What is the difference between a sideboard and a server?

The difference between a sideboard and a server mostly pertains to usage. A sideboard is a side-table with cabinet doors that is used for serving, most often in a dining room (today, sideboards can sometimes be found in living rooms and foyers). In form, a credenza has much in common with a sideboard. Sideboards have short legs or no legs at all. A server is very slim and is meant to be placed along the dining room wall. It is shorter and takes up less room than a sideboard and is also considered to be more formal than a sideboard — a sideboard might offer a surface to serve dinner, whereas a server might best be used to serve dessert. Shop a collection of antique, vintage, and contemporary sideboards and servers from some of the world’s top dealers on 1stDibs.