1 888 222 0195
1 888 222 0195
Step Chests
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Step chests

The dining room is the first place for quality furniture with style. A step chest fills this role admirably as it is great for the display of a few choice objet d'art, while being an aesthetically affective piece in its own right.

The various paraphenalia of fine dining can be tucked away safely in all the different storage space provided throughout a step chest. Everything from linens and cutlery to a discreet bar.

All our Step Tansu are two-sided, so that when used as a room divider you can access the drawers and doors from either side. This means that these are ideal for partitioning a loft space, visually creating distinct areas for dining, living and entertaining for instance.

Click an image below for a closer look at each of our dining room steps

Truly Unique Furniture

Room Divider — With varied storage capacity on both sides and distinctive layouts with endless display possibilities, our Step Chests are perfect room dividers.

Adaptable — Each Step Chest is really three pieces, so you can play around with different configurations as the need or mood takes you.

Varied Storage — The combination of sliding doors and drawers in different configurations makes these Steps at home in almost any room.

History of the Step Chest

The most recognizable piece of Japanese furniture is the Kaidan Dansu or Step Chest. It first appeared in the late 1700s in stores and homes with loft spaces.

The idea was simple -- why not have a staircase that could actually act as storage space as well?

These giant pieces (usually about 7 ft. high) would be constructed by the local carpenter who would build it to the owner’s specifications.

The chests would usually consist of a combination of sliding doors and drawers and different-sized storage spaces.

Then the next clever idea was spawned. Since the government at that time taxed owners on their livable floor space, someone thought of making the step chest in pieces.

The idea was be that when the tax inspector came around, you would simply disassemble your staircase and claim that your loft was only storage and had no permanent access. This worked for a while until, predictably, that loophole was closed.

These antique step chests remain one of the most unique and collectible pieces of Japanese furniture. Because of this, prices remain very high and availability is limited.

 
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1 888 222 0195

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Greentea Design - Your online source for contemporary Japanese furniture, Asian furniture, and antique Oriental furniture.
388 Carlaw ave, Suite 200, Toronto, ON, Canada M4M 2T4      view sitemap