Your furniture is outgasing all the chemicals that are used to process the wood and build it. If you think it's that bad, I'd recommend you return it.

Yes, greatgollymolly's right. It'll eventually fade but in the meantime just think what you and your family are breathing! (Most likely urea-formaldehyde offgassing. Carcinogens.) This is why the only new/cheap furniture we have in our house is Ikea (which adheres to a strict German off-gassing standard so it's not as bad.) Everything else is old and has already finished off-gassing. There are some other furniture companies that are careful about VOCs but they tend to be pricier. (And of course, most high-end furniture will be better: solid wood and you can specify low-VOC finishes. But I can't afford that stuff!)

If you really want to keep the furniture, I recommend investing in a GOOD HEPA-filtered air scubber rated big enough for the room the furniture is in. Run it on high, with the door closed, for a few weeks at least, and then on low for a couple of years. if you get a GOOD one, it'll have a filter small enough to capture these gasses. But you're talking $400 and up, depending on how big the room is... BlueAir is a good company.

Thanks for your advice..I am getting concerned, its been over a week for the worst pieces and still no improvement. I had so many issues actually getting this furniture that I am nervous about now returning it :(

A friend of mine had a mattress set that was like that -- for about 3 weeks.
Sorry to depress you!

If you COULD return it, WOULD you? Or do really love the style?

Try some vanilla extract-scented cotton balls--before the advent of the low-smell wall paints, this was one of the tips recommended on this forum to help clear a room of paint smells.

Several substances are good for absorbing odors...activated charcoal, kitty litter, baking soda. You might try putting disposable aluminum trays filled with one of those into the drawers and closed compartments and leaving them for a few days to see if the situation improves.

If I were you, I'd put it out in your garage until it airs out if you plan to keep it.
Heaven knows what you're breathing in, especially if you have asthma and small children.

I'm sensitive to formaldehyde and have returned furniture due to off-gassing. Two online retailers (one was Overstock) agreed to do a UPS call tag and had the items picked up for a full refund. We left them, repackaged, in a garage until pick up.

I could be mistaken, but I think that sensitivities to such chemicals can worsen with repeated exposure. That's something else to consider for your children's sake. For my dh, they've become a trigger for migraines.

There's no doubt it's a hassle to deal with returns. Good luck!

rockmanor, you're right. It's called sensitization. The whole problem is called MSC (multiple Chemical Sensitivity, here's a web page about it http://www.multiplechemicalsensitivity.org/)

It's not just about the bad smell... it's a real health problem. I have been chemically sensitive since puberty (I had to quit my first job at the mall because I would get swollen glands, watery eyes, and sore throat if I spent more than 30 minutes in there!) and it has only gotten worse as I've gotten older. I also came down with an unusual type of breast cancer at a very early age, with no family history. I suspect some link between the chemical sensitivity and the cancer :(

I agree that if you want to keep the furniture to put it in the garage and use something that will absorb the odors, like activated charcoal or kitty litter, rather than something like Febreeze that will just mask or possibly add to the odor.

Open the windows
Run a fan to exhaust the fumes
Close the door to that bedroom
Sleep in another room for a few days

Going through the same issue right now. I think I have to send this dresser back!