Hey zip dee...I love to change mine up.This is how it is at the moment:

{{!gwi}}

Spring:

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christmas:

I'm interested in the responses you receive as I have the same problem with trying to decorate mine in my dining room and so far I've not had much luck.

If you look at this thread in our gallery (always there for your reference, along with many other great picture threads), you will see loads of sideboards and how they are decorated.

Here is a link that might be useful: Dining Room Gallery thread

Caroline .. your heart pine sideboard is beautiful! Thanks for sharing with me how you decorate it, I love all of your different wonderful vignettes.

Deborahnj .. I'm glad the post will be helpful to you too! :) Hopefully we'll both be ready to tackle our sideboards soon.

Oceanna, thanks so much for the link .. I'll check the gallery thread out!

Zipdee, I love your sideboard & all your seasonal vignettes are simply beautiful. I have a hard time knowing what to do with mine, too. There's got to be something better than this big bowl of pot pourri that I really prefer on the center of the dining table! So, I like Deb,will be looking with interest at your responses.

{{!gwi}}

Sorry, zipdee, my eyes scanned down & saw Trailrunner's pics & I thought they were yours! Of course, I thought, "What's this girl's problem, she seems to have it covered to me!"

Trailrunner, great seasonal vignettes!

*LOL* StinkyG .. I wish that was mine. :) As I've told Caroline before, I'm in love with that sideboard .. she has some great heart pine pieces!

Ah you are sweet! I was so lucky to have several pieces made with the leftover heartpine that I had for flooring . Alas I didn't have enough for the kitchen island I really wanted and now the guy that built the things for me is not working anymore. Hope others post pics . I am always looking for ideas. c

Hey, zipdee, belated birthday wishes! Hope yesterday was a good one! Have a nice weekend!

Aw, thanks so much Stinky, that's very kind of you! I had a great day, turned 39 yesterday, the time just seems to fly by.

Well, Zipdee & Deb, haven't found many inspiring ideas as I google, typing in words, "sideboard, accessorizing," but this blog is one thing that came up, featuring 5 sideboard vignettes.

If I'm not mistaken, I believe that Auntjen posted this woman's blog once (referring to her books) & said she was a GWebber. Her things are beautiful, though a tad ornate for me, but I think her ideas could be modified to work in a less grand environment. Love her use of the creamy ironstone especially; it is simple & elegant.

Here is a link that might be useful: Sideboard ideas

StinkyG .. thanks so much for the link! I can't wait to check it out. I did the same google search with "sideboard, accessorizing," and missed this totally.

as with the sideboard pictures you saw with the wooden bowl collection, collections are the greatest way to accessorize the top of anything. And if you have art or a mirror on the wall all the better..
try to tell a story about you or your family with what you display in your home, tie things together..under some type of a theme..the wooden bowls on the wooden sideboard are a wooden theme..

what do you love, what do you collect? Do you have a piece of art that goes with some other pieces that you have that could sit down..on the sideboard?

some people say you should keep things room friendly, say in a food area keep it related to food or eating, but i'm not in that school, i say use what you love.

if it is in an area where you eat often or see it often, it should be something that blesses YOU, rather than set up just to be seen by company.

tell llus mnore about your style, your collections, etc..and maybe we can give you a bit more information on setting up a pleasing arrangement for you and your family.

Ronbre, thanks for all the help and advice! I think what might be throwing me with my sideboard area is :

1) The shelf above it, I'm trying to figure out if I like it up there or if I want to remove it.

2) Even though I like a more quirky cottage look, I also tend to stay more towards clean lines, with out a lot of embellishment. So I'm trying to decide what would be attractive, but also functional to put there.

Zipdee, could you post a pic of your sideboard/shelf?

I've been pondering the same issue with my sideboard. It seems difficult to accessorize because of the top deck on it. I think lamps on top or a picture above it would look funny, too high up.

Here is a link that might be useful: My sideboard, in sunlit cherry finish

Mary, that's a beautiful sideboard. I hope this post helps us both out.

Stinky .. I love your sideboard too! Is it a vintage piece?

Here's the one we have set up, it's a little unusal, which probably doesn't help out in my problem. *LOL* I painted three metal vintage medical cabinets and placed a top on them to use in the eating area as a sideboard.

As far as what type of things do I like. I really like jadeite, but since I painted the cabinets that color, I'd like some different colors over here to compliment the jadeite color. I love white ironstone like above, I'm not sure if that would just dissapear in the white beadboard though. I like vintage glassware, one example being fireking dot pattern in red. The sideboard is in my eating area, which is very visable from the kitchen. The colors in there are predominately dark & light jadeite green, white, black and touches of red.

Here's mine, I keep items low because of knee wall, entry is on other side, my server has a black slate top with drop hinged extensions on each side it get's rather long, when open..

Ohhh, how precious! I see white pitchers! A collection of adorable, creamy, vintage pitchers in various sizes that you could mingle with colored glass pieces for contrast.

You could also put some art on the wall if you don't mind nailing into the beadboard (so cute!) If the shelf has a groove where you can situate plates across, that would be adorable. If not, you could still prop plates across the shelf against the wall & place some pitchers & glassware in front to support them.

If there's an electrical outlet behind the sideboard, how about a pair of cute, vintage lamps on either end, then one gorgeous, large bowl of colorful fruit? In the summer when you have zinnia & other simple, colorful flowers, a large pitcher full of them in the center would be cheerful. If you don't have electricity there, you could do vintage candlesticks.

A really cute, colorful vintage cookie jar could also work in the mix! You have so many possibilites,Zipdee! I think you'll have fun with it over time as you experiment.

Zipdee...that is the cutest idea ever!

I change ours out with seasons & holidays. Here's what it looks like this week. :o)

zipdee:

When it comes to accessorizing I'm a bit challenged in that department. I'm not sure I really like the way my sideboard is decorated. It doesn't seem to look as busy IRL as it does in the picture. I love the colors of your sideboard. This is a great thread and it's giving me some great ideas.

I love the idea you're going for, Zipdee. Forgive my very unprofessional morphing of your credenza area, but here it is with a black framed mirror, a Contemporary version of a Cottage-style lamp and some Jadeite and framed prints (propped up on small easels above on the shelf. It may not be the look you're going for, but it will give you an idea of how the area could look.
If you got rid of the upper shelf, you could easily add a large framed print above the credenza, but ~ with the shelf~ I think that it looks simpler and less busy with a black framed mirror
Lynn
{{!gwi}}
I found the lamp over on LampsPlus.com. I like it's Contemporary lines and finish, while still keeping a slight Cottagey look. There are many different ways you can go with a lamp in that spot. This is only one idea.
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Zipdee - that turned out soooo great! I love it

Mldao - beautiful! I love that mirror, and the sideboard also.

tina

I'd like to see a couple of cache pots, something like this

{{!gwi}}

Blue and white pieces would be pretty with the green. Also creamware.

Maybe an Anduze pot or two?

A Deruta trivet on a stand?

What other colors do you have in your neighboring rooms?

Do you collect Jadite?

Maybe an old lantern or lamp?

Here is a link that might be useful: Old lamp

Tinam61, thank you!

Susieq07, thanks so much for posting your buffet.

Stinky and Kitchendetective, thank you so much for all of the suggestions and advice .. they helped me out tremulously. It really helps to see what I have here through new eyes, and see how you all would go about designing the space.

Persnicketydesign, your dark wood sideboard up against the white wainscoting is beautiful!

Mldao, I don't think it looks busy at all, you've set up a wonderful vignette. I love, love, love your trumeau mirror, it looks wonderful with your sideboard.

Lynn, thank you so much for doing a mock-up for me!! I'm a very, very visual person and it helped me out so much. Seeing the different colors and shapes introduced really gave me a much better idea how to proceed with this! That lamp is too cute. I love the 'pop' of red with the flowers. I agree if the shelf stays, something very simple, like the black framed mirror you put up would look great.

Now I just need to pull together my thoughts, start searching and implement all of your help and great ideas. :)