Choose a sideboard that matches the style of your table and chairs.
An antique oak sideboard can provide a beautiful accent to your dining room while allowing you to store dishes, place mats or other useful items conveniently close to the table. During meals or parties, the sideboard doubles as a food service surface. You can also use a sideboard buffet in other rooms of the house. For example, placing it in the den or family room gives you a place to store movies or old photo albums, while some sideboard buffets may even be able to function as a low dresser in the bedroom. Does this Spark an idea?
Instructions
1. Place the sideboard against a wall in the dining room where it will not block the path from the kitchen or get in the way of any of the seats at the table.
2. Store dishes and other items that you will use only when you eat in the dining room, such as place mats for the dining room table, plates that you reserve for special occasions and serving dishes like platters, pitchers or chafing dishes that you mainly use when hosting larger get-togethers. Waxing wooden drawer runners with an unscented candle can help if the drawers in an antique piece are sticking.
3. Decorate the top of the sideboard when it is not in use by placing a large decorative vase or a bowl of flowers in the center. If desired, place a few decorative objects like candle holders, figurines, potpourri or framed pictures on either side of the centerpiece. Vintage decor like old clocks or hand-painted china are a good way to complement the beauty of an antique sideboard.
4. Clear the decorations off the sideboard buffet when you want to use it as a food serving surface. Protect wood surfaces with trivets before placing any hot dishes on the buffet. For self-serve meals, set silverware, plates and napkins at one end of the sideboard and arrange food in serving bowls and platters. Make sure to put a serving utensil in each serving dish. Guests can walk along the sideboard and choose their own portions before sitting at the table to eat.
Tags: dining room, antique sideboard, food serving, place mats, sideboard buffet