Versatile console solves many tricky decorating problems

Only last week I was accompanying a client on a walk-through of her new custom home that was in the final stages of being drywalled. That’s always an exciting time for both homeowner and designer because a number of the fundamental pieces in the building and design process truly seem to materialize for the first time and suddenly the home is “there.” It’s real, three-dimensional and the room proportions are what they are — for better or for worse.

As we studied the main entryway, the great room and the foyer outside the master bedroom, one piece of furniture kept popping up in our conversation: the console table.

Yes, that all-purpose and omnipresent console table is the one item that can always be relied upon to fill a wall or serve a function while complementing the surrounding décor. For sure, this is one piece of furniture that we love for more than just its good looks.

There’s simply no table that is more multipurpose than the console. It’s been an integral and stalwart component of design ever since first introduced by those clever and creative Romans so many years ago, albeit in a slightly different form than we have become accustomed to seeing in our homes today.

Instead of having the usual four legs, early versions featured two front legs and were usually fairly small, say no more than 12-24 inches in width. Since tables of this size couldn’t stand on their own, they had to be installed onto the wall. Consequently, too much attention wasn’t paid to the actual design of these early consoles save for the front and top; sort of like out of sight, out of mind, I suppose.

Interestingly, this type of wall-hung console is still very much in use today for certain applications. For example, not too long ago, I was confronted with a narrow niche in an entry hall of a country French home that called for a console table on which the homeowner hoped to display a beautiful crystal vase and other keepsakes. I designed a simple, hand-carved console table that featured only two graceful front legs with the table basically supported from brackets on the back wall.

And of course, we’ve all seen from time to time in homes of various designs consoles that are simply wall-hung, which help create a feeling of openness since they appear to float. In my experience, however, these types of consoles work best chiefly in a contemporary environment. This may account for their growing popularity in the future as homeowners and builders go more modern while at the same time scaling back on the size of many new homes.

For those considering the use of a wall-hung type console, it’s important to note that they usually contain very little or no storage space and that the functionality of such a design is obviously greatly reduced. It also presents, I might add, a much greater challenge if you are the type of homeowner who from time to time likes to rearrange the furniture for a fresh, new look. You’d be hard pressed to do so with a console that’s permanently attached to the drywall. So it’s something to think about before making a commitment to this type of table design.

The four-legged console table we’ve become accustomed to is thought to have come about, like so much of the furniture we use today, sometime in France during the 18th century. And they are available in any number of furniture styles so they enhance the other furniture in your home.

Along with coffee tables and end tables, we often classify consoles as occasional tables with the console, of course, being much higher than the others — although its height can certainly vary depending on the application.

It’s been said that the typical height of a console table is approximately the same height as the average adult’s hip or perhaps even an adult’s waist. But there’s no absolute to this, since, for example, consoles are often used as sofa-back tables, which would certainly cause them to be somewhat lower. In other words, go ahead and feel free to determine the height of your console based on your room’s proportions and its intended use, not some predetermined formula.

There’s no better table to call upon to use in tricky areas of your home such as hallways, niches or entryways than the ever-ready console. Where in the world would we put our keys, the day’s mail or, for that matter, any items that we need to be seen (or not seen) without this all-purpose piece of furniture? Whether made of wood or metal, featuring a glass or a marble top, with storage or without, and from the relatively cheap to the extremely expensive, you can rely on the console for its functionality and good looks.

Stephen Leon is a licensed interior designer and president of Soleil Design International; he has been designing and manufacturing custom furniture and cabinetry for more than 25 years. He has served on the board of directors of the Central California/Nevada Chapter of the American Society of Interior Designers. Questions can be sent to soleildesign@cox.net.soleildesign@cox.net.