Sauder vs South Shore Sideboards: How to Choose

Quick answer: If you want a low, wide piece that doubles as a media console with drawers for small clutter, the Sauder Harvey Park TV Credenza, Accommodates up to 70-Inch TV, Large Credenza - Grand Walnut Finish is built around exactly that job. If you want a closed-door dining-room buffet with a boho/farmhouse look and adjustable shelves for tall bottles, the SICOTAS rattan-front cabinets are the closer match. One is open-shelf-and-drawer storage; the other is behind-doors storage — that difference matters more than the brand name on the box.

Side-by-side specs

Before the table: a word about what's actually here

A lot of people land on this page after searching for something like "south shore arum 2-door sideboard reviews." Fair warning up front: the South Shore Arum is not one of the pieces covered below, and I'm not going to invent specs for it. If that exact cabinet is what you're after, go read its own product listing and its own review section — that's the only place you'll get accurate dimensions, current pricing and real owner feedback for it.

What this page can do is the thing that's actually hard: help you figure out which kind of sideboard you're shopping for, using three real, currently-listed cabinets as concrete reference points. Sauder and South Shore sit in roughly the same lane — engineered-wood, flat-pack, sub-$500, sold by the container-load — so the comparison logic below transfers cleanly even if you end up buying a different model.

Finding the right sauder vs south shore sideboards comes down to matching the features to how you will actually use it.

One honest flag on that width figure: 102.9" is listed by the seller, and it's an unusual number for a piece this shallow and this price. Measure your wall, then check the listing's own dimension diagram and Q&A before you commit — a spec that reads oddly is worth verifying at the source rather than taking from any article, including this one.

SICOTAS Sideboard Buffet Cabinet with Storage, Rattan Coffee Bar Cabinet — for a dining room you want to look styled, not just stored

This is the piece to look at if the sideboard is going to be visible from your dining table and you care how it reads. The SICOTAS Sideboard Buffet Cabinet with Storage, Rattan Coffee Bar Cabinet leans boho-farmhouse: wooden cupboards, rattan-pattern doors, gold hardware. The rattan look is a plastic pattern rather than woven natural cane, which the seller frames as a durability choice — and practically speaking, it is one, since real cane can sag and fray at the edges over years of door-slamming.

Functionally, the selling point is the two adjustable shelves behind closed doors. That's what lets one cabinet hold tall wine bottles on one side and stacked plates on the other, and it's the reason this style works as a coffee-bar or drinks station as well as a buffet. Closed doors also mean the contents stay out of sight, which is the whole point of a dining-room sideboard if your storage is more "spare linens and mismatched serveware" than "curated ceramics."

Assembly is flat-pack, arriving as three boxes with parts, screws and instructions included. Budget a real evening for it.

SICOTAS Rattan Cabinets, Sideboard Buffet Cabinet Credenza with Storage — the near-identical sibling worth cross-checking

The SICOTAS Rattan Cabinets, Sideboard Buffet Cabinet Credenza with Storage carries the same price, the same listed dimensions, the same FSC-certified engineered wood frame, the same two adjustable shelves and the same three-box shipping as the cabinet above. On paper, the specs are a match.

That's not a knock — it's a shopping instruction. When a brand lists two cabinets with identical specifications under two ASINs, the difference is almost always finish, colorway, or door configuration, and it lives in the photos rather than the bullet points. Open both listings in side-by-side tabs, compare the images, and read each one's own review section separately. Whichever finish suits your room is the right one; there's nothing in the published data that makes one structurally different from the other.

Sauder Harvey Park TV Credenza, Accommodates up to 70-Inch TV, Large Credenza - Grand Walnut Finish — for open storage and a TV on top

Different animal. The Sauder Harvey Park TV Credenza, Accommodates up to 70-Inch TV, Large Credenza - Grand Walnut Finish is engineered as a media console: it's rated to carry a TV up to 70 inches and 95 pounds, and its storage is three open shelves plus three drawers rather than shelves behind doors.

That layout is a genuine advantage for anything with a remote or an IR sensor — a console, a soundbar, a streaming box — because open shelving doesn't block the signal or trap heat. The three drawers are the part people underrate: drawers are much better than shelves for small flat things (chargers, coasters, playing cards, spare candles) that go to chaos the moment they're on an open shelf. The Grand Walnut finish is neutral enough to work with contemporary or rustic furniture.

Assembly uses Sauder's T-lock system, which is a cam-and-dowel style setup that generally goes together faster and squarer than generic flat-pack hardware. If you dread assembly, that's a real consideration.

The honest trade-offs

Open vs closed is the actual decision. The Sauder gives you three shelves and three drawers with nothing to hide behind; the SICOTAS cabinets give you doors and two adjustable shelves. If you're storing electronics, open wins. If you're storing miscellaneous dining clutter, doors win. Brand loyalty is a distant third consideration.

Everything here is engineered wood. Both SICOTAS cabinets specify FSC-certified engineered wood; the Sauder specifies durable materials with a T-lock system. None of these is solid hardwood, and none is priced like it. Engineered wood at this tier is fine for normal loads and normal rooms — it is not fine for repeated moves, damp basements or being dragged across floors when loaded.

Rattan here is a pattern, not a weave. SICOTAS says so plainly: the rattan appearance is plastic. Expect the look, not the texture or the natural variation.

Price gap is small. The Sauder lists at $353.12 and both SICOTAS cabinets at $399.99. That's under $50 between them, which is not enough to drive the decision. Let the storage layout and the dimensions decide.

Verify dimensions yourself. For the Sauder, the listing gives a TV size and weight rating but no overall dimensions in the data above — check the listing before you plan a wall around it. For the SICOTAS pair, check that width figure carefully.

FAQ

Are Sauder and South Shore sideboards basically the same thing? They compete in the same segment — flat-pack, engineered-wood, value-priced case goods — so specs, finishes and price bands overlap heavily. The differences that matter are per-model, not per-brand: door count, shelf adjustability, drawer count, overall footprint and assembly hardware. Compare two specific models, not two logos.

Can I use a TV credenza as a dining room sideboard? Yes, with one caveat. A TV credenza like the Sauder Harvey Park is typically lower and deeper than a dining buffet, and its open shelves put your contents on display. If your sideboard's job is holding serving dishes at a comfortable height while guests move around it, closed-door buffets like the SICOTAS cabinets are the better fit. If it's holding a TV and gear, the credenza wins outright.

How do I check whether a specific model is any good? Go to that model's own listing and read its review section directly, filtering for reviews that mention assembly, shelf sag under weight, and whether the delivered piece matched the listed dimensions. Those three themes tell you more about a flat-pack cabinet than a star average does. Do this for the South Shore Arum too if that's your shortlist.

Do adjustable shelves actually matter? More than most spec-sheet items. Both SICOTAS cabinets list two adjustable-height shelves, which is what allows one cabinet to hold tall wine bottles and short stacked plates at once. Fixed shelving locks you into one storage pattern for the life of the piece.

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