Dining Room Decor: Homemade 1892 Sideboard and China Cupboard

The combination sideboard and china cupboard, the subject of the two illustrations, was made by a carpenter under the directions of the designer, for a dining room having only one closet, and that a small corner closet built to complete the octagon form of the room.

In this instance the sideboard was made of clear white pine, and the finishing and decorating done by the ladies of the family. The woodwork having all been well sandpapered to a nice smoothness, an oak stain was prepared. Raw sienna ground in oil was purchased, a one-pound can being more than sufficient, a little bronze-green ground in oil, and some turpentine to thin them; raw sienna gave the prominent tone, a little bronze-green was added to give an old oak effect. The stain was rubbed in with a bit of soft woolen cloth. A little brown Japan added to the stain improved it, and gave a slight gloss to the wood, helping also to fill the pores.

The illustration at right shows the combination sideboard and cupboard as it appeared when first in use, that is, previous to its intended decoration. It will be seen that it has large shelf space to accommodate china and glass, both in the upper and the lower part, the latter especially, the shelves being both wide and deep. The shelves of the upper part have mouldings for holding plates in their places, and the intention is to put a row of brass hooks on the under side of one shelf for the hanging thereby of the handsomest cups.

Between the upper and lower parts of the cupboard, that is, on the top of the base portion, there is ample space to stand extra plates, dishes, or saucers needed for dessert. Ordinarily, a two-handled bamboo tray stands in the middle of this space and holds two caraffes or water bottles set in old-fashioned fluted silver “coasters” or decanter stands; also two heavy old English cut glass decanters, one near each end, and a china open-work fruit basket, as seen in the large illustration.

The lower part holds a china dinner service, while the upper part with its glass doors reveals the best china of the house, blue and white, and red, blue, green and gold porcelain, also the cut glass dishes, etc. The gay colors of the china are well thrown out by the old oak tone of the wood, and the pretty forms of cups and pitchers and odd-shaped dishes, combine to make this sideboard an attractive feature of the dining room.

The first illustration shows the empty cupboard and sideboard after its decoration is completed, and is thus drawn so as to concentrate the attention on its ornamentation as well as construction. It will be seen that the edges of the shelves are ornamented, as also the outer edges, beyond the doors and the panels of the lower doors. The ornament displayed is painted in coach-black with a fine brush. There is also painted ornament around the base escutcheons. As all the lines of this sideboard are straight and severe, the ornamentation takes the form of curves and flowing lines, yet follows the line of construction, according to the canons of good taste. The drawers for holding knives, forks and spoons, which by the way should always be lined with velvet or canton flannel, and for the table cloth and napkins, are also ornamented by painted designs, and swinging handles of bronze have been added, replacing the knobs first in use.

Originally published December 1892

This entry was posted on Wednesday, January 17th, 2007 at 8:18 pm and is filed under Antique Decor. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.