Editing Sideboard (section)

{{Short description|Item of dining room furniture}}
{{Other uses}}
{{refimprove|date=October 2024}}
[[File:Waterfall buffet table.jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|A [[Waterfall furniture|Waterfall]]-style sideboard]]
A '''sideboard''', also called a '''buffet''', is an item of [[furniture]] traditionally used in the dining room for serving food, for displaying serving dishes, and for storage. It usually consists of a set of [[Cabinet (furniture)|cabinets]], or [[cupboard]]s, and one or more [[Drawer (furniture)|drawers]], all topped by a wooden surface for conveniently holding food, serving dishes, or lighting devices. The words ''sideboard'' and ''buffet'' are somewhat interchangeable, but if the item has short legs, or a base that sits directly on the floor with no legs, it is more likely to be called a ''sideboard''; if it has longer legs, it is more likely to be called a ''buffet''.
[[File:Chevy Chase Sideboard.png|thumb|right|The Chevy Chase Sideboard by Gerrard Robinson, often considered to be one of the finest furniture pieces of the 19th century and an icon of Victorian furniture]]
The earliest versions of the sideboard familiar today made their appearance in the 18th century, but they gained most of their popularity during the 19th century, as households became prosperous enough to dedicate a room solely to dining. Sideboards were made in a range of decorative styles and were frequently ornamented with costly [[Wood veneer|veneers]] and [[inlay]]s. In later years, sideboards have been placed in living rooms or other areas where household items might be displayed.{{citation needed|date=May 2015}}

In traditional formal [[dining room]]s today, an antique sideboard is a desirable and fashionable accessory, and finely styled versions from the late 18th or early 19th centuries are the most sought-after and most costly.{{citation needed|date=August 2020}} Among its counterparts in modern furniture styles, the form is often referred to as a ''server''. Some of the earliest production of sideboards arose in England, France, Poland, Belgium and Scotland. Later, American designs arose.<ref>{{cite book |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=yL-NYIyi4kYC |isbn=9780805001242 |pages=53–54 |title=Field Guide to American Antique Furniture |publisher=H. Holt |place=New York |date=1986 |last=Butler |first=Joseph T. }}</ref>  Characteristic materials used in historic sideboard manufacture include [[mahogany]], [[oak]], [[pine]], and [[walnut]].