Oak Sideboards whether you love them or hate them most homes have one or have had a sideboard over the years.

Sideboards have a slight stigma to them as being old fashion and that they are only found in old peoples houses, this just isn’t true but the fact is the concept of the sideboard has been around for many years and people have used them in various shapes and forms over the last century.

The general use of the sideboard today is to have a piece of furniture that is good for storing away items but can also be used to display items on the top such as photos or even a flat LCD television.

The old fashion use of the sideboard was to use it to store the cutlery and china while the top of the sideboard would then be used as a serving surface, so the use has slightly changed to a more of a storage solution than serving of food at dinner.

Sideboards were usually placed in a diner room due to their original use but today they are generally placed at various placing around the house depending on the planned use for them.

Some people will buy a sideboard and have it in the Living room for storage and displaying, even to store DVDs, glasses, books or similar.

Hallway or landing used for display particular fresh flowers which makes a lovely entrance to any home.

Dining Room – typically used to store dining wear and cutlery with the surface used to display photos, flowers or similar.

Sideboards are available in a number of different materials from Oak, mahogany to pine, and depending on the amount you wish to spend to the décor in your home will help you decide the material that is right for you.

Mahogany - is a dark reddish hard wood that looks stunning and due to the colour you are limited to what décor the sideboard would suit , Mahogany is also expensive as it is a hard wood , but you do get what you pay for a this type of wood will last for many generations if looked after right.

Pine – Pine is a very light in colour wood and the grain can sometimes be very faint meaning the wood can seem very plain, but you can also get pine sideboards which have been stained or painted so you can match them up to your décor with different colours or different wood stains , these will also help preserve the wood.

Pine is a soft wood so is easily damaged or marked and will need a little more care , as a soft wood the pine sideboards will tend to be a little bit cheaper due to the wood they are made from.

Oak – can be various colours but sideboards are usually made with light oak, oak is beautiful and this is displayed in the grain of the wood with vivid patterns throughout, the grain can be brought to life with a wax applied with a cloth, rubbed into the wood in the same direction and NOT in a circular motion, but Oak sideboards are usually already treated and will require little looking after.

As Oak is a very hard wood, the wood itself can last for hundreds of years and this sort of furniture is usually past down each generation in a family, hence oak sideboards are a little more expensive.