Cedar chests through the ages
by Andrea Nordstrom Caughey
Nearly every home has a command center, a place where moms and dads, spouses and singles navigate the day. I call mine “The Situation Room,” a small den in the front of the house flanked by three arched windows. When sitting on the sofa, facing one certain direction, I can see nothing but trees, broken up by the occasional dog walker or children riding their bikes in circles in the cul de sac.
Today my focus is right in front of me, something I never really thought about until today. I use it to rest my feet or prop a laptop or stacks of books I am reading. Inside are layers and layers of crocheted tablecloths, baby clothes, flags, bits of embroidery, scuffed-up baby shoes too sweet to toss. All are enveloped in the sweet smell of cedar, the lining of this trunk.
The hope chest belonged to my mother; my father gave it to me upon her death. Also called a dowry chest, cedar chest, trousseau chest or glory box — or perhaps “bottom drawer” (putting one drawer aside in a chest of drawers in the U.K.), these sturdy pieces of furniture have been popular for centuries.
Unmarried women used them to store clothes (maybe a special dress), towels, quilts and linens prior to marriage. The collection of a trousseau was a coming-of-age rite until the 1950s, a step between courtship and engagement.
While hope chests were popular throughout the U.S., they had special significance in the South, a hub of furniture manufacturing until the late 20th century. One of these companies was Lane Furniture, maker of the popular Lane Hope Chest. Early ads of the 1920s positioned the piece as the true starting point for a home. During World War II, the company encouraged soldiers to send a chest home for their future brides. Today, several custom North Carolina furniture makers still fashion them, including Patterson’s Amish Furniture in Morganton and Taylorsville Crate.
Not only were the chests handed down through generations, but their contents became a time capsule of sorts — special garments from ancestors and prized handiwork that would never be crafted again.
Depending on the era (some examples date back to the 1500s) and geographic origin, the chest could be plain, carved or, like mine, painted in decorative folk art — a nod to my German and Scandinavian heritage.
Amish Handcrafted suggests 18 “creative uses” for hope chests, from coffee table or TV console to filing cabinet or plant stand — even a cooler for drinks.
“Clients often seek innovative storage solutions, and hope chests or blanket chests, beautifully fulfill this need,” notes Charlotte interior designer Wanda Horton. One client’s small family chest became a charming focal point in a cottage-style guest room, enhanced with a cushion and pillows for cozy seating while providing practical storage for linens. Vintage chests can transform into coffee tables for storing seasonal pillows or stylish storage in mudrooms for shoes and boots.
Even if you don’t have a hope chest in your family, now might be a good time to start a modern version. Any generously sized vessel will do, even an old leather suitcase or enormous covered basket. Hand-picked letters from loved ones, journals, maps and postcards, sketchbooks, recipe cards, cherished books, and anything that offers you future inspiration are perfect contents. That way, hope will firmly settle in your home, as it did for my mother and all the women of her time. SP
