The dining room is one of the busiest parts of any house. This is where meals are shared as well as conversations with family members, relatives, and people who come to visit. One of the most important things in addition to the regular dining room furniture is great sideboards. These sideboards serve as both decorative and functional pieces of furniture in your dining room. Having said so, choosing a sideboard needs just as much thought and effort as you would your living room furniture, since your guests will be able to see your sideboards once they are in your dining room. You can be a little lenient when it comes to your bedroom furniture and go with whatever you prefer, but sideboards are a totally different thing.

What a Sideboard Is

A sideboard is basically a piece of functional furniture which is usually found in dining rooms. This furniture piece contains several drawers as well as cabinets or cupboards where silverware, plates, and other utensils used in the dining room is placed and stored. The height of a sideboard is usually up to the waist of a person, and the top part of it is usually used for serving food, holding plates and dishes, and even some lighting devices. To put it simply, imagine yourself walking in a dining room where a party or gathering is being held. The food is not on the dining table as well as the plates and utensils you need in order to eat, but on a table which is approximately as high as your waist, kind of like a buffet table. Once you have picked up a plate, utensils, and picked out the food you will eat and placed it on your plate, you can proceed to the dining room table to sit down and eat.

Tips in Choosing a Sideboard

There are plenty of different sideboard designs to choose from, as well as the materials they are made from, not to mention how the top part of the sideboard is finished. A lot of the traditional sideboards are made with full wood, while some have marble tops. It is a good idea to choose a sideboard which comes with a top that matches or at least goes well with the rest of the furniture in the dining area.

Since a sideboard is primarily a functional piece, make sure to choose one which has the right size and kind of drawers and cupboards. It is best to know what pieces you will be storing in the sideboard, like if you will be storing tall plates, serving bowls of food, big forks, etc. From there, you can choose a sideboard which has cupboards and drawers that can hold your items properly.

Wooden sideboards are a great addition to any dining room, especially if the rest of the dining room furniture is made of wood as well. Make sure to choose solid wood as sideboards usually last for a very long time, especially if it is made with quality wood like oak for instance. You can hand your sideboard down to your children as the years go by as an antique and as a decorative way to store items in the dining room.

If you have young kids at home, it would be best to choose a sideboard which does not have pointed edges. There are oval sideboards which would be great for homes with children, or you can go with the rectangular shaped ones if there are not any kids around. Make sure to inspect how the shelves and drawers are made, as well as how firmly the hinges are attached.

When you are shopping for a sideboard, try to give it a little wiggle and see if the sideboard will tilt. This will give you an idea if all of the legs of the sideboard are levelled with each other and will also ensure that whatever you put on top of it stays on top of it. During gatherings, the possibility of having someone lightly bump the sideboard is very likely. This is why it is very important to choose one which is firm and stable.

When choosing sideboards, make sure to remember that these are not just decorative pieces of furniture, but they are functional as well. It is best to get a sideboard that is beautiful and can store all of the things you need to keep in it properly. Plus, since your guests can see your sideboard like your living room furniture, choose wisely. This is not like your bedroom furniture in which only those you invite in your bedroom will be able to see it.