The Many Uses of a Console Table

admin — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 15:13:36 +0000

Dining furniture that comes with table and matching dining room chairs and is sold as dining room sets sometimes also have a matching buffet or china cabinet or a third piece of furniture to add to the total package. But often the buffet that goes with the set is too long or too wide to fit in a dinning room, and that is why sometimes a narrow console table is just right to be that third piece of dinning room furniture.

Half Moon Bar Table

There is another use for a tall narrow console table, especially the half moon shaped ones, and that is to replace bar tables. If you are redecorating a basement or kitchen or even a living room, and you mount a half moon or demilune console table to the wall, perhaps between two windows or along a wall that can hold a barstool or two, a bar console table will then serve as a place to set a drink or serve snacks for a cocktail party or simply when there are guests.

A round pub table may take up too much floor space, while a mounted half moon or drop leaf table may be exactly right depending on how high you mount it to the wall. If the tables you go with are not the kind that have a wall mount option but are freestanding, with at least three legs, they could also be placed as corner pub tables because often the demilune console tables will have a V-shape back and a half moon front that fit snug in such places without taking up much space. And because this style of table is open from the table top to the floor, a bar stool can easily be pushed under it and out of way until needed.

Most homes don’t have the luxury of a space for a bar table as well as other side tables and sofa tables, but by ingeniously using half moon wall mounting consoles or tall freestanding console tables you can have cocktail tables and barstools even in limited space.

Bistro Table Alternative

Similar to the bar table idea, the small console table designs will lend themselves well to doubling as a bistro table. This can be especially true in a kitchen where there is limited space and dining room tables are just too large. For example, if the kitchen has a large window, below it could be mounted a console table or a narrow glass console table could be placed so the top is at the level of the window sill.

A stool or two could then be added to create a bistro feeling, or to replace a kitchen counter stool idea. Console tables can often fit where larger bistro tables will not, in a kitchen or dinning area or even near a patio or balcony, and can be a wonderful place to sit and sip a morning coffee or read the paper. And because console tables are tall and narrow they will take up less space and fit against walls or under windows more easily. The contemporary glass console table designs that are sleek and have no drawers or shelves are especially suited to this purpose, or the half moon console table designs that will give the bistro feel although they will not be totally round, but will leave lots of leg room below for stools which is part of the enchantment of the bistro concept.

A pedestal table may appear to be small, but because they need space around all sides, they tend to use a lot of space and unless used on a patio or deck, may just not be practical. That is why the leg placement of a console table is unique and useful — often having no legs, just wall mounting brackets or two in front and a wall mount, or three strategically placed.

Sofa Tables and how to Incorporate a Console Table

Side tables and sofa table sets are designed to be low as are the traditional glass coffee tables or square coffee table styles that rest in front of a sofa and serve as accent tables that are generally unobtrusive to conversations and simply serve as a place to rest a drink, snacks or to place magazines and books that are current. Console tables cannot replace these pieces because they are normally built too high to serve as coffee table furniture or end tables, and they tend to be long and narrow or shaped as a half moon which just don’t work beside or in front of a sofa or love seat.

However there is one exception to this. Console tables can be sofa tables if the sofa is placed in the middle of the room, or used as a divider in a large open space like a loft. Then a tall narrow table that is exactly the height of the back of the sofa can be placed behind it and is in fact the ideal height to set a drink or to have magazines or books to read while sitting.

The mirrored console table designs that have tall sleek chrome legs and are rectangular in shape can be a perfect accent for a contemporary leather sofa, or if the living room sofa is mission style furniture with wooden arms and legs, a mission console table in a similar wood finish will accent the back of this sofa nicely. Other mission furniture and accent table designs that are lower can be placed at arm level along the sides or between sofa and loveseats and armchairs and the entire room is pulled together.

Mission Table Designs

Since there are companies that specialize in mission table designs and create simplistic and modern versions of the mission end table that match the consoles and sofa styles, it is possible to select all pieces in the exact same wood finish. For example a mission oak design can be carried through in the entire living space with a series of mission oak furniture made by talented Amish carpenters who specialize in the mission style.

This can be carried through to include a mission dining room table and chairs and that way the wood furniture is all the same in the open space. This may not be as much of a concern in a home where the rooms are divided by walls, but in an open layout, which is increasingly more popular it is good to consider a dinning table or dinette sets that will match the other furniture in basic style.

Mixing and Matching Furniture Styles

I am not suggesting that everything must be identical, in fact it is good to have a piece or two of furniture that is uniquely different, but keep with the theme. Don’t mix glass dining tables with oak occasional tables if they are in the same space. Try to avoid using a modern coffee table or glass tables as accents if all the rest of the area is antique or wrought iron. A single antique table or oak table in an otherwise contemporary décor will not look like a feature, it will just seem out of place. Remember that a console table is an accent and it should be one of two things: a select piece that stands out as unique and unusual or should blend perfectly with the existing style.

One Unique Console Table

When I say that a console table should stand out as unique, this will best apply to a singular piece that stands alone, like hall tables or one single marble table with a mirror above it near an entrance. An entry table can be a rich elegant piece that is one of a kind and need not be exactly the some as the rest of the furniture, but it must have some correlation to the overall theme. This is especially true if the overall home design is conservative. Mixing and matching styles is not a good idea. In retro and art deco or antique themes or ethnic styles, this rule may be bent somewhat, but not if your furnishings are classic mission style or oak or cherry wood or rustic unfinished pine. Stick to a design theme and add an accent console table that goes with the overall statement or tone.