Sunday Buying Guide
How to Choose a Console Table
Three shapes, three jobs: the one your hallway is asking for.
The console table is the hardest-working piece of furniture most homes never think about. It carries the keys, the post, the lamp, the mirror above it and the first impression of the whole house. But choosing one is where most people come unstuck: too deep and it chokes the hallway, too tall and it fights the sofa, too precious and it cannot live with the everyday. This guide walks through the decisions that matter: where it will live, the measurements to take, drawers or open shelving, and the three shapes that suit three very different jobs.
The Piece That Does the Most Work
A console table earns its footprint in ways a coffee table never has to. In the hallway it is the landing pad: keys, post, the bag you put down for two seconds and pick up three days later. Behind the sofa it finishes the dead zone that nothing else can reach. On a landing it turns a corridor into a room.
Because it does so much, the wrong console is felt every single day. Too deep and you turn sideways to pass it; too short and the post does not fit; too fancy and it cannot take a mug. This guide takes the guesswork out of it.
The Five Decisions, In Order
1. Where Will It Live
Hallway, behind the sofa or landing. The location sets every measurement that follows, so decide this before you browse.
2. Measure for the Walkway
In a hall you walk through daily, keep 80 to 90cm clear for passing. A slim console depth matters more than a short length.
3. Drawers or Open
Drawers swallow keys and clutter; open shelving keeps a narrow hall feeling light. Match the choice to what lands on your surfaces.
4. Check the Height
Standard consoles sit around 76 to 81cm: comfortable for a lamp and a post pile, and safely lower than most sofa backs.
5. Finish With Purpose
The console sets the tone of the space it opens. Choose whether it disappears into the scheme or leads it.
The Everyday Workhorse
If the console is going to live in a working hallway, buy for the work first. The Camden Spindle Leg Two-Drawer Console is the shape we recommend most: two drawers take the keys, the post and the clutter that would otherwise sit on top, and the turned spindle legs keep the footprint feeling light in a narrow space.
It is also the sensible entry point of the range: solid, quiet in the scheme, and forgiving of everyday life.
The Sizing Rules of Thumb
Height: standard consoles sit roughly 76 to 81cm. That is the comfortable height for a lamp, a mirror above and a post pile, and it stays below most sofa backs for behind-sofa placements.
Depth: the make-or-break measurement. Aim for 25 to 35cm in a hallway you walk through daily, and up to 45cm behind a sofa, where depth is free but height is not. In a genuinely tight hall, a wall-mounted console such as the Lunar 2 Drawer buys back the floor entirely.
Length: consoles like to be a little shorter than the wall or sofa they serve. If in doubt, go shorter: a console that breathes looks deliberate, one that fills the wall looks built in.
And always measure with the walkway in mind: 80 to 90cm of clear passing space in a daily-use hall. Tape it out on the floor before you order, not after.
The Light and Textured Option
Where the hallway is dark or the scheme is quiet, an airy console does a job a solid one cannot: it holds its corner without eating the light. The Serene Woven Rattan Console Table is the best example in the range: the woven rattan base lets the wall show through, and the slim top reads as a styling surface rather than a storage unit.
It is the one we would style with a single lamp, a stem of dried foliage and nothing else. In a small hall, restraint is the whole trick.
Buying Guide