How to Measure Up for Sideboards: A Simple Sizing Guide

To measure up for a sideboard, you need four figures: the width of the wall it will stand against, the depth you can spare without blocking walkways, the height that suits the room and what sits above it, and the narrowest point on the route from your front door to the room. Take those carefully and the right size becomes clear. Most sizing mistakes happen because one of the four was skipped.

Our modern sideboards UK come in a wide range of widths and heights, from compact two door designs to long, low pieces for open plan rooms, and they sit alongside coffee tables, shelving and TV units across our wider modern living room furniture UK range. This guide walks through each measurement in turn, so you can shortlist with confidence.

What You Need Before You Start

Keep the tools simple: a metal tape measure, a notebook or your phone, a pencil and a roll of masking tape. A second pair of hands helps for long walls. Measure in centimetres, as most furniture dimensions are listed that way, and write each figure down straight away rather than relying on memory.

Step One: Measure the Wall

Measure the full width of the wall where the sideboard will stand, at floor level. Then note anything that interrupts it: doors, radiators, sockets, window frames, chimney breasts and alcoves. The usable width is the stretch of wall that is genuinely clear.

A sideboard rarely looks right running the full width of a wall. Leaving some space at each end gives it room to breathe and stops it looking squeezed in. A common guideline is to choose a sideboard roughly two thirds the width of the clear wall, although this is a starting point rather than a rule. In a long open plan room you may want something wider. In an alcove, a sideboard that fills the space with a small even gap at either side can look almost built in. Our wooden sideboards UK sale include compact widths that often suit the alcoves found in period homes.

Also measure the skirting board depth. Skirting can push a sideboard forward by a centimetre or two, and in older homes it can be deeper still. If the sideboard has a solid back that sits flush to the floor, this matters for the overall depth.

Step Two: Work Out the Depth You Can Spare

Depth is the measurement most likely to cause problems. Sideboards are typically around 40 to 50 centimetres deep, but slimmer designs exist for narrow rooms and hallways.

To find the depth you can spare, think about what happens in front of the sideboard:

• In a dining room: people need to pull chairs out and walk behind them. Around 90 centimetres between the edge of the table and the front of the sideboard is often suggested for comfortable movement, though this varies with the room.
• In a living room: check the distance to the sofa or coffee table, and make sure the main route through the room stays clear.
• In a hallway: a narrow, shallow sideboard or console style piece may be the only realistic option, as the corridor must stay easy to pass.

Remember to allow for open doors and drawers. A sideboard with hinged doors needs space in front for them to swing open fully, and drawers need room to pull out. Measure the depth of a drawer, then make sure you can stand in front of it while it is open.

Step Three: Choose the Right Height

Most dining sideboards sit somewhere around the height of a dining table or a little higher. Lower, longer designs suit living rooms and are often used beneath a wall mounted television. Taller sideboards, sometimes called highboards, offer more storage on a smaller footprint.

Consider what will sit above the sideboard. If you plan to hang a mirror or artwork, leave enough wall above the sideboard for it to look balanced. If a window sits above, check that the top of the sideboard will clear the sill, and that curtains or blinds can hang freely.

In a dining room, a sideboard slightly higher than the table makes serving easier and looks well proportioned. For help pairing the two, our modern dining tables UK list their heights clearly, so you can compare them side by side.

Step Four: Check the Delivery Route

This is the step that people forget. A sideboard that fits the wall exactly is no use if it cannot reach the room. Measure:

• The width and height of the front door, and any internal doors on the route.
• The width of hallways and any tight turns, particularly in terraced houses.
• Staircases, including the headroom and any turns or landings, if the sideboard is going upstairs.
• Lifts and communal corridors, if you live in a flat.

Compare these with the sideboard’s packed dimensions as well as its assembled size. Some sideboards arrive fully assembled, while others come flat packed and are built in the room, which can make tight routes much easier.

Step Five: Mark It Out

Once you have a shortlist, use masking tape to mark the footprint of each option on the floor, and the outline of its height on the wall. Leave it in place for a day or two. Walk past it, sit at the dining table, open the room door. It is remarkable how quickly a taped outline reveals whether a size feels right.

Sizing by Room

Dining rooms

Proportion to the table matters most. A sideboard that is close to the length of the table, or slightly shorter, tends to look balanced. Keep the clearance behind chairs generous. Our article on styling dining tables with sideboards in UK homes explores how the two pieces work together visually.

Living rooms

Long, low sideboards often double as media units. If yours will hold a television, check that it is wider than the screen, so the set does not overhang, and that the height places the screen at a comfortable viewing level from the sofa. Our guide to matching TV units with sideboards in UK living rooms covers how to combine both pieces in one room.

Hallways and landings

Choose shallow depths and keep the walkway clear. A narrower sideboard with a slim profile provides useful storage for keys, post and gloves without crowding the route.

Material Choices and Their Effect on Size

The finish of a sideboard affects how large it appears. Pale and gloss finishes reflect light and make a sideboard look smaller and lighter. Darker woods look more substantial, so a dark sideboard may feel bigger in a small room than its measurements suggest. Legs also help: a sideboard raised on legs shows more floor and feels less bulky than one sitting on a solid plinth.

If you like the warmth of timber but are working with a smaller room, look at lighter oak tones and designs on slim legs, which keep the room feeling open while still bringing a natural texture into the space.

Common Sizing Mistakes to Avoid

A few errors come up again and again when people choose a sideboard. Knowing them in advance saves a great deal of frustration.

• Measuring at the wrong height: walls in older homes are rarely completely straight. Measure the width at floor level, at the height of the sideboard top and halfway between, and work with the smallest figure.
• Forgetting the skirting and sockets: a sideboard that covers the only socket on a wall makes it hard to plug in a lamp, and skirting can push the piece forward more than expected.
• Ignoring the radiator: placing a sideboard directly in front of a radiator blocks heat and exposes the furniture to repeated warmth, which is not good for any material.
• Choosing by photograph alone: product images are often taken in large rooms. Always check the listed dimensions rather than relying on how a piece looks in a picture.
• Overlooking what goes inside: if you plan to store dinner plates, serving dishes or a set of glasses, measure them too. Check that the internal shelf height and depth will hold your largest items.

Taking a few extra minutes over these points makes it far more likely that the sideboard you choose will feel settled from the day it arrives.

A Measurement Checklist

1. Clear wall width, noting doors, radiators and sockets.
2. Skirting board depth.
3. Available depth, allowing for walkways and open doors or drawers.
4. Preferred height, considering windows, mirrors and televisions.
5. Delivery route widths, heights and turns.
6. A masking tape outline tested in daily use.

Work through these and you can choose a sideboard knowing it will fit the room and suit it. You can compare widths, depths and finishes at Furniture in Fashion, with free delivery to most UK mainland postcodes.

Frequently Asked Questions

How wide should a sideboard be?

A common guideline is roughly two thirds of the clear wall width, leaving space at each end. In alcoves or long open plan rooms, a different proportion may suit better.

What is a typical sideboard depth?

Most sideboards are around 40 to 50 centimetres deep. Slimmer designs are available for hallways and narrow dining rooms.

How much space do I need between a dining table and a sideboard?

Around 90 centimetres is often suggested, so chairs can be pulled out and people can walk behind them comfortably.

Should I measure the delivery route as well as the room?

Yes. Check doors, hallways, stairs and any lifts against the packed and assembled dimensions before you order.