10 Ideas On How To Decorate Your Sideboard

If you’ve found the perfect sideboard for your living or dining room but aren’t sure how to decorate it, then check out some of our modern sideboard decor ideas for inspiration!

A sideboard isn’t just an opportunity to upgrade your home’s storage space, although that is definitely a benefit of owning one. You can also use your sideboard as a display for some beautiful decor, but even starting to style such a wide surface can be a little bit intimidating. We’ve got some tips and ideas for how to decorate your sideboard so that you can create a display that is perfect for you and your home.

10 Modern Sideboard Decor Ideas For Your Home

1. Add A Houseplant Or Two

House plants, whether they’re real or fake, help to bring a sense of nature into your room. Consider using the rule of thirds to help you arrange your plant and other decor: split the sideboard’s surface into three thirds, and place a large plant in one of them. Then arrange some smaller items like ornaments and books in another third, and leave the remaining third blank. This keeps a sense of balance in your setup and makes sure you don’t overwhelm the space.

2. Use Some Art

Your space should reflect you and what you love, and there’s no easier way to show this through your decor than adding some framed photos to the top of your sideboard. It’s best to choose just a few so that the surface doesn’t feel cluttered, and mix in some other ornaments and decorations for a varied look.

Another framed option is one large art piece, which you don’t have to hang on the wall. Leaning the art against the wall can create a more relaxed, casual vibe, as well as being renter-friendly and giving you more flexibility if you decide to move the artwork around later on. 

3. Consider Lighting

You can add some retro charm to your room by positioning a radio on top of your sideboard. It’s not just a unique ornament, either, as you’ll also be able to enjoy listening to music in the room where your sideboard is. This is a great option for living rooms and bedrooms, and as radios aren’t usually that big, you can easily combine it with some other sideboard decor ideas.

5. Display Your Favourite Ornaments

One of the most straightforward ways to style your sideboard is adding an ornament or two, but how do you decide where to put them? An approach that can work is using a short stack of books like a pedestal for a single ornament, since adding some height can give the ornament some extra presence.

However, you can also go down the route of grouping up your ornaments in a decorative dish or tray. This can give you some more leeway with how many ornaments you include, as they won’t look especially cluttered if they’re all put together in the same tray.

6. Feature A Mirror

If you’re thinking about getting something in a frame for your sideboard decor but aren’t sold on artwork, why not try out a mirror? By leaning it against the wall, you can achieve the same casual, welcoming look that you get with leaning artwork, and the same flexibility when it comes to moving it too.

However, a mirror also adds the functionality of being able to check how you look before you go out, which makes it an excellent modern sideboard decor idea.

7. Stack Your Books

When you think of book storage, your first thought is likely more along the lines of a bookcase than a sideboard. While bookcases are obviously a good choice for storing and displaying your books, don’t underestimate how stylish a carefully placed stack of books can look on your sideboard.

There is another advantage if your sideboard is close to a cosy reading spot, like your sofa, an armchair or your bed. You can keep your books nearby for whenever you’re in the mood to read!

8. Go Retro With A Record Player

If you’ve got a record player and you want an interesting way to display it, then using it for sideboard decor is a great idea. To style it, try working with the rule of three and incorporating two other items, like a table lamp on one side and a plant on the other. That way, you’ll keep everything balanced but still give the record player a sense of being the ‘hero piece’, since it’s in the middle.

9. Store Your Dinnerware

You might not want to store all of your plates and bowls on your sideboard, but choosing a few at a time to stack up can create a unique display. You can switch them out regularly as you use them, and use more or less plates to adjust the height of the stack. 

Try out an asymmetrical layout with some taller plants or ornaments on one side of the sideboard, and your plate stack on the other. You might want to cover the top plate with a napkin or something similar to limit dust build-up as well.

10. Add A Useful Dish

A dish can be a practical addition to your sideboard, especially if it’s in your entranceway or hallway. Rather than using it to display a group of ornaments, you can use it as a place to drop your keys, change, and anything else that you regularly need when you go out. It’s a great way to avoid the morning rush of forgetting your keys and having to hunt around the house before you leave, as they’ll always be in the same place!

Give Your Sideboard Some Style

Struggling to pick just one way to style your sideboard? Luckily, this isn’t a permanent choice that you have to make - you can rotate your sideboard decor seasonally to keep things fresh and stylish. Once you’ve got your sideboard sorted, you can check out our guides for how to decorate your console table and your display cabinet!