The Mahogany Sideboard I Found on Facebook Marketplace

This post is a long time coming because I’ve had this mahogany sideboard for over a year now — but I’ve always taken a slow and steady approach to decorating my apartment, and it took me a bit to collect the items I wanted to use to style it.

When I first moved into this apartment nearly four (!) years ago, I quickly mounted a television and found the perfect vintage Dixie Aloha dresser to use as a buffet underneath it. But the wall space next to this stood bare for a long time. Eventually, I added a rattan bookshelf, which then left one final spot on the wall to fill. I went back and forth on what I wanted in the space — originally considering a marble mantle, but ultimately deciding it wouldn’t fit the vibe of my apartment. (My friend Sarah has one and I love how it looks in her space — but my apartment has more of a coastal feel, and I just didn’t think it would fit.)

I then realized I was gravitating towards a lot of darker wood pieces, and was lacking anything of the sorts in my apartment. So, I started searching around on Facebook Marketplace — and soon thereafter found a beautiful Mahogany Sideboard made by the Hickory Chair Company for $150 (!) and it was the perfect dimensions for the space I had to fill, so I knew it was meant to be. (I found the one I have on Chairish here — but, as you’ll note, it’s ten times more expensive than the one I snagged, so I recommend searching your local resale groups to find a better deal!)

The Mahogany Sideboard I Found on Facebook Marketplace

I love how the sideboard looks in my apartment — it completes the space just as I envisioned it would. I also love the practicality it brings with additional storage — I keep candles, serving ware, seasonal decor, and all sorts of random home goods inside. While I’ve currently styled it to serve as a bar cart of sorts, I think it’s an extremely versatile piece of furniture I can use for a long time, in many iterations and future homes. I’ve seen others style their sideboards as entryway tables or use them as a place to serve food when entertaining.

Decorating my sideboard

Nickel tray

When styling my sideboard, I knew I wanted a beautiful tray to sit at the center. I found a beautiful brushed nickel tray — which means it doesn’t tarnish! — from Ellie Proctor Antiques on Instagram. She regularly has these in stock, so I recommend reaching out to her if you’re wanting one; tell her I sent you! I paid $295, so while it is definitely a splurge, like the sideboard, know I will have the tray for many years to come. I love having it in my apartment!

Bottles

From there, I wanted to fill the tray up with an assortment of beautiful bottles. I don’t drink a lot at home, and when I do, I mostly drink wine — so I didn’t want to spend a fortune buying a bunch of hard liquor I would never drink. As such, I went to World Market and bought a bunch of artisanal sodas and lemonades. I got everything for under $30, and it’s things I’ll actually drink — but in the meantime, fills out the tray and adds in some great color.

And speaking of beautiful bottles, I’ve always admired the hand-painted Clase Azul Tequila bottles. But again, I don’t really drink hard liquor at home, so I wasn’t going to spend $100+ on tequila. Instead, I found an empty bottle for sale on Poshmark for $20. How would they know?! 😉 I filled out the rest of the tray with a vintage juicer I found at Goodwill for $0.99, a silver cup engraved with my name I received when I was born, a cute tumbler I picked up in Jackson Hole earlier this year, and part of my restaurant + bar matchbook collection.

Tassels, lamp, candles, candy jar

As soon as I got the sideboard in my apartment, I knew I wanted to get tassels for the doors. I found these knot tassels on Etsy in a variety of beautiful colors, and ended up going with the light blue. To round the styling out, after months of searching, I finally tracked down the Lillian August Rattan Lamp I envisioned for this space at Home Goods and on the other side, went with the anthropologie Lumiere Taper Candlestick and anthropologie Taper Candles in a hot pink. I love the drama the height of the candles bring! And, finally, I have a vintage glass candy jar that I fill with seasonal favorites or Lindt white chocolate balls

Next up, I am working on curating art for a gallery wall I want to hang above this sideboard — that includes the Inslee ‘Midnight Bouquet’ print in these photos! — and can’t wait to show you the finished product.