While I was renovating my house, and while there was so much dust I could barely breathe, I rented a small apartment a few blocks away from the construction site and used it as a place to flop after a long day of helping the construction workers, and as a place to take a shower. I didn’t select it for being an apartment where I would want to live, but it was cheaper than a hotel and came furnished and that was all I cared about.

The funny thing was that the apartment was a mini marble palace replete with polished marble floors, red velvet drapes and elaborate cherry furniture… so out of character for a tiny Spanish village set into an olive grove landscape. But the funniest part of the entire apartment was an antique, gilded console table and gold framed mirror at the entrance. It was a perfect old world, half-moon, mounted console table with 2 ornately carved front legs and a marble top.

Console Table Entrance Haunting

Since I was always tired and dirty when I entered the apartment, I didn’t give much thought to the gaudy décor, and would go straight to the shower and then off to bed. But invariably I would see the console table, toss my keys and mail and miscellaneous junk on the little gilded table and ….it would wobble under the weight of keys and a few letters. And then one day it fell. I panicked and replaced it to where it belonged and checked that the marble hadn’t cracked or that the gilded paint on the carved legs hadn’t chipped.

Luckily I didn’t destroy the console table. But right until the day I happily left the luxury of that apartment, that irritating console table haunted my entrance. The idea of it was ideal – a place for keys and letters at the entrance of the house, but the actuality of it was a wobbly piece of adornment that just got in the way.

That’s another reason it took me a long time to choose the console table I eventually put in my newly renovated house. I wanted a table to use AND to look great, and not something so decorative it could only be looked at.

Practical Console Tables

It’s very common for homeowners to place a console table at the entrance, not only to make a good first house impression, but to have a place for small items that are otherwise in our hands or pockets as we enter and exit. The console table should be sturdy enough to not collapse if used to set keys or mail or a purse or wallet or even sunglasses and other small items.

It’s also not a bad idea to have a mirror above the table for a quick glance as you leave the house or even to make the entryway appear a little larger than it is and to reflect the light that may come through the door. But that very useful little piece of furniture can quickly become an annoyance if it is either wobbly or unstable, or if it is too decorative to hold small items, or if it becomes the household junk trap and is the most unsightly first impression you receive as you enter. That is why it is important to give some thought to your selection.

• Will it be used to place thing son or is it more a decorative table with a mirror to check your lipstick?
• Could it become a potential junk trap? How to avoid it becoming a clutter table?

If it’s just a table to set your lipstick on while you retouch your makeup, then almost anything you like will do (even a total glass console table), but if not, make sure the console table you choose has sturdy legs, at least in front, and if it also mounts to the wall, make sure the brackets can be mounted into whatever the wall is made of. If you think there is chance that your table will gradually become a junk collector for the entire family, then it may be wise to consider a table that has 1 or 2 drawers to hide mail and keys and other miscellaneous items.

Italian glass coffee table and glass dining table designs that are as much art as they are functional through FIAM, the brainchild of designer Vittorio Livi, began in 1973 with innovative glass furniture that incorporated a blend of traditional techniques with innovative technology and unique design.


Creating practical yet unusual pieces is not just a matter of having a sheet of glass and setting it on a pedestal base or legs that are interesting, but when it comes to all glass furniture, like that produced through FIAM, it’s about forming and molding glass through cutting, grinding and milling, then bending the sheets via heat, over 600 degrees, controlling the process so the glass won’t crystallize, but will reach an even temperature without breaking so it will be moldable.

One example of just how unique the FIAM creations really are is the Hydra glass coffee table, designed theoretically by Massimo Morozzi, and I say “theoretically” because his design was only possible to produce in real life after FIAM invented a water pumping machine capable of creating an abrasive power equal to 1,000 meters/second.


The processes of heating, bending, molding, silvering and engraving require high-tech equipment and great skill to produce the glass cocktail tables and glass console designs that may begin in an exhibition hall and complete their purpose in life as a place to set a cup of coffee, a newspaper or a dinner plate. Truly innovative modern glass designs are therefore expensive; an investment in quality.


Since many of us can’t afford to invest in original art to hang on our walls, much less an original glass top dining table from a glass artist’s workshops, we find ourselves looking for cheap imitations – buying Monet prints instead of bidding at auctions, buying molded plastic tables instead of curved glass…however, even good quality imitations and reproductions require skill to craft. But it doesn’t seem to matter if you can afford the very best or something more modest, unique modern glass table designs are not the most affordable furniture choice.


Although as a whole, we endeavor to present ideas on where to get affordable glass coffee tables, side tables, end tables and consoles that are as unique as possible, please keep in mind that designer glass creations may still be out of reach for the average home decorator. If your budget is very limited, there are cheap glass table options you can buy through websites that offer regular manufactured items which are also for sale in furniture shops and department stores.

But for something different……

Ardeco Interior Glass Tables



Innovation, craftsmanship and unique quality designs are what set Ardeco furniture in a class apart. If you want superior glass top dining tables and coffee tables that are handmade with bases and frames from French oak, you’re sure to appreciate The Moravia Collection. Custom designs are also available if you need specific sizes or have a design in mind. However, the crisp simplicity of pieces like the Olgoj table are ideal just as they are for a kitchen, dinning area, outdoor patio or even in a studio.


The glass top table in the same collection is a sleek refined piece of furniture. Also crafted in Moravian and French oak, ready to be finished in any way that will compliment your décor.


For some truly unusual creations, contact the talented team at Ardeco Interier at: Pankrac 1221, 33023 Nyrany, Czech Republic or in the Netherlands, Belgium, the UK, Spain, Italy and the USA via the appropriate representative you can find by going to their main product website at Ardeco.


Swanky Design UK

Designer Nitul Panchal, working with Graham Langham as technical designer, being also a consultant for Formula 1, Indy and MotoGP, have engineered some of the greatest contemporary extending glass table models available. One piece is a tabletop made of glass with steel electropolished structural legs bonded to the glass, which allows for up to 1,200 lbs of pressure to be exerted on each leg without sustaining damage. Although you may not be planning on using your table as a dance floor to test its endurance, the design is sturdy, contemporary and exclusive to Swanky Design.


In coffee tables and end tables, Nitul Panchal has outdone herself with pieces like the Hula. The glass is also bonded to a gorgeous brush stainless steel leg structure equally as strong as the above mentioned table. There are round end tables, unusually styled, A-symmetrical square glass end table creations, black glass table and console units ideal for small spaces.


But perhaps the best of all is the double glass side table design, called the Coco Overarm Occasional Table, that can be placed over a sofa armrest to save space and offer convenient coffee cup placement and an extra swiveling round glass top that can still accommodate a magazine, book or other items. Ingenious! Nitul Panchal’s designs give a whole new meaning to the words: round glass coffee table.

Andreu World




If you think that Spanish furniture designers are only specialists in making rustic antique wood tables and gorgeous carved chests, you’ll have to change your opinion after seeing what Spanish designer Francisco Andreu Marti has been creating since 1955.

Just for a small taste of what has made Andeu World an international name in round glass table top design is the collection of round etched-effect tempered glass table tops and the crystal tops that sit on stainless steel or exclusive Ginox bases.


In the Murano line, there are also square glass table designs and frosted or etched styles that give the illusion of color and texture. If you would like to view more of this innovative designer’s work, or order pieces, you can see the very latest designs from the Milan Furniture Fair 2010, like “Andreu World presents Pure collection in Milan”, which is a line of tables by Joan Lao, as well as Piergiorgio Cazzaniga designs like Reverse. You may appreciate the funky addition to his collections like the recyclable aluminum structures that fold like paper, or may also enjoy seeing the Lineal Confidente and SIT seating designs to match the tables, which were presented at Stockholm Furniture Fair 2010. Visit the Andreu World website to get inspiration and view complete glass table and chairs collections that are functional / contemporary – ideal for ultra modern homes and commercial spaces.

Glass Cocktail Table and Black Dinning Table Designs By Walter Knoll & Chaisor



Walter Knoll is a company that blends architecture and furniture design in such a way as to create complete contemporary concepts that add fluidity to space by offering not just a piece of furniture but a mood, an ambiance, born from the designing minds of talented people like Luke Pearson and Tom Lloyd who work from their London studio and are represented in the showrooms of Walkter Knoll. Top furniture designers from around the world are featured in the outstanding Knoll glass cocktail table, dinning table and other collections…ddesigners such as Claudio Bellini, Ben van Berkel, EOOS, Norman Foster, Jørgen Kastholm, Kengo Kuma, Wolfgang C. R. Mezger, and Toan Nguyen.


This group of talent offers unconventional pieces like the black glass dinning table designed by Toan Nguyen for The Bellows Collection. Bellows includes a complete series of glass dinning sets, chairs, occasional tables, and even stools. Paired with black leather, rich hardwoods, contemporary motifs and mood lighting, these items create atmosphere in ways that transparent glass table tops simply don’t offer.


Chaisor is another place to find above average designer glass bar table and cocktail table creations as well as high-end console tables that are thin and geometric by design. In cocktail / bar designs the St Tropez is one that stands out as a contemporary architectural structure that offers a distinct air of modern elegance. Many of the exclusive, award winning, Chaisor designs are not as expensive as you might imagine. In fact, some are only around $750, which in the world of European designer glass furniture is a bargain.


What Now?



If you’re looking for a cheap round glass dining table or a unique idea for a round kitchen table or are looking for an elusive contemporary console table, please view related topics that expand on these specific types of furniture. At Mission Console Table we take pride in offering information, product reviews and decorating tips, so you can get what you need to create a living space that’s uniquely your own.

Featured Today

In today’s post we have recommended glass furniture designs by the following companies and designers: FIAM / designer Vittorio Livi; designer Massimo Morozzi; Ardeco furniture; Swanky Design / designer Nitul Panchal and Graham Langham; Andreu World / designer Francisco Andreu Marti; Walter Knoll / featured designer Toan Nguyen and Chaisor Mobilier Contemporain.