Mar 04, 2020

How to Use and Style a Console Table

One of our most popular selling pieces of furniture, the console table is practical and beautiful. In hallways, living spaces, it can provide a surface level for aesthetics as well as offering storage with single or double drawers.

No matter what your interior style, you’re sure to find a console table that grabs you. From timber consoles to glass consoles and mirrored consoles, console tables with drawers and shelves to more simplistic designs, it could be just the piece of furniture you need to complete your space. If you’re seeking a little bit of direction, begin by deciding what you want to use your console table for, and where you would like to put it, then read on for some styling ideas.

Where to Put a Console Table

Hallway
An entrance hall is a great place to have a console table, whether as a practical surface for offloading items such as keys and mail when you walk in the door, or as a beautifully decorative piece to greet people when they enter your home.

Alcove
Do you have an alcove or recess that looks a bit bare and needs livening up? This could be the perfect place for a console table to display a few of your favourite decorative items, plus you can add a lamp to transform the space from a forgotten dark corner to a useful and stylish part of your interior. If you’re looking to brighten up a dark area, then a mirrored console table such as the RV Astley Sovana Mirrored Console Table with a table lamp on top, or a floor lamp to one side can really help to reflect the light and open up the space.

Dining Room
If you have a large dining table in your dining room, then you may not have a great deal of space left, so a long, slim console table could be just what you need to complete the room. The console can also provide practical storage for your tableware as an alternative to a dresser or display cabinet. If you choose a console with a lower shelf, you can add an arrangement of beautifully stacked plates and bowls.

Bedroom
A console table makes a brilliant dressing table in a bedroom. If you choose a table with open legs, you can place a stool or chair underneath, then add a table mirror and you have the perfect beauty space. A mirrored console table or a fabric console table look particularly good in the bedroom, such as the Isabella by Design Great Antique Mirror Console Table or the Dark Grey Shagreen Console by RV Astley.

Kitchen
In the kitchen a console table could come in handy for extra work space or surface space for utensils or cook books. Underneath you can place baskets for vegetables or logs, or a freestanding wine rack. If the console incorporates drawers this could be a great place for cutlery or napkins.

Cookham Oak Trestle Table by Gallery Direct

Home Office
Do you require a dedicated space to work or use your laptop but you don’t have the floor space for a traditional desk? Then a console table with a stool or desk chair could be ideal. Transform a space under the stairs or a redundant corner and create a stylish and inviting area to work. Beautifully stacked boxes or baskets can be placed beside the console table for storage with a floor lamp or angle poise lamp to light the area.

Bathroom
If you have the space in your bathroom then a console table could be could be a stylish way to stack towels and arrange cosmetics or other decorative items on top.

Tips for Decorating a Console Table

PARADIGM CONSOLE TABLE by LIANG & EIMIL

PARADIGM CONSOLE TABLE
by LIANG & EIMIL

A console table will look right at home with an item positioned centrally on the wall above. This could be a single piece of artwork, a gallery arrangement of photos or a decorative item such as a clock or a mirror. This helps to anchor the console table visually and incorporate it more seamlessly into your décor.

Alternatively, if you are extending the vignette with furniture or accessories next to your console table such as a chair or a trio of baskets, you can place your anchoring piece off centre to pull the whole arrangement together, as illustrated below with the CHIGWELL 2 DRAWER CONSOLE
by BODHI (Gallery Direct)

Esperance New Foundry Console Table

Make your console table part of a wider composition with a decorative item to one side. This could be an occasional chair, a floor lamp, a pot plant or an umbrella stand. In the image above, a zone has been created with the addition of the chair and footstool. This teamed with pieces such as the reading lamp, books and bar area shows a compact yet very inviting space to enjoy.

Isabella by Design Seaview Console Table

Here the use of a lantern on the floor beautifully balances with the large lantern on the top of the console table. The pot plant brings some colour and texture and softens the sharp angles of the lanterns and books.

Weymouth Console Table by Noosa and Co

Play with height and symmetry and place two matching ornamental objects or lamps at either end of your console table, then finish with a number smaller items arranged in the middle.

Noosa and Co Mirror Black Console Table

Frank Hudson Wycombe Oak Console Table

Opt for a stripped back, organic style with a cluster of simplistic or rustic decorative pieces in various shapes and sizes. Here the clear glass bottles and vases add shape and depth whilst maintaining a clean and simple feel. Complete the vignette with a stack of books or magazines topped with a trailing plant to soften the look and enhance the informal effect.

Cookham Grey Trestle Table by Gallery Direct

An asymmetrical arrangement can look more relaxed and very stylish. Use objects of different heights so your surface does not look cluttered. A table lamp is a great way to add height at one end. A few small, spherical objects will help break up the lines and give a natural, shapely look to the layout.

You can utilise the space beneath the console whether you have a shelf or not. A neat stack of books is used above, but you can also play with stacks of boxes and baskets, or you can place a stool or ottoman in the space beneath your console table.