Much of my business is sourcing applicable furnishing for clients and helping them expand their ideas of what will work and what can work with a little more thought. It is not unusual for people to see a dresser as a dresser and a desk as a desk; but often theses versatile pieces can work in many areas of the home and function in a variety of ways.
Just because a dresser has an attached mirror, that the homeowner does not need, does not mean the piece should be dismissed. Once a mirror is removed, usually with a few turns of a screwdriver, the piece suddenly is less a bedroom piece and more of an entry console, a place for a TV to sit, dining room server, or even a piece for the living room to help visually separate a room that is needed to function as a dining space as well.
In a teen bedroom, a pair of dressers can become a desk set up with drawer space at either end. Another configuration can have one dresser extending out into the room with a flat surface, such as a hollow core door, placed on top of the dresser and attached perpendicular to the wall with a French cleat or brackets. This can be a real space saver, while serving two purposes.
End tables can work nicely as bedside tables, giving a bedroom a more sophisticated look; and the pieces do not have to match. Even low bookcases are serviceable as bedside storage for guest rooms. This idea allows for you to store treasured books if you are short of space in other areas of your home. In fact, just about anything can serve as a bedside table; plant stands that you might use on your patio could stand in for end tables with a pretty piece of tile on top or a handy tray that would expand the surface area a bit. Add a lamp and and your guest will have a spot for their late-night reading book and glasses.
An old trunk is a fun addition to a child’s bedroom as a storage area for toys or treasures they are not ready to part with, and the surface can be used as a play area, or bedside table if turned on its side.
I recently saw a fabulous old dentist’s cabinet from the turn of the century. Its metal was timeless and fixtures were nickel and never need polishing. It would make a great addition to a bathroom for storage of all those medicine cabinet needs along with an attractive space for storing pretty cosmetics, perfumes and even towels. You would never have to worry about things falling out of the cabinet, as they would be safely stored in drawers. What a conversation piece it would make.