Sideboards are one of those pieces of furniture which seem to be either loved or entirely overlooked by people. There are those of us who know what sideboards are and appreciate them and then there are many people who don’t really ‘get’ them. They’re interesting because they’re so misunderstood with many furniture experts (and even some interior designers) thinking that they’re intended specifically for dining situations, but they’re not!
Sideboards are perfect in absolutely any room, except perhaps a bathroom. This is because they’re so practical and chic. They can be used as an occasional coffee table, a telephone table, a table for vases and ornaments and also provide essential storage space. That makes them ideal for not only dining rooms, but kitchens, living rooms, bedrooms and even conservatories. In a bedroom a sideboard can actually make a great ‘television stand’ as they are elevated enough to be seen easily from the higher situation of a bed.
Lasting Potential & Creating a Mood
A well-crafted sideboard in good quality wood can be handed down through generations within a family which makes them a great long-term investment. They are also quite affordable if you shop around and as we’ve already said, they’re incredibly versatile. You can also pick them up in a wide range of styles and designs so it’s easy to find one which fits the mood you’re trying to create in any given room.
To create a tranquil mood, pale woods work best with ornate cupboard doors such as wooden lattice work, these sorts of cupboard will somewhat expose what lies within but you can remedy this if you’re stashing clutter by putting items into wicker or seagrass boxes on the shelves behind the lattice-work doors. This is a good idea anyway if you want to keep things neat, tidy and organised.
For high contrast team a dark wood sideboard with a pale environment, this could be a cream or eggshell carpet, with neutral or magnolia walls, or even a pale laminate or genuine wood floor. By adding a contrasting dark wood sideboard this can create a charming focal point for a room and be even more effective if you place interesting objects or a vase of fresh flowers on the sideboard.
This is a useful trick to create a focal point away from a large television or other less attractive, more utilitarian feature of the room. It will draw the eye to beautiful items and away from anything you’d rather not share.You can also team up sideboards with traditional screens in order to partition areas creatively, this is perfect for someone in a work-live unit who needs a separate space to sleep or use a computer away from the rest of the studio.
Choosing a Sideboard
We can’t stress how important it is to measure where you want to put a sideboard before you buy one. By far the biggest mistake people make when it comes to selecting furniture is buying items which will not fit into the spaces they had in mind for them. Usually though, the person is so in love with the item of furniture by then, they just cram it somewhere inappropriate instead of selling it on, returning the item or giving it to friends.