Sono Chest of Drawers from Hiromatsu

Found through Japanese retailer Hiromatsu, but unfortunately not yet available in the U.S., these Sono chests of drawers seem like the perfect prototype for an adventurous DIYer. The striped pattern conceals varying depths of drawers and, in some cases, hides a flat cabinet door. If you're looking for ways to update an old dresser, this pattern of narrow stripes is more flexible that it seems...

The stripes conceal cabinets and drawers of different sizes.

Wood stains in varying warm tones tie the color palette together.

Deep drawers have three or four layers with knobs.

The repetitive pattern creates a trim, tailored look.

For a similar look, we'd use painters tape to section off narrow stripes on a plain, flat-fronted chest of drawers, then center knobs between each stripe. The chest will seem like it houses several small drawers rather than a few big ones, creating a patterned effect. For more information about the Sono line, visit Hiromatsu's online shop.

Comments (15)

I can't stand "Dishonest Furniture" - Where one drawer or a door is disguised as two or more drawers. It's the hallmark of cheap furniture.

And please - Remind me again the point of posting items that are unavailable in the US?

I too was disappointed that most of the drawers were just door facades. It does make it look cheap.

I love the term "Dishonest Furniture"; I'm using it from now on. That type of furniture is one of my pet peeves.

if they were individual drawers and doors, everyone would complain about the price!

Um. I like it..I don't care that it is "Dishonest Furniture" or not available in the US..I think it's pretty..even if it was available in the US my ass wouldn't be able to afford it..

I actually like dishonest furniture, especially in this situation, as I'm not sure what I'd do with a chest 50 drawers that can each hold nothing bigger than a quarter ream of paper. It's like vintage card catalogs or map drawers - like the look, but of no use to me.

And I thought posting items not available in the US was to give people ideas (DIY is suggested in the post) or just show people something different and interesting. I didn't realize AT was a buyer's guide.

I love it! I too was initially disappointed that some of the drawers are facades, but I think it's better this way- the bigger drawers and cabinets can accommodate bigger items. And judging from the photos, it doesn't look like it's readily apparent which drawers are individual and which ones are multiples, which is good. Maybe it doesn't look as nice in person- who knows.

What amt230 said. 100% agree.

Not all AP readers are in the USA. ;)

Make that AT, sorry, it's approaching midnight here. *headdesk*

i know what people are saying re 'dishonest furniture' it's mostly lame

however, in this case, if they were all true drawers the piece would be kind of useless, unless you have lots of skinny stuff.

i really love the look of this. its hotness is distracting me from the fact that i can't buy it in australia and i don't need it.

Seriously, if you can afford to buy the piece in the first place, then you can afford to have it imported. I think it's an interesting design and I'm sure it probably fits more with Japanese culture than anything I'm used to - but if I owned it, I'd paint it.

clearly those wooden slabs are a by-product of the manuf. process of something else and this company is making a clever use of it.

so what we have here is industrial waste furniture.

and i would have chosen the word 'deceptive'.