Set a sensational sideboard

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Chances are, your sideboard is one of the most glorious yet underused pieces of furniture in your entire home. There it sits, day after day, under a layer of dust, pining to be part of the excitement. During this season of entertaining, why not invite your lonely sideboard to join in the festivities? These beautiful pieces are made to party, and they are guaranteed to wow your guest, whether they are being used for food service or as a stage for a gorgeous display. The next time you throw an event at your home, resist the urge to set up a serving line on your kitchen island or kitchen table. Instead, leave your food presentation to the pro: your sideboard. Sideboards were made for serving, and they are second to none when it comes to putting on the Ritz. When you serve from your sideboard, try not to line up the serving dishes in a straight row, like a cafeteria line. While functional, this approach is far from fetching. The whole key to fashioning a foodservice display that is as beautiful as it is efficient is to create a multilevel presentation of gorgeous serving pieces positioned at different heights.The secret to pulling off a multilevel display is to enlist the help of a few good risers -- intriguing pieces you can use to prop up platters and bowls of food. Some of my favorite risers are antique wood boxes, cake plates, compotes, wire plant stands, terracotta pots and faux concrete garden pillars.If you plan to use your sideboard to serve drinks only, pick a beautiful drink container that will double as a focal point for your display. I'm partial to using my cut-glass urn beverage server on my sideboard because it looks beautiful when it's filled with cider, tea or spiced wine. You could also use a gorgeous punch bowl or a silver tea set.Once you have your drink service in place, build your display around it, incorporating working pieces like stacks of cups and saucers, wine glasses or crystal stemware into your tableau.Finally, add in the special accessories and seasonal accents that will make your overall display beautiful. Snake a faux pumpkin vine around the serving pieces on your sideboard, add in a bouquet of Kansas sunflowers or pool colorful gourds in a hurricane.During the 360 days a year when your sideboard is not at work, use it as a stage for some of the most beautiful displays in your home. Don't fall into the old trap of putting a pair of buffet lamps and a lackluster floral arrangement on your sideboard and calling it good. Be creative so this high-visibility space shines.If you're partial to complex tableaus, find a beautiful tray and use it as the base for a tightly grouped still life. Mix intriguing pieces, some of which are fine and formal and others that are rustic and rough. Then add your seasonal touches, like a candlestick topped with a mini pumpkin or an apothecary jar filled with faux red pears.If you like a simpler, cleaner look, spotlight one striking piece at the center or side of your sideboard that reflects the current season. For instance, you could fill a Victorian footbath, soup tureen or compote with pumpkins this fall. Then, in the winter, fill it with tree ornaments or pinecones. Try forced bulbs in the spring and seashells in the summer.Mary Carol Garrity is the proprietor of three successful home-furnishings stores and the author of several best-selling books on home decorating. Write her at nellhills(at)mail.lvnworth.com.