What is the deep drawer for?

That deep compartment is the cellaret drawer. It was built specifically to hold wine bottles upright during a meal. Most of them still have their lead lining inside. The lead caught any drips and helped keep the bottles cool before serving.

My dining room has a slight slope to the floor near the wall, so is there a safe way to level out heavy furniture?

Castor cups work well for this. You slip them under the feet and add thin timber shims inside the cup until the piece sits level. Don't cut the legs to match an uneven floor. You alter the proportions of the antique mahogany sideboard and damage the original timber. Gravity pulls heavily on a loaded carcase. Getting it level stops the doors binding and prevents the joints from twisting over time.

How do I clean the brass handles?

You leave them alone mostly. A quick wipe with a dry cloth removes everyday dust and oils left by hands. Liquid brass cleaners often seep behind the backplate. The chemicals sit against the wood and leave a white residue that eats into the polish. If they look dull, that tarnish is a natural patina. Most dealers prefer to keep the aged surface rather than polishing it back to bright metal.

We are trying to find one that fits a narrow alcove, but the ones we look at always seem to bow outwards in the middle.

You are looking at bow-fronted or serpentine sideboards. These curved shapes dominated the late eighteenth century because they softened the mass of a large piece. Straight-fronted examples exist. They turn up more often in earlier Georgian designs or heavier Victorian pieces. Check the legs on a straight-fronted model before buying. Block feet or heavy plinths take up more floor space than slender tapered legs.

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Victorian Mahogany Sideboards

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Antique mahogany sideboards are long, substantial dining room cabinets fitted with drawers and cupboards, originally built to store table linen, cutlery and wine while providing a serving surface during meals.