PRL Sideboards and Cabinets

Before wall units took over, the sideboard was the most important piece of furniture in the dining room and kitchen. It held the china “for guests”, crystal, tablecloths and cutlery, while the glazed top unit displayed whatever the household wanted to show off. In the 1960s the state furniture factories simplified the form: carcasses became lower and lighter, and slender legs, sliding glass doors and veneer in place of solid wood appeared.

From the 1970s sideboards were displaced by wall units – sets of modules covering an entire wall. That is why a well-preserved 1960s sideboard is rarer today than a chest of drawers from the same period, and good examples quickly find new owners.

The collection includes sideboards designed by Rajmund Hałas from Jarocińskie Fabryki Mebli, a sideboard with a top unit from Łódzkie Fabryki Mebli, a chest of drawers with a top unit from Swarzędzkie Fabryki Mebli and display cabinets from Bytomskie Fabryki Mebli. Furniture factories operated in many centres and each had its own designs – the same type of piece from Jarocin and from Bytom looks completely different. The factory name is often branded or labelled on the back panel or inside a drawer.

A sideboard (kredens) is a lower cupboard with doors and drawers plus a top unit, usually with glazed doors – a piece for the dining room and kitchen. A display cabinet (witryna) is a tall cupboard with glazed doors, intended for showing glass and china. A bookcase (biblioteczka) is shallower, with shelves for books, and is often glazed too. Pieces with drawers only and no top unit are in the PRL Chests of Drawers collection.

A 1960s sideboard works well in a kitchen open to the living room, in a dining room or in a hallway – it holds a lot, and its glazing keeps it from overwhelming the space. Before buying, check the height including the top unit and the depth of the carcass in the Dimensions tab. The condition of the veneer, glass and fittings is described on each product page.