Choosing an oak sideboard
An oak sideboard is chosen for the timber as much as for the storage, so start with how much of that timber you want to see, and in what form. Each design here puts the oak itself on show, and each handles the grain in its own way.
The Colworth sideboards take their cue from panelling. The 4ft draws on the panelled rooms of stately homes and the 6ft on Arts and Crafts panelling, and both pair those traditions with a cleaner, softened outline. The Henley is the more traditional choice, with carved mouldings inspired by Belgian furniture that our co-founder John and creative founder Emma saw on their travels to Antwerp and Gent. The Holborn takes a more contemporary line, with diagonal planks inlaid to form a quiet chevron. The Suffolk keeps to Shaker simplicity, with simple turned legs and an oak top protected with Seasoned Oak IsoGuard®.
The Colworth and Henley are solid oak sideboards, made from the timber throughout. The Holborn takes a slightly different approach, with oak wrapped over hardwood ply on its fronts and sides, so the timber moves less over the years. To see how all of our sideboards are made, visit our sideboards page, and when you are ready to measure up, our small sideboards and large sideboards will help you find the right fit.
Oak sideboards made to show the grain
- Panelled doors: both Colworth sideboards have finely detailed panelled doors and softened radius corners. On the 4ft, each panel is stepped so the eye travels across the grain, the doors meet at mitred corners, and the end grain is left on show along the top.
- Carved mouldings: the Henley’s carved skirting and mouldings give its oak a classic, softened profile.
- Inlaid chevron: the Holborn’s planks are laid on the diagonal, so the grain turns direction from one panel to the next.
- Black bronze against oak: dark black-bronze hardware on the Colworth and Holborn sets off the warmth of the timber around it.
- Recessed Shaker panels: the Suffolk’s door panels sit back within a plain frame, a Shaker detail that lets the oak speak for itself, in keeping with the Shakers’ own belief that beauty rests on utility.
- Natural, Classic or Seasoned: the Colworth and Holborn come in a natural oak finish, the Henley in Classic Oak IsoGuard® and the Suffolk in Seasoned Oak IsoGuard®.
How IsoGuard® protects an oak sideboard
We protect every oak sideboard with IsoGuard®, the finish we created so the timber can be used every day without losing its natural character. A traditional varnish leaves a layer resting on the surface of the wood, a skin between your hand and the timber. IsoGuard® takes a different route. It soaks into the oak and binds to the raw cellulose it finds there, forming a fine protective film inside the timber rather than on top of it.
That is why an IsoGuard® surface repels water and gives you time to wipe up a spill, yet still looks and feels like natural wood when you run a hand across it. The protection works with the oak rather than over it, so the grain, colour and pattern of each plank stay in plain view.
