Drawer count and depth. Count what goes in it now. Sweaters and jeans want deep drawers; socks and papers do fine in shallow ones.
- The case. Solid wood, veneer over board, or laminate over board. Each has a fair price, and the section below explains the difference.
- The glides. Full-extension glides let a drawer come all the way out so the back is reachable. Soft-close glides pull the last inch shut slowly.
- Tip-over. Any chest in a home with small children gets anchored to the wall. The safety section near the end has Health Canada's wording.
Depth is the number people forget. Nearly every piece on our list is 17 to 18 inches deep. A drawer pulled out needs about that much floor again in front, plus room to stand.
Dresser and chest sizes on our Island list
These are the 70 pieces that can be ordered through Merit's Duncan store, measured from each product page. Prices are list prices before applicable taxes.
| Shape | Pieces | Height and width | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dresser | 28 | 30 to 45.5 in tall, 48 to 66 in wide | $649 to $2,599 |
| Chest | 38 | 38 to 54 in tall, 30 to 40 in wide | $449 to $2,599 |
| Lingerie chest | 4 | 53 to 55.5 in tall, 21 to 25 in wide | $599 to $1,799 |
One dresser falls outside that height. The Porter from Ashley comes with its mirror and stands 76.5 inches with it attached. The other 10 pieces on our site are carried by Campbell River or Port Alberni only, so those show as call to order. The full set sits in the dressers on the site and the chests of drawers, with dimensions on every page.
Dresser, chest or lingerie chest: which shape suits the wall
The shape of a dresser follows the wall it goes on, as it does for most of the bedroom furniture we sell. A wide wall under a window takes a low dresser. A narrow strip beside a closet or between two doors takes a chest. A gap of two feet or less takes a lingerie chest, which is a very narrow chest with six or so shallow drawers.
Low dresser
Holds more per drawer and gives a top surface for a mirror, a lamp or a television. Five of our Duncan dressers are 30 inches tall, low enough for many sills; measure yours. At $799, the Polo 48-inch six-drawer ties for the lowest price among the 48-inch ones.
Tall chest
Holds a similar load on less floor. Most of our chests stand 45 to 54 inches, so they suit a wall with nothing above it. The Grace lingerie chest is 21 inches wide and $599, for the narrowest gaps.
A few dressers add doors. The Saffron, Sameena and Supreme each pair drawers with a cupboard, which suits folded blankets or a printer. A double dresser, in catalogue language, simply means two columns of drawers side by side.
Solid wood, veneer or engineered board in a dresser
A dresser case is made one of three ways, and the product page says which. Solid wood is boards all the way through. Veneer is a thin slice of real wood glued over a board, often MDF, which is medium density fibreboard. Laminate is a printed surface over particleboard or MDF.
The Mako pieces on Merit's site are listed as solid wood. Of the 64 Mako pieces available through Duncan, 28 name pine as the wood and 5 name maple. The rest just say solid wood, so ask us which species before ordering. The Province of BC describes Mako as "a furniture producer in Surrey," and the Mako guide covers what the company says about itself.
Pine and maple wear differently. The USDA Forest Products Laboratory measures side hardness, the force needed to press a steel ball halfway into the wood. Eastern white pine scores 380 pounds of force and ponderosa pine 460. Sugar maple scores 1,450, almost four times eastern white pine. Pine takes dents from a dropped belt buckle. Maple resists far more of those, and costs more.
The Ashley pieces mix materials. The Danabrin is listed as hardwood solids, birch veneer and an MDF substrate. The Shawburn chest is engineered wood with a decorative laminate. A deep chip in laminate cannot be sanded out the way solid wood can.
Drawer glides and joinery: what the photo leaves out
On the Merit list, drawer construction is where two dressers of the same size and price part ways. Seventeen of the Duncan pieces list full-extension glides, and four list soft-close glides: the Megan and Saffron dressers and chests. The others do not name a glide on the page, so we can check with Mako for a given piece.
Joinery is how the drawer box is held together at the corners. A dovetail joint locks the sides together with interlocking fingers, so the front cannot pull away when the drawer is yanked. Ashley lists dovetail drawers on the Danabrin, the Landocken and the Porter. The Porter also has cedar-lined bottom drawers and a pull-out tray hidden behind the top middle drawer.
The drawer test I ask everyone to do: pull each drawer all the way out, then push it shut with one finger. A drawer that wobbles, sticks or slams the case will keep doing it, and no felt pad fixes that.
How much should a decent dresser cost?
A decent dresser on our Duncan list starts at $649 for the Soho seven-drawer in solid pine. The middle of the dresser list is $1,199. Solid maple with soft-close glides is where prices pass $2,000. Here is how the 70 Duncan pieces on Merit's list spread out.
| List price | Dressers | Chests |
|---|---|---|
| Under $700 | 1 | 16 |
| $700 to $1,199 | 14 | 20 |
| $1,200 to $1,999 | 11 | 2 |
| $2,000 and up | 2 | 4 |
What the extra money buys is mostly wood species, drawer count and glides, not size. Most of the dressers are 58 inches wide whatever they cost. The Ashley dressers here are not the budget end: the Danabrin is $1,299. The cheapest Ashley piece on the Duncan list is the Shawburn chest at $449.
Delivery from Duncan is $150 across the Island, assembly included, and pickup at Duncan is free. Lead times are 4 to 6 weeks for Ashley and 8 to 10 weeks for Mako, ready for pickup or delivery. A special order takes a 24% deposit.
What are the best dressers in 2026 for an Island bedroom?
The best dresser in 2026 is the one that fits the wall and holds what you own. Here are the pieces on the Merit list that answer the common jobs on paper, each available through Duncan.
- Under a window: the Polo 48-inch six-drawer, 30 inches tall, $799, solid pine.
- Two people's clothes: the Natalie nine-drawer, 58 inches wide, with all nine drawers deep, $1,349.
- Hardest wearing: the Megan nine-drawer in solid maple on soft-close glides, $2,599.
- Least floor: a lingerie chest, from $599 for the Polo or the Grace.
- Mirror in the set: the Porter, $1,149 with its mirror.
- A different wood: the Atlantis five-drawer chest from LH Home, solid acacia and acacia veneer, $899. It is on display at our Duncan store.
Dresser style and colour: matching the bed you have
Dresser style is easiest to settle by matching the bed already in the room, and that holds for every maker Merit carries. Traditional pieces have raised panels, bun feet and darker finishes, like the Porter. Modern ones have flat fronts and slim pulls. Transitional style sits between the two: clean lines with a warm wood finish and plain pulls. A dresser that doesn't match can still sit well by the bed: mixing wood tones in a bedroom works when the two share an undertone.
Colour is the question with two answers here. Mako offers several stains on each collection, so a Mako dresser can be matched to an existing bed; ask us for the stain list. Ashley pieces come in one finish each, such as the Danabrin's brownish cherry or the Landocken's slate blue with a light top. If the dresser belongs to a collection, buy the matching bed and nightstands at the same time, because collections change. The guide to the right nightstand height helps size those.
When a dresser is the wrong buy, and the tip-over risk
A tall chest in a home with young children is the first worry. Health Canada's advice is to use anti-tip devices such as angle braces or safety straps to anchor furniture to the wall. It also says to place heavier items, like books, in lower drawers. In the United States, the CPSC's rule covers clothing storage units 27 inches and taller made after September 1, 2023. Ashley's page for the Shawburn says it is designed to the ASTM F2057 stability standard. Ask Merit when ordering whether anchoring can be done on delivery day.
Weight is the second. The Porter weighs 292 lbs and the Danabrin 226. A solid maple Megan is about 216. Tell us about the stairs and the turn at the top before delivery day; the delivery day guide lists what we need.
Time is the third. A Mako order runs 8 to 10 weeks, so a dresser needed for a move next month is better chosen from what can come sooner. Ask us what that is.
Pine is the last. A soft pine top in a child's room will collect dents, and that is normal for the wood. For a top that stays smooth, maple or a laminate top is the better fit.
Where these dresser numbers come from
- Health Canada, tip-over safety page for dressers, appliances and TVs, checked October 2026.
- U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, Clothing Storage Units, checked October 2026.
- USDA Forest Products Laboratory, Wood Handbook, Chapter 5, Mechanical Properties of Wood, Table 5-3b, checked October 2026.
- Province of BC, Supporting hiring, boosting production in southern Interior (April 8, 2026), checked October 2026.
- Merit Home Furniture product pages for each dresser and chest, dimensions read October 2, 2026, with pieces, sizes and prices reread October 16, 2026.
Measuring for a dresser before calling Duncan
Before calling, write down the wall width, the sill height, the floor depth in front, and the width of the stairs or hall. With those four numbers the Merit staff in Duncan can narrow 70 pieces down to a handful over the phone. The Duncan floor carries display models, and most dressers are ordered in the stain you pick, so call to ask what is set up.
The Mako collection and the Ashley collection have the rest of each maker's bedroom pieces. The bedroom guides cover beds and frames.