Your Guide to Dining Room Servers

Whether you have an empty space near a wall or require more storage close to the kitchen for flatware, linen, and spare cutlery, you can readily enhance your decor and lifestyle with a stylish dining room server. The long, low and versatile dining room furniture suits almost any home — and with so many different styles on the market, you are sure to find one to suit your size, style and function requirements.

What Is a Dining Room Server?

While dining servers were traditionally delicate surfaces with long legs and held minimal storage, the name is now often interchangeable with dining room buffets, sideboards or cabinets, and come in various styles and sizes. Regardless of what you call it, you can incorporate a dining room cabinet into your home and enjoy its numerous benefits, like anchoring your room, acting as a beverage server, displaying extra lighting and housing formal dishware. The key to getting the most use out of your dining room buffet cabinet is to ensure that you select a style you like and strategically place it in your home for optimal function and usefulness.

How to Choose a Dining Room Server

Dining room suites with a complementing server can save you the time and hassle of searching for a storage unit that will match your table and chairs. The other benefit of having dining room furniture sets with a matching server is knowing that every piece will be proportionate. You want your server to be slightly higher and in scale with the table to prevent it from getting lost in the room. Our Port Arthur server comes in a rich stone color a few shades lighter than the matching chairs for a subtle tone-on-tone collection that can add depth to a room.

With a wide range of server styles available on the market, you will find one that matches your home décor. However, if your dining room suite doesn’t have a matching buffet, you can opt for a more modern, eclectic look with a vastly different style sideboard. A contrasting piece of furniture can be an exciting conversation starter, such as a painted, vintage or antique-style buffet. Alternatively, a pastel or white server is ideal for homes with a cottage-, country- or farmhouse style.

Be sure to consider the size of your space when selecting a buffet for your dining room. A sideboard with open shelving or glass cabinets is ideal for smaller spaces as the furniture will look lighter and make the room feel open and airy. It is also perfect for displaying sentimental items or stylish dishware in a formal dining room. On the other hand, a buffet with closed cabinetry and minimal open shelving, such as our Port Arthur server, is more suited to larger dining rooms. No matter what style you select, ensure that it complements your existing furniture, even if they are not an exact match, and that the server meets your dining room storage requirements.

How to Place a Dining Room Server

Server cabinets are versatile furnishings that offer various functional benefits and will look stylish when ideally placed in your dining room. Whether you use it to hold elegant dishes for a dinner party or to display beautiful objects, you can create a calm and comfortable space rather than cramped and cluttered by having a minimum distance of 36 inches between your dining room sideboard and table. Having ample space between the two pieces will give you enough room for guests to move around behind the chairs or for you to open cabinets and drawers.

The type of dining room you have will impact where you place your server. For example, if your room has two entry points, be sure not to set your server where guests would have to cross paths with through-traffic. Instead, place your buffet away from the door and use a wall close to the dining table. For a long or formal dining room, try situating the server on your long wall as this can balance the room, and you will have less distance to walk if you’re using your dining room buffet table for holding food or drinks at a dinner party. Whatever the layout of your dining room, consider a spot for your server where it is convenient for you to use at dinner parties yet doesn’t interrupt the flow of traffic in the room.

Find Your New Dining Room Set at Home Zone Furniture

You can style your dining room with matching tables, chairs and servers from our extensive range of furniture or find a perfect cabinet to complement your existing pieces. Our friendly Home Zone team can assist you in discovering your style or deciding the best functional server to suit your requirements. You can visit one of our stores or contact us with any questions.