Jewelry Armoires

What is a jewelry armoire?

A jewelry armoire is a cabinet made for jewelry alone, with shallow felt lined drawers, hooks for necklaces and ring rolls, usually behind doors and often with a mirror on the front or inside the lid. The difference from a jewelry box is height and capacity: an armoire stands on the floor and holds a whole collection rather than a selection.

Armoire or jewelry box?

Choose by how much you own and where it lives. A box sits on a dresser and holds what you wear regularly. An armoire replaces the box and the drawer overflow together, and its shallow drawers stop chains tangling in a way a deep box never does. If your jewelry is currently spread across three places, the armoire is solving the right problem.

Standing, wall mounted or over the door

This collection spans all three, which is why the depth range is so wide, from about 4 inches to 22. A full depth standing armoire is furniture and needs floor space. A wall mounted cabinet is roughly 4 inches deep and hangs like a mirror, taking no floor at all. Over the door models suit a rented room where you cannot drill.

How do you hang one on the wall?

Into studs, always. A wall mounted jewelry cabinet is light when empty and surprisingly heavy loaded, and the load is all pulling down and out from the wall. Find two studs, use the bracket or French cleat supplied, and check it sits level before loading, because a cabinet hung slightly off will swing its door open on its own.

How do you organize one?

Sort by type, not by value. Necklaces go on hooks so they hang straight and do not knot, earrings in the shallowest lined drawer where pairs stay together, rings in the ring roll, bracelets and watches in the deeper drawer. Keep everyday pieces in the top drawer and occasion pieces lower down, since the top drawer is the one you open in the dark.

Can you lock a jewelry armoire?

Some arrive with a lock fitted and some do not. Where none is fitted, a small cam lock can be added to the door: it needs a hole through the door face and a strike plate on the carcass, which is straightforward on solid wood and harder on a thin engineered panel. A lock deters casual access rather than a determined thief.

What are they made from?

Mostly solid wood here, with some engineered wood and one metal frame. Solid wood matters on a piece with a mirror mounted to the door, because the door carries the mirror weight every time it swings and a soft panel will loosen at the hinge screws. Look for a felt or velvet lining throughout rather than only in the top drawer. Construction: engineered wood and MDF on select models.