August 25, 2016

The Design Files: Sideboard Styling

The sideboard is not just a humble, functional workhorse of every house – it can be the beating heart of your living or dining room.

We all know what that waist-height storage unit is, but many people don’t know just how important and versatile it can be when it comes to your interior styling.

In short, it’s a large surface to style, so there’s plenty to get wrong. But just as true is that there is everything to get right about styling your sideboard – and a million different ways to get there.

Let’s look at a few stand-out options:

1. Artwork – Sideboard Sophistication

The Design Files Sideboard Styling

Our Svend Sideboard in walnut with white and grey doors.

A sideboard can be the perfect setting for some artwork. One ultra-modern solution is to forgo the hammer and nails and use even large, framed works of art as ornaments to simply lean against the wall atop your sideboard, just like in the image above. Get it right and it looks great, especially if you get the positioning right – like this offset setting for this drawer chest.

2. Less Is More

The Design Files Sideboard Styling

Sometimes all you need is a little colour contrast to make your sideboard stand out.

An enduring modern-day styling trend is minimalism, and it can work a treat on your sideboard. Like any interior decorating, there are many ways to perfect this minimalist art – perhaps the stand-out feature will be in a bold colour to contrast with the rest of the room, or an asymmetrical group of small ornaments at one end or the other for an arty or textured look. Does your home’s interior feature white walling? Our Svend Sideboard in walnut may be just what you need to achieve an effective colour contrast.

The central thing here is scale – minimalism can mean a single, large object on a small sideboard, or vice versa, and the balance is important.

3. More Is More

The Design Files Sideboard Styling

Our Svend Sideboard with orange and grey doors featuring decorative books, plants and artwork.

On the other hand, more can be more on a sideboard! Multiple piles of cool hard-back books work in combination with a couple of lamps and candles, and multiple objects of varying heights and similar yet varying colours can set eyes wandering in the very best of ways. Plants, flowers, vases, jugs, bowls – let your imagination run wild!

4. Colour Themes

Sideboard styling can be the perfect place to play with colours – especially if your sideboard already has some colour, like the bold featured orange in the image above. Or perhaps it’s a modern, all-white or dark room – choose a bold colour, perhaps on a piece of mounted artwork, and pair it with a matching bold-coloured ornament. But sideboard styling in a single colour scheme can work beautifully too – like all-white ornaments paired with a white orchard, or a couple of key contrasting colours.

Can you think of another favourite decorating style or tip for the perfect sideboard? We’d love to hear from you, or you can fire your imagination with this amazing collection of sideboard décor on Pinterest.