John-Richard Sutton Place Sideboard (Perigold) - The Look for Less

Hola!  So there was I was this morning, peacefully reading my Washington Post online when an ad comes up on the side from Perigold featuring this drop-dead gorgeous sideboard that just took my breath away!  Let me introduce you to the John-Richard Sutton Place Sideboard:

I tracked it down, thinking (1) that it was painted wood and (2) wouldn't this be a great hack for somebody who can hold a paint brush and knows how to use it on a less expensive sideboard!  The possibilities...

Well, turns out it is NOT wood - it's glass and steel, no wood mentioned at all in the Specifications, which I find strange; are the sides, bottom, back and top all glass, too?  Are they painted steel?  What about the inside shelf?  The front glass doors are painted on the inside (reverse painting) with "continuous golden dunes."  And it's huge:  34.5" H, 84" W (length), 20" D.  Regular price is $4,948 with free shipping and assembly; the sale price is $3,793.

That is more than what I paid for the furniture in my living room and dining room combined.  I love a challenge, so I thought rather than starting work on my 2018 income taxes (YUCK!), I would look for something to give me the look/feel of this piece for less money, something more in the range of "feasible Jan skimpy budget." 

For those of you who are daring with a paintbrush, let me propose this piece as a possibility: 

Yes, its an iconic Ikea piece - the Stockholm Sideboard in walnut veneer and solid ash.  More petite than the giant size Sutton Place Sideboard at 31 7/8" H, by 63" W, 15 3/4" D, it is available to order online at a price of $449 (but you pay for shipping and have to assemble) or you can check the stock at an Ikea bricks and mortar store if you have one within reasonable travelling distance and pick it up yourself.  This piece off the look of four doors; one door on the right opens separate and features a drawer and shelf; the other door on the left end opens and the two doors in the center open as a single (hinged together) unit to reveal a longer drawer and a single longer shelf.  While the grain does not run horizontally, I can imagine that a brave soul with a paint brush could replicate the look of the "continuous golden dunes" on the Sutton Place Sideboard.

Or, another iconic Ikea piece at a lower price that features horizontal wood veneer doors (but only 3 doors, not 4) and three shelves behind each of those doors - the Besta Storage Combination with doors in white, Inviken ash veneer, at 29 1/8" H, by 70" W, 15 3/4" D, at a price of $305, this finish is available only in store, not online.  You have to assemble.  The same unit with the doors finished in Inviken black-brown with white sides and legs is available at the same price, can be ordered online (you pay for shipping and have to assemble).  Here's the Besta in the Inviken ash veneer finish:

There are several different finishes (color and material combos) available, including several with glass door inserts if you wanted to try your hand at reverse painting on the glass. 

But - if you're like me and have zero talent with a paint brush and/or are chicken to try it (I'm both), then you'd want an already finished piece.  Like this beauty, that I found at AllModern:

It's the Terresta 4 Door Sideboard by Hooker Furniture.  It is poplar and hardwood solids with birch veneer.  The description does NOT, however, indicate what the finish is on those doors!  There are 4 doors with one adjustable shelf behind each, as well as the shelf running across the bottom of the unit.  Dimensions are 34.25" H, by 68" W,  18" D, regularly priced at $1,648, on sale for $990 with free shipping.  It is unclear, though, whether the piece is delivered fully assembled - or not.  Because there is a something called "Full Service Delivery and Assembly" for an extra $120 that is listed separately with another "check" box right underneath the "check" box with the listed price.  However, under "Assembly" beneath the Description and Specs, it says No Assembly Required.  Confusing.

Wayfair, LuxeDecor, Hayneedle and Bellacor offer the same product for the same price with free shipping.  I did a quick Google search for "Hooker Furniture Terresta Sideboard" and up popped more than a dozen different mini photos of the same sideboard with links to different sellers at different prices, some indicating it included free shipping.  

The bargain is at AFA Stores for $770 including free shipping, two man delivery AND assembly in the room of your choice.  This particular sale ends later today, though, at least according to the "countdown clock" at the website.  It also indicates at this website that there is a "wallpaper wrap" on the inside and outside of the piece.  Is that some kind of translation for "wood veneer?"  Perhaps this is an applied finish similar to what Ikea calls it's "foil" applied finishes.

A less expensive option with a faux marble look in a more petite size is Mercer 41's Selzer Console Table, 28" H, by 60.25" W, 16" deep available at Wayfair, AllModern and Walmart all for the same price of $338 (Reg. $629) with free shipping, assembly is required.  The piece is constructed with brass metal work, solid and manufactured wood with ash wood veneer and a faux marble finish:

Buyer Beware:  I read the reviews on this credenza/console table at Wayfair and several of them included photographs of the assembled piece in the homes of the purchasers.  The unit looks beautiful and the doors appear to have a sheen to them as if they were covered in polished stone veneer.  That being said, purchasers generally had a lot of issues and problems in assembling the product, particularly with getting the doors all leveled and even, and many returned products that arrived damaged inside their shipping boxes.