Autumn Winter 2019 Style Shot — Sideboards

When it comes to sorting your storage, it's easy to overlook this most practical and established furniture stalwart. In this Style Shot we look at sideboards, and spotlight a specific industrial styled piece that we love ...

Sideboards rose to prominence during the 19th Century, as houses started to include dedicated dining rooms. Pioneers of practicality, they offered a flat top to serve food, and cabinets to store cutlery, crockery and other essential homewares.

These early examples were ornate in design and used expensive woods and veneers - underlining their importance within the home.

Sideboards for every room

No longer confined to the dining room, modern sideboards adorn almost every room of the house, with design inspiration as eclectic and varied as ever.

With so much choice, the distinction between sideboards, buffets, credenzas, consoles or just plain old cabinets is increasingly blurred, but, whatever you choose to call them, no home is complete without one.

When considering a sideboard, consider height, as well as width. Place ambient lighting on a lower sideboard, or use as a media unit. Taller pieces will dominate a space, so use them to make statement displays.

Drawers and cupboards impact the look of the piece, but also offer very different storage options. Stick to drawers if you have a lot of small items to stow away, use cupboards for larger, deeper items.

Our spotlight today is on the Sol, from Danish design house Dutchbone. We love the vintage school furniture feel of the drawer hardware. But it's the unique open-fronted drawers that really do it for us, with the emphasis firmly on display. Use for ornaments and lighting, or house your media centre - a true stand-out piece!

The Sol is one of a range of industrial, urban and vintage style sideboards we've curated from the most innovative furniture designers. Browse our Sideboards category for more inspiration.