Everyone Owned One In The 60s –– The Storage Furniture Essential That Still Looks Stylish

The 1960s produced iconic furniture, and while items like tulip dining tables and ball chairs have faded from the mainstream, the sideboard remains a dining room staple. It seemed like just about everyone owned one in the Space Age, and they're still a mainstay in many dining rooms. Why? Because they were super practical. They offered tons of storage without having to invest in expensive built-ins or giant China cabinets. Instead, they were sleek and nondescript while housing all of the home's dinner linens, plates, silverware, and other hosting necessities. While most came with shelves and cabinets, others also had drawers, allowing you to break out smaller pieces. Some of those drawers even had cutlery holders. Since they were typically placed off to the side of the dining table, people also used them as a spot to place their dinner entrees, creating a spot for a buffet.

In the 1960s, the sideboard embodied the Midcentury Modern aesthetic, often made from teak or rosewood and following a Danish style, meaning that it had clean lines, a low profile, and no fussy carvings. However, while the whole-house midcentury modern trend is going out of style, sideboards are still very much in favor. Having one to two MCM pieces will always feel timeless, but you don't have to have a Danish teak piece in your dining room to have a sideboard. They come in all sorts of different aesthetics, but they still offer the same organized convenience as their 1960s counterparts.

The reason sideboards are still widely available (and frequently purchased) is that they still serve a very important purpose: storage! Most people likely don't have built-ins in their dining rooms, which means they rely on freestanding furniture to house things like tablecloths and fancy dining plates, and platters. And since sideboards come in all sorts of different styles, they can easily be added to any kind of dining room, whether you like a retro or minimalist aesthetic.

They're also still popular today because that large storage capacity isn't just limited to the dining room. They're essentially just stylish storage cabinets, so you can use them in just about any room of your house, making them very useful and versatile. They're a stylish storage cabinets that homeowners are loving. For example, they can easily be used as a TV cabinet in your living room, being the perfect piece of furniture to float your TV. The storage space can also be used as a simple way to keep living room blankets out of sight, or a hiding spot for pets' or kids' toys. Alternatively, you can use it in a larger entryway to house things like winter accessories and bags, as well as a stylish storage cabinet in a home office. The possibilities are endless.