Milan Small Sideboard: 110cm at 70cm high, under a window

The Milan Small Sideboard is listed at 110x40x70cm and that single line is its entire description. The height is what makes it worth a second look: at 70cm it goes in places the taller sideboards on these pages cannot, and those places all need measuring first.

What the listing gives

The three figures are not labelled. Taken in the order the rest of the range uses them, that is 110cm along the wall, 40cm out from it and 70cm up. If one of those is critical, have us confirm which is which before the order goes in.

Under a window: the sill measurement

Measure from the floor to the underside of the sill, not to the glass, and take the measurement at the point the furniture will stand rather than in the middle of the bay. You need the sill to be above 70cm, and it is worth having a couple of centimetres spare so the piece is not jammed under it. Then look at what hangs down: a curtain that stops at sill level will rest on the top, and a blind's fittings often sit lower than the sill itself.

Radiators and sockets

Two things that catch people out with a low piece against a wall. A radiator under a window usually tops out below 70cm, so this sideboard will cover it, which traps the heat behind the furniture and takes it out of the room. Not a reason to abandon the plan, but a reason to leave a gap at the back if you can, or to put the piece on a different wall if the radiator is the only one in the room. Sockets are the other: a plug and its cable need something like 6cm to 8cm of clearance behind the piece, and a 40cm-deep back pressed flat against a socket will either bend the plug or stand the sideboard proud of the wall.

110cm, and the step up

A 110cm length suits the gap between two fixed things: a chimney breast and a door, a bay and a corner, or the space beneath a single window. It is the size you choose when the wall is interrupted. If the wall is clear, the Milan Large Sideboard gives you 50cm more top at the same depth and height, which is a far bigger difference in use than it sounds on paper. For a taller top at a similar length, compare the Torino Small Sideboard at 97 x 40 x 81cm.

Questions the listing does not answer

• No material, finish or colour. Go by the photographs, and ask us what the piece looks like in person.
• No door, drawer or shelf count, and no internal heights. A 70cm-high cabinet has less inside it than an 81cm one, so if something specific has to fit, ask before ordering.
• No weight, and nothing about assembly or packaging.

Those gaps are real and we would rather name them than fill them with guesses. A lamp and a side table to go with it are in Side & Lamp Tables, and the rest of this range is in Sideboards & Cabinets.

Delivery is free within 50 miles of our Glasgow store and £50 beyond. Check your sill height first, then the Milan Small Sideboard page carries the photographs and the order form.