Sideboards have been a traditional piece of furniture in our kitchens for decades, if not centuries. Sadly, they are slowly falling out of fashion. Most modern designers look at them as ancient and archaic furniture that has no place in a modern kitchen. However, whether they hold nostalgic values to you or you think some items are best stored in sideboards, they clearly still have utility. That’s why this article shows you how to blend in a sideboard with your modern kitchen in an unobtrusive and natural way.
The Colour Scheme
One of the major ways you can make something blend in is by using an appropriate colour scheme to prevent it from standing out too much.
Traditional sideboards all have a brown woody aesthetic that feels out of place in a modern kitchen, where more items have sharp colours and are polished. That’s why it can be hard to find a sideboard that fits in, but thankfully, the most recent sideboards come in a range of colours, and you’re bound to find one that fits into your kitchen.
Another thing you should keep in mind is colour harmony – your sideboard should blend in and be harmonious with your other furniture. A good design includes many complementary colours that play on each other’s strengths and make your kitchen appear attractive and appealing.
Layout
Layouts can accentuate some items while driving attention away from other pieces of furniture, and if you use this correctly, you can place a sideboard in your kitchen without anyone giving it a second glance.
The trick is to pinpoint the locations that will get the most attention in your kitchen and avoid placing the sideboard there:
- The centre: it goes without saying that you have to stay away from the centre. Traditionally, that was where you’d put the kitchen table, but that also isn’t en vogue anymore. It’s mostly left empty now to give an appearance of spaciousness and make navigation easier.
- The oven: being the central item in the kitchen, it usually dictates where your fridge and dishwasher should be, and that’s why the area around it gets a lot of attention. If you want people to not notice the sideboard, place it away from the oven.
Perspective
Contemporary sideboards, while being uncommon, are not very unnatural in a kitchen, and you can use that to your advantage.
A contrast effect is a well-documented cognitive bias that diminishes the effects of something by presenting another thing that is starker. How can you use this? By implementing rare and uncommon pieces of furniture in your kitchen, you’ll prime your visitors to focus on those items instead of the sideboard.
This is a very powerful trick if used correctly. If you have something interesting or unique you want to show to your visitors, you can kill two birds with one stone by putting it in your kitchen. This will allow your visitors to see and enjoy that item while you’ll be able to easily place a sideboard in your kitchen without worrying that it might appear strange or out of place.