Placing cabinets around the dining area in order to store crockeries or for displaying them enhances the beauty of the place. This piece of furniture that is constructed with a combination of cupboards and drawers is perfect for optimum storage. The initial design of this furniture was called sideboard which has evolved over the period of time.

The Purpose of Having Buffet Furniture

This furniture serves a similar purpose to a sideboard but with the exception in design. Buffet is a system of serving food in a manner where diners can serve themselves. This concept of displaying is applied at households where extra crockeries are kept in this storage space along with dishes that might be consumed later.

Having this furniture can avoid a lot of clutter and mess on the dining table. In the early times, butlers would use this place to set up the platter properly before presenting it on the dining table. Cutleries like spoons, forks, knives, plates and bowls can be kept in these cabinets in order to make more space in the kitchen. A  buffet furniture  is considered to be more substantial than the other similar furniture styles.

One of the greatest advantages of these is that any item store inside is at a hand’s reach but inside a closed storage. This provides a closed intimacy and privacy that the owners might prefer. There are some people who do not like displaying their belongings. Here are some of the creative ideas for optimum utilization of buffet furniture:

1. For storing casseroles, plates, spoons, napkins, table mats, and more.

2. Displaying certain treasured collections.

3. Creating a place to store children products.

4. Placing decorative lights and lamps.

5. Arranging drinks, spirits and brews.

6. A place to keep tea and coffee machines.

7. Keep cooking books or magazines.

8. Managing clutter in the house.

The Different Designs of Buffet Furniture

People often make a mistake between the concept of a buffet and a sideboard. To put it in simpler words, when the furniture is placed and meant for a living room, it will be known as a sideboard. Subsequently, when the furniture is designed for the dining room, it becomes a buffet. These are basically the two differences between the furniture with the same built that are used in different rooms.

• Buffets have a lower countertop in comparison to the sideboard. This speciality makes it easier to serve drinks and food. However, despite of the popular concept of this furniture, alterations can always be made. These changes depend on the style and pattern of the entire room in which the furniture is being placed.

• Other than this, the number of cabinets and drawers that are included in the buffet can also be more or even less depending on personal preferences. The other advantage with buffet is that they can be used as console tables as well.

• Different types of materials can be used to make this piece of furniture but people mostly prefer oak and mahogany for the aesthetic and polished finish. Metal is very rarely seen when it comes to using it in buffet furniture due to the inconvenience and unpleasing look. Having a wooden finish compliments it with the rest of the room as well.

Households would furnish their houses with sideboards even in the early 18 th  century but the design was different in comparison. This concept was only common in those households who could afford to dedicate one room for the sole purpose of dining. The present version of this furniture is commonly known as buffet furniture.

Guest Contributor, Jessica Curry