The Console Table: The Furniture Piece that Works in Every Room

When furnishing your home, some pieces are obvious must-haves. You know your living room will need a comfy couch and your kitchen, a spacious dining table. But once you’ve purchased all the essentials, it’s time to think of the accent pieces, the furniture that completes a room, while providing a functional purpose. Enter the console table, the home furniture piece that can easily fit into any room of your home and enhance it.

Read on to discover everything you need to know about the piece we think your home can’t live without.

What is a console table?

Console tables are narrow and long tables that often feature some form of storage, either an open shelf or a cabinet and drawers. Their surfaces are sturdy, while the construction remains simple.

This minimalist design makes them versatile enough that they can meet any home furniture need you have. If you have a section or wall in a room that’s looking a little empty, a console table is a great accent piece to adorn with additional décor and perfect your aesthetic. Plus, its storage options mean that the best console tables are also multi-purpose pieces in which you can keep your essentials or spillover items that don’t fit anywhere else.

The classic entryway console table

The most popular and practical places to place a console table in a home are usually the entryway, mudroom, or hallway. It’s a great piece to have in such areas, because its minimalist and compact construction means it’s ideal for smaller spaces. Add a basket or tray on its table for things you drop or pick up on your way in and out of the house: car keys, house keys, wallets, etc. The bottom shelf can be used for handbags, shoes, or dry umbrellas.

If you like to decorate every room of your home, even functional spaces like the entryway, a console table is the best place to start. Decorate it your way and match it to the style of your home to make the right impression.

The kitchen or dining room console table

Low on kitchen countertops? A console table is an original solution. More stylish than your ordinary kitchen items, it can be a unique addition to the space, while providing extra space for placemats, additional cutlery, and napkins. You could also use its surface area to prepare your next meal, or, in larger kitchens, it can be more of a decorative piece where you keep your cookbooks and the plants or flowers that freshen up any kitchen.

Placing a console table in the dining room will stop you from having to go back and forth to the kitchen during a dinner party. Store extra plates and glasses on the console table ready for any last-minute guests popping in for a meal. It’s easy to know how to decorate a console table in the dining room: add candles or small lamps on the table and set an ambiance for every meal.

Another fun idea for a console table in your kitchen or dining room is to turn the table into a bar cart. You’ll wow everyone you entertain with your own cocktail or mocktail set-up. Place more fragile items, like glasses and decanters, on top and heavier bottles and bar accessories at the bottom.

The living room console table

How to style a console table in your living room? The options are endless.

Firstly, you could place your console table against a wall for décor. Hang art or a mirror above it, place a stylish lamp or two, scatter decorative objects. Make your living room console table the ultimate accent piece that helps to define your space’s aesthetic.

A console table used as a side table in a living room could also become a mini entertainment center of sorts — use it for your bluetooth speaker or record player and choose your soundtrack of the day. Create colorful piles of art and photography books on the shelves, or line up your favorite vinyls.

Finally, if your couch is placed away from the wall, at the center of the room for example, you could place your console table right behind it. It can replace bulky end tables and hold drinks, books, or any items you need to put down while lounging on the couch. You could also place practical and stylish reading lamps on the table behind your sofa.

The bedroom console table

Less space doesn’t mean less style. If your bedroom isn’t large enough to accommodate a vanity, a console table is a great choice for a substitute. Hang a mirror above it, add a comfy and chic chair, and there you have it: your very own DIY vanity. Don’t forget baskets or boxes for your jewelry, perfume, and makeup.

For larger bedrooms, a console table can be a way to display family memories. Wake up to the faces of those you love the most with a console table decorated with framed photographs of your friends and family.

More console table ideas

There’s more? That’s right. We weren’t lying when we said the console table was versatile.

In your laundry room, the console table can make up for a lack of countertops and offer a space for sorting and folding. If you don’t have the space for laundry room cabinets, a console table is a smaller substitute that can still store your laundry must-haves.

Some people don’t need a dedicated home office or workspace at home — maybe you work full-time at an office, or follow a hybrid schedule, or maybe you just don’t have the space for it. By adding a well-designed chair, a console table can double as a computer desk when you need it, whether to pay bills, book a vacation, or whatever else is on your calendar. It provides a workspace without taking up a whole lot of space in your home. As long as you keep your comfort and ergonomics in mind, you could use any table, even a console table, as a desk.

Our best console tables

The Designer Console Table boasts a unique, sophisticated look we love. Its trendy appearance could integrate with many different aesthetics, from traditional to farmhouse and industrial. We love the variety of storage options; it features two box drawers and open shelves defined by bold graphite hardware. It’s part of our stylish Coliseum Collection, which means you can match the console table with other pieces featuring the same high-end appeal.

Refine any room with the Console Table with Shelves. Its appealing modern farmhouse style is bound to enhance your home, especially with its decorative trestle patterns and chamfered profile edges. It brings a relaxed feel, while featuring open and adjustable shelves that can fit all your inspiring picture books, woven baskets, and more. Love the look? Explore the other home furniture pieces of the Homestead Collection, including L-shaped desks, bookcases, and file cabinets.

From our easy-going and natural-looking Key West Collection, this Console Table with Drawers and Shelves serves up the function and style you want in a console table. It brings the feel of a coastal retreat and doesn’t require much décor to become a statement piece in your home. The clincher? Box drawers and adjustable shelves ready to store household supplies.

Switch it up with the two-toned finish of this 60W Sideboard Cabinet. A sideboard cabinet can do everything we’ve promised a console table can do, while offering more storage with practical doors to keep all your items beautifully organized. This is an especially helpful option if you loved our suggestion for a console table in your dining room, but wanted something a little larger.

See more of Bush Home’s beautifully built console tables to find the right one for your home.