Function

• A sideboard is used to serve food, store dishes and silver, and to display decorative objects and serving utensils.
  
  

Appearance

• Sideboards have a long, flat top and usually are about waist high. They typically have drawers or cabinets under the flat surface. They can be very elaborate in design or very simple.
  
  

Origin

• The sideboard originated during the Federal period, in the early 19th century. Early sideboards were either kidney shaped or else had a recessed center and square legs.
  
  

Other Meanings

• Sideboard also refers to a board placed on a wagon to make it larger or to the boards that are on the side of a bed.
  
  

Fun Fact

• The term "sideboards" is also a British slang term referring to a man's sideburns.