My wife and I recently joined some friends for a holiday season dinner at a restaurant a few blocks away from us, but it was frigidly cold outside and we sheepishly ended up taking a cab there. It was a nice evening out, but on the way home, it occurred to me that we don’t do enough entertaining at home and my well-stocked bar rarely sees a good pillaging.
I thought about my parents entertaining and the hip Scandinavian teak sideboard where my father kept his liquor bottles. I’ve always liked the concept of storing liquor bottles in a good sideboard and I’m a sucker for coveting cool-looking bottle shapes with nifty labels. Our bar stash is kept in a smart walnut credenza, one of my earliest designs, which also houses our A/V units along with my extensive (and obsolete) CD collection. I have always thought that storing liquor bottles in the kitchen cupboard between the spices and pastas is kind of Mr. Bean. Now unless you’re into priceless fine antiques, you don’t have to spend a wad of cash to get a good sideboard. Here are a few examples that will last decades and all have classic lines so you’ll have no worries about looking so 2009 at some point down the road.
Trestle Sideboard
This simply white oak veneer construction from Crate and Barrel is a nice simple way to store your quaffable valuables and is available at a nice price. $499.
Cross Credenza
Designed by Matthew Hilton, I would characterize the style of this sturdy credenza as having a restrained retro look. Visit Design Within Reach. $2,550
006 Sideboard
Available in cherry, walnut and white oak, this is a superbly crafted solid wood sideboard manufactured by the great folks at De La Espada (pictured above). $4,050
Happy Festivus!
