The Ultimate Sideboard Buying Guide: Size, Style, and More

A sideboard is one of the quietest workhorses in a home. It swallows the plates you only use at Christmas, the tablecloths, the odd bottle of wine, and the remote controls that otherwise colonise the coffee table, all while giving a room a proper surface to display something nice on top. Get the wrong one, though, and it's either hopelessly small or a hulking great obstacle you regret within a fortnight.

This guide covers everything that actually matters when choosing a sideboard: the sizing rules, the wood and finish options, how to match storage to what you actually own, and where a sideboard works best in a room. By the end, you'll know exactly what to look for, rather than choosing on looks alone.

Quick Answer

The right sideboard depends on three things: available wall space (leave at least 90 cm of walkway in front, more if it's a busy route); what you need to store (shelves suit display and crockery, drawers suit linens and cutlery, and a mix of both suits most homes); and the wood or finish that matches your room. A solid wood sideboard, oak, mango, or a similar hardwood, offers the most durability and can be a genuine long-term piece, while veneers and painted finishes bring more color choices at a lower cost. Measure your wall and your storage needs before you fall for a look; both matter more than style alone.

Getting the Size Right

Size is where sideboard purchases most often go wrong, and it's worth working through methodically before anything else.

1. Measure the Wall, Not Just the Gap

It's tempting to measure the space and buy right up to the edges, but a sideboard needs breathing room. Leave a little clearance on either side rather than wedging it wall-to-wall, and check that nearby doors, radiators, or skirting details won't interfere with fully opening drawers or doors.

2. Leave Room to Walk and to Open It

Beyond the wall measurement, check the room in front of the sideboard. Aim for at least 90cm of clearance so people can walk past comfortably, and remember that cupboard doors need swing room, typically 40–50cm, to open fully without hitting a chair or a nearby table.

3. Match Height to Its Job

A low sideboard (around 75–85cm) works well under a television or a piece of art, keeping the display area above it clear. A taller design (85 cm and up) suits a dining room where the top doubles as serving space during meals. Think about what will sit on top, and at what height, before choosing.

Expert tip: Tape the sideboard's footprint onto your floor before ordering, then walk your normal route through the room for a day. It's the single best way to catch a spacing problem before it becomes an expensive one, particularly for a 2m sideboard or larger, which is bigger in reality than it often looks in a photo.

Choosing the Wood and Finish

Material affects both the look and the lifespan of a sideboard, so it's worth understanding the options rather than choosing based on color alone.

1. Solid Wood

A wooden sideboard built from solid timber, oak, mango, or similar hardwoods, offers real durability and character and can genuinely last decades with basic care. Grain and colour vary slightly piece to piece, which is part of the appeal rather than a flaw. Our range includes designs crafted from solid oak slats with oak veneers and others in solid mango wood with a striking ribbed or vertical feature front, both built to be lasting, everyday pieces.

2. Veneer

A veneer sideboard uses a thin layer of real wood over an engineered core, giving the genuine timber look and grain at a lower weight and often a lower price than solid wood throughout. It's a sensible middle ground: real wood on the surface, more affordable and lighter to move than a fully solid piece.

3. Painted and Coloured Finishes

For a bolder look, a painted or lacquered sideboard opens up colour options a natural wood finish can't; a blue sideboard, for instance, makes a real statement in an otherwise neutral room. These finishes work well in contemporary and Scandinavian-influenced schemes and pair nicely with a mid-century-style range.

Expert tip: If you're drawn to a bold colour like a blue sideboard, keep the rest of the room's palette fairly neutral so the sideboard remains the statement piece rather than competing with an equally bold sofa or rug. One strong colour moment per room usually reads better than several.

Matching Storage to What You Actually Own

The inside of a sideboard matters as much as the outside, and it's worth being honest about what you'll actually store before choosing a configuration.

1. Shelves

A sideboard with shelves suits crockery, glassware, books, or anything you'd like to see and reach easily. Adjustable shelving, featured on several designs in our range, lets you configure the space around taller items like serving platters or a stack of larger bowls.

2. Drawers

Drawers suit cutlery, table linens, placemats, and anything you'd rather keep flat and out of sight. A mix of drawer sizes, one shallow for cutlery and one deeper for linens, tends to be more useful day-to-day than several identical drawers.

3. Cupboards

Closed cupboard storage hides everything from view, which is useful for bulkier or less attractive items, spare tablecloths, serving dishes, and the box of Christmas crackers nobody wants to look at in July. Many sideboards combine cupboards with a drawer or two above for the best of both.

• Mostly display crockery and glassware? Prioritise shelves, ideally adjustable.

• Mostly linens, cutlery, and everyday clutter? Prioritise drawers.

• Want it all out of sight? Choose a cupboard-led design, or one that combines both.

Where a Sideboard Works Best

Sideboards aren't limited to the dining room, and thinking beyond the obvious spot can solve a few household storage problems at once.

• Dining room: The classic spot, for crockery, serving dishes, and table linen within easy reach of the table.

• Living room: Under a television or along a spare wall, hiding remotes, cables and clutter while providing a display surface.

• Hallway: A smaller design makes an excellent console-style landing spot for keys, mail, and shoes.

• Bedroom: as an alternative to a chest of drawers, particularly useful if you want a longer, lower storage run rather than a tall unit.

Sizes and Styles at a Glance

Pairing a Sideboard With the Rest of the Room

A sideboard rarely stands alone. In a dining room, it works naturally alongside your dining tables and dining chairs, echoing the wood tone or contrasting deliberately for a more eclectic look. In a living room, it can sit alongside your sofas as the main storage piece, freeing up the coffee table for its actual job rather than a dumping ground for remotes and coasters.

Where to Find Yours

Because size and storage configuration matter so much, it's worth comparing sideboards online against your exact wall measurement and storage needs before buying. Browsing our sideboard collection lets you check width, height, shelf and drawer configuration, and finish side by side, including small sideboards for tighter spaces and larger statement pieces for bigger rooms.

Wood grain and finish are genuinely worth seeing in person; photographs can't fully capture how a solid oak or mango finish catches the light. Seeing furniture in store at Furniture Island in Leytonstone lets you check the finish and the storage configuration for yourself. Our team is always happy to help you find the right size and style for your room.

Ready to find your perfect sideboard? Browse our sideboard range, from compact designs to large statement pieces, in solid wood, veneer, and painted finishes, with full dimensions on every model.

Final Thoughts

Choosing the right sideboard comes down to three honest questions: how much wall and walkway space do you actually have, what will you be storing inside it, and which wood or finish suits both your room and how long you want the piece to last. Get those right, and the rest color, handles, and styling is simply the fun part.

Measure properly, tape out the footprint, be realistic about shelves versus drawers versus cupboards, and choose solid wood if longevity matters most to you. Do that, and a sideboard becomes exactly what it should be, a piece that quietly earns its keep for years, holding everything from your everyday clutter to the good crockery while giving the room a proper finished surface on top.

Ready to complete your room? Explore our full sideboard collection online, or visit our Leytonstone showroom to see the wood finishes and storage configurations in person. Our friendly team is always happy to help you choose.