A side table is a table designed to stand against a wall rather than in the centre of a room. Its back is often less finished than the front and sides, and it may have one or more frieze drawers. The term is also used more loosely today for small occasional tables placed beside sofas and chairs.
Side tables have been made in Britain since the seventeenth century. In grand Georgian houses, imposing side tables with carved and gilded or mahogany bases and thick marble or scagliola tops stood in halls, saloons and dining rooms, often designed by architects such as William Kent and Robert Adam as part of a unified decorative scheme. In the dining room, side tables served as places to set out dishes and plate before the sideboard with drawers and cupboards developed in the later eighteenth century. Smaller side tables in oak, walnut and mahogany, including the lowboy, were used in bedrooms, halls and parlours. Collectors look for good proportions, original tops, quality carving and untouched surfaces, and check whether drawers and handles are original. Marble tops should be examined for cracks and repairs. Side tables remain among the most versatile pieces of furniture.
