What is a Console Table
Although sometimes confused with side tables, a console table is a very different kind of free-standing occasional table. With their shallow depth, console tables are most commonly put to use in areas that are tight on space such as a hallway, and almost always tucked up against a wall. In effect, a console table can be considered a specialised form of versatile shelving; free-standing and readily movable, and a space-conscious means of displaying or storing a whole manner of bits and bobs.
Critically, a console table is presented as a feature piece of furniture rather than just another overlooked and purely utilitarian storage device. Our Keepsake Console is our own take on a console table, and exemplifies this definition. Two hefty legs of shaped timber firmly ground the piece, bold Arts and Crafts style features give it a strong sense of presence and identity, and fine edge details help to elevate the design. The confident design of a console table resists it disappearing in to the background of your home as a typical shelving unit might.
Show Off
Our homes are an outward reflection of who we are, what we enjoy, and how we want that to be shown. Alongside being our spaces for living, they are jewel boxes of all the treasure and trinkets we have collected over our years. With so many artefacts to show off, extra surfaces are valuable real estate in our homes. A console table is a podium for artwork and sculpture, and a display for the cherished pieces in your lives whether they be homemade, found, or inherited. For the big readers a console table is an excuse to be able to collect even more books, now that you have more space to store them...
Hidden Within Reach
Simultaneously a console table can show one thing and hide another. When you want to curate your space, you don't necessarily want every part of your life always on display. Clutter and trinkets and letters and scribbles probably want to be stashed away. Our Keepsake console has a handy little drawer to swipe up these little bits.
Importantly, everything is still there within reach and in the places you need it most. When your console is in a hallway, you can grab your keys out of the drawer as you move past. In a dining room it could be the perfect place to keep your candles and matches ready for entertaining. All of your essentials are still there, bit perhaps a little less scattered.
'Glue the Home Together'
There is always a risk of hallways and corridors being neglected when considering the design of your home. Although we only spend fleeting amounts of time in these spaces, they are the vital arteries of the home, and connect the rooms and people across the house.
A console can help fill an otherwise barren walk way with a bit of life without getting in the way of the space's main function. A few table lights sat on top can create a warm glow that leads you around the house, or a few plants on the side could bring in some nature in to a home that feels cared for. Or if you're very lucky, perhaps your other half could leave some flowers there for you to perk up your day?
