Choosing a sideboard or cabinet
Old pieces and reclaimed ones
Most of our antique and vintage sideboards have been tastefully restored, keeping the knocks, worn edges and old repairs that show how they've been used; a few are left just as we found them. Reclaimed sideboards and cabinets are new pieces, built from old timber. We give the age on a product page wherever we know it. Painted pieces carry their old paint, often in layers, rubbed back to show the wood beneath.
Where it will go
In a dining room, a sideboard keeps china, glass and linen close to the table, and a taller one is comfortable to serve from. In a hallway or a living room, a narrower sideboard, around 40 to 45cm deep, gives plenty of storage without taking up much floor. A tall cupboard or larder cupboard suits a kitchen or a utility room, and a chest of drawers works just as well in a hallway as in a bedroom.
Measuring up
Measure the wall and leave some space either side. Check doorways, turns in the stairs and the height of any windowsill the piece will stand under. Old furniture was often built taller and deeper than modern pieces, so it's worth checking the full measurements on the product page before you buy.
Inside
Look at how the storage is arranged: cupboards, drawers or both. In most of our sideboards and cupboards the shelves can be lifted out, so you can arrange each section to suit what you keep in it.
Looking after it
Dust with a dry cloth, and keep water and household cleaners off the surface. Keep old timber away from radiators; a little movement in a very dry room is normal.
See them in person
We always have sideboards and cabinets on show in our shop on the High Street in Moreton-in-Marsh. Let us know if there's one on the website you'd like to see, and we can bring it to the shop for you.
