What is the difference between a Breakfront, Sideboard and Buffet?
My mother has a Buffet, my SIL has a Breakfront and my other SIL has a Sideboard. They all seem to serve the same function: drawers & cabinets to store dishes/table clothes, etc. Sometimes food is placed on top for large parties.
Do you have one of these things and what do you call it? Why
(I actually have a buffet, but I guess I can't call it that because my TV, stereo, etc. are on top of it and I store the videos/dvds/games, etc. inside. )
We don't have any of these things but relatives have.
MIL has a Breakfront. This is a tall piece of furniture with drawers below and a place to display glassware and china above. Her Breakfront has no exposed counter where food can be served.
My mother had what we called a hutch. This was a piece of furniture in two parts. The lower part had doors and shelves inside to store things. The upper part was separate and had no doors. It had shelves to display china or glassware. There was space on top of the lower section where dishes of food could be set out.
Sideboards and buffets were pretty much the same thing. Either could be about waist high with shelves behind doors on the bottom where things could be shelved. In the old days, sideboards were more elaborate than buffets. They often had mirrors mounted on the back between towers of drawers that held silverware or serving pieces.
Buffets lacked the mirrors and the towers of drawers but the did have a slightly raised and decorated backboard.
The purpose of both a sideboard and a buffet was to provide a place where a casual meal could be served.