# Old Sideboard Styles
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Purpose
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Sideboards were a successor to the antique marble slab tables used for cutting and serving food. Wooden sideboards commonly replaced marble slab tables in fashionable American dining rooms by the end of the 18th century. Ample storage cabinets, drawers, shelves, small compartments and a substantial food service area on top made sideboards an ideal addition to dining rooms. Silver, flatware, table linens, holloware and other serving dishes stored conveniently and safely in a sideboard until needed.
Heppelwhite
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Heppelwhite furniture style was created by George Heppelwhite in the late 18th century. Crafted of rich mahogany wood displaying a mixture of delicate straight lines and bold curves, Heppelwhite sideboards feature artistic marquetry inlays created from a lighter colored wood, such as satinwood. Less storage areas and more petite bases make Heppelwhite sideboards ideal for limited dining room spaces with smaller scale furniture. Some pieces were ornamentally painted in assorted colors.
Victorian
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One of the most expensive and flamboyant pieces of furniture in the Victorian household was Victorian sideboards. Shorter legs meant larger storage areas and bigger cabinets, resulting in a larger scale furniture piece that is well suited to larger dining rooms with substantial furniture. Skillfully created from mahogany or tiger wood, mirrors were sometimes designed into the wood with highly ornate carvings. At the turn of the 20th century, Victorian sideboards became even larger with more elaborate ornamentation.
Empire
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Empire furniture was created during the rule of France by Napoleon during the early part of the 19th century. Eagles, urns, sphinxes and Napoleonic motifs and symbols were often integrated into Empire-style furniture. Crafted from heavy, dark woods, such as mahogany and ebony, ornate gold detailing exhibited skilled craftsmanship and fine artistry. Marble tops, Roman-inspired columns carved into the wood and decorative gild-painted faceted feet were design elements characteristic of some Empire-style sideboards.
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