Keeping up with the latest trend in the home décor and styling world? You must then already know how trendy sideboards are currently. Almost every home magazine is featuring and raves about this type of furniture, and it is not at all surprising. Sideboards have been a part of most homes for centuries. Their elegance, functionality, and aesthetic appeal are truly stunning. Not only you can use it for storage purposes, but you can also use the piece of furniture as a statement piece in any room of your choice. As the purposes of a well-made sideboard are almost countless, many homeowners find themselves wondering what exactly is it used for. If this thought is also running through your mind, you have landed in the right place. Next, this question and any other questions you might have about sideboards have been answered in detail. So, do keep on reading!
Question 1: What are Sideboards?
If you have a clear idea about what sideboards are, you will be able to easily understand what they can be used for. So, let's begin with this question first.
Back in the Middle Ages, people used to keep a board near their table. The board was either set on some sort of support or anchored to the wall. The purpose of this board on the side of the table (hence, sideboard) was to hold extra food, cups, plates, and other similar items. Gradually, it evolved into a cabinet form with shelves, doors, and most importantly drawers to store various items.
If you are looking into sideboards to purchase, you might have come across the furniture types -Buffets and Credenza. Even though they look similar, they are not sideboards. Compared to these similar pieces of furniture, a sideboard will have shorter legs or no legs. Drawers are a must in sideboards. Sideboard's role is also more flexible than these two pieces of furniture. Sideboards can be used in different rooms of a house and not just the living room. So, this begs the following question.
Question 2: How can you use a Sideboard?
Now let's discuss the main topic. You already know by now, sideboards have a broad range of uses such as displaying, hiding, and storing items. So, you are free to add a sideboard to any room of your choice. However, the following are the main, traditional, or popular usage areas of a sideboard:
- Dining Room
The Dining room is where you entertain your guest and enjoy quality family time. Hence, sideboards are used in the dining room for storing and decorative purposes. You can store your expensive dinner sets and other similar items in any compartment of a sideboard. Creating an aesthetic and luxurious atmosphere is easy with it as well. You can display your prized possessions, elegant centrepiece, or precious family photos on top of the furniture.
- Living Room
Sideboards are used in living rooms worldwide. They are a perfect fit for the living room because of their organizational purpose. Keeping books, magazines, remotes, gaming consoles, and other living room essentials in an organized way is easy with sideboards. They are mainly placed below a wall-mounted TV set. Their top provides ample place to keep decorative items to bring life to your living room.
- Kitchen
One of the most popular types of sideboard is a kitchen sideboard. The speciality of such a piece of furniture is that its' cabinets or any other storage compartment will have glass doors. The glass doors are provided so that the items kept inside the sideboard are visible. They are for display purposes only. If you collect fine china cookery and dinner set or want to display your dining collection, this one will work the best. Different models for storing and organizing are also available.
Related Reading: How To Choose A Sideboard?
Do not know where to keep your socks, undies, and other delicates? Running out of space in your closet? Need a separate space for gym wear? A sideboard is your answer. Sideboards are very common in bedrooms as they feature many drawers. They allow homeowners to store PJs and other such durable daily items easily and in an organized manner. You can personalize the top of the sideboards to set a certain vibe in the room or you can simply use it as extra storage space.
- Hallways
If you have a hallway, a sideboard can break the monotonousness of the space. It adds additional decorative and storage options as well. Sideboards come in different types and styles and if you go for a modern sideboard, you will get a sleek design that you can keep in front of your main entrance where the hallway starts. They are used to hide and store shoes and the tops are used to keep important items like bags, keys, wallets, and so on.
Question 3: What are the Popular Sideboard Styles?
As soon as you read "modern sideboard", you must have thought about other sideboard styles well just like its uses, sideboards come in a variety of styles as well. Your options are many from the very popular classic style to the cutting-edge industrial style. However, the following 3 are considered the most popular as they complement any room and its décor quite easily:
- Rustic Sideboards
They mostly feature a worn-out look because they are crafted from resourced or natural solid wood. The vintage aesthetic of this sideboard style makes them perfect for a cottage or farmhouse style of décor/setting. However, currently, they are trending as statement pieces in a room with other kinds of décor or settings as well.
- Scandinavian Sideboards
Everyone is going back to basics and adopting not only minimalistic furniture but also a minimalistic lifestyle as well. Hence, the Scandinavia style is a favourite of most homeowners. This style usually has a modern or contemporary vibe but features the use of light colours and emphasized simplicity.
This style is considered an ever-lasting beauty that has been in style for the last century. Its origin story starts during the post-WWI era. This style was later upgraded for a more modern look.
Question 4: Which Type of Sideboard is Ideal for you?
Due to its versatility, you can make any style of sideboard work for you. You can manipulate the décor or wall colours to compliment this piece of furniture in the room of your choice. However, you cannot go wrong with a mid-century sideboard.
Known for their attractiveness and functionality, mid-century sideboards suit most interior designs because they feature bolder colours and textures and a minimalistic and sleek design with clean lines. Glass, plastic, and wood are some common materials used to make one in this style. Thus, you can create a futuristic or back-to-nature look with this piece of furniture quite easily and effectively.