Century Furniture Case Pieces: Chests, Consoles and Nightstands

Century Furniture case pieces, available at Sutter & Vale through the Century collection, cover chests, consoles and nightstands with a finish program that runs more than 50 options and a distressing scale that lets you specify exactly how worn a piece looks before it is built. That specificity is rare in American furniture manufacturing.

What finishes are available on Century chests and dressers?

Every Century casegood carries a published finish tier and a distressing grade, so you know what you are ordering before production begins. Finish tiers run from a single as-shown option through Group A, Group B and Group D, with hand waxing and decorative embellishments available on top. Distressing is graded on a five-point scale: none, very light, light, medium and heavy. Light is the house default.

Named finishes worth knowing for bedroom case pieces:

• Timber Grey: a cool, restrained wood tone used across the Casa Bella line
• Brownstone: a warm, deep tone paired with Oxford White in the Aria line
• Oxford White: a clean light finish used as a contrasting body or drawer face in two-tone combinations
• Gustavian White and Gustavian Black: drawn from Scandinavian antique references
• Napa: an amber wood tone

Century's finishing process runs roughly 25 steps, beginning with distressing and ending with hand padding and lacquer. Three hand techniques carry their own names: hand waxing with a beeswax and carnauba formula; leafing with silver or gold foil worn through and burnished to simulate aging; and dry brushing with a gold or silver powder mixture applied almost dry for a result more subtle than leafing. Sheen is specified numerically, from 5 and 10 at the low end to 50 and 70 at the high end. High sheen is not recommended on heavily distressed pieces.

How do the Casa Bella and Aria lines compare for dressers and consoles?

The two lines sit at distinct design points, which makes choosing between them a question of room character rather than quality.

The Casa Bella Louvered Dresser in Timber Grey uses a louvered facade to create repeating shadow lines across the front. The Casa Bella Curved Front Console takes a gently bowed silhouette that reads classical in proportion and composed in attitude. The Aria Dresser works a two-tone composition, Brownstone body against Oxford White, that gives a bedroom a clear visual structure without relying on pattern.

Which Century nightstands work with a standard bed height?

The general sizing rule places nightstand height within two inches of your mattress top. Most platform beds sit with the mattress surface between 22 and 25 inches from the floor. Most standard beds with a box spring place that surface between 25 and 30 inches. Confirm the product page dimensions against your specific setup before ordering.

Century offers single-drawer and three-drawer nightstand options within the Aria line. The Aria Nightstand in Brownstone and Oxford White keeps its profile compact. The Aria Three Drawer Nightstand adds storage in the same two-tone composition, organized with the same architectural restraint as the dresser. The Avery Nightstand sits within a line whose proportions are resolved without being spare.

What materials does Century use in its case pieces?

Century works with American walnut veneers, maple solids and veneers, mahogany solids, poplar solids, beech solids, walnut solids and eucalyptus veneers. Specialty veneers include oak mappa burl, cluster maple and mappa burl, each chosen for surface movement and figure. Other materials across the broader line include travertine, tempered glass, metal, mirror, parchment, shagreen and stone. Construction follows solid hardwood frames with dovetailed drawer boxes and hand-applied finishes on all surfaces, produced at Century's workshops in Hickory, North Carolina.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I order a Century chest or console in a finish not shown on the product page?

In most cases, yes. Century's Design Your Own program runs through the line and the finish library covers more than 50 options across Group A, B and D tiers. Some pieces are offered as shown only, so confirm availability for the specific piece with Sutter & Vale before specifying.

What does the two-tone combo finish option mean on Century case pieces?

A standard or premium combo finish applies one finish to the case body and a different finish to the drawers, top or interior. The Aria line in Brownstone and Oxford White is a factory-offered example of this approach, where the contrast is built into the piece's design from the start rather than added as a custom request.

How is distressing different from a worn finish?

Distressing on a Century casegood is applied by hand before the finish coats go on, creating physical variation in the wood surface that the finish then settles into. A worn finish, by contrast, is a sheen or color treatment applied over a smooth surface. Century grades distressing per piece from very light to heavy, so the depth of that physical character is a specifiable detail.

The Sutter & Vale Team