How to Style a Console Table

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One of the quickest and most beautiful ways to decorate more functional spaces is through learning how to style a console table. With these compact tables, you can actually style a foyer or entryway, instead of leaving it as just a place to store keys, coats, and shoes.

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The same can be said for hallways. Rather than merely being a means of connecting you from one room to another, it can turn into an intentionally decorated space when you add the right touches to a console. Even rooms that are typically well decorated (like your living room) can benefit from having a console table within the layout. 

Here, I’m sharing my best tips for how to style a console table, as well as several ways you can use these tables for maintaining an organized home.

How to Style a Console Table

Add More Functionality to Your Entryway

Storage and organization are definitely at the top on the list of priorities for an entryway.

A console table is a smart option for streamlining items that usually end up in this area. A narrow console table doesn’t take up much space, but it gives you a surface for organizational items, like a bowl for your keys or a basket for winter gloves and hats.

These tables cleverly fill space, too, making hooks and coat racks look less lonely and bare.

Style a Collection of Bowls or Vases

If you have a console table in place but it feels empty, the right decorative objects will instantly bring it to life. You can choose whether or not they’ll serve a functional purpose or if you’d just like the vases and bowls to stand in as decor. 

Whether you have a modern farmhouse entryway or a sleek and minimal foyer, I recommend choosing timeless options in colors and materials that work for year-round use.

You can always add seasonal decor, but starting with a foundation of classic pieces makes your decor a better investment in the long run.

Bring in Statement Books for a Decorative Touch

Who doesn’t love a coffee table book? In my opinion, these are more than just a beautiful form of decor for any tabletop surface. They’re also a subtle way of sharing your interests with visitors. 

Aside from stacking them just on your coffee table, select a few of your favorites and style them on your console tables too. 

You can create horizontal or vertical stacks, drape beads over the top of them, or style them beneath a vase. 

For a more minimal take, you can choose one book and prop it open. They also look beautiful styled on the shelves below and can essentially serve as a mini library.

Create Extra Surface Space for Your Living Room

In many homes, living rooms utilize a number of different tables to make them feel complete and perfectly decorated. Think: coffee tables, side tables, end tables, media cabinets, and buffets. 

If the former options are too small or already have their fair share of responsibility as storage spaces, it’s worth considering a console table. 

A console table gives you more surface space to work with, whether you decide to add decor to it or use it to house remotes, books, or baskets.

I also find that a console table makes for a great tool when it comes to creating zones in an open-plan layout. It acts as a divider, and together with a couch or other furniture item, it boldly defines a room.

Dress Up a Bland Hallway

Hallways never seem to get the attention they deserve, and understandably so. 

They’re not really a room, and most people don’t spend time hanging out in a hallway. However, I think that they are areas of your home that are ripe with decorative opportunities. 

Wider hallways can easily fit a narrow console table, as can the walls at the end of a hallway. This console table in my upstairs hallway is the perfect size for a narrower space.

The decor you choose to display here can also make an impact. I think hurricane glass candle holders, vases, and books all make lovely console table decor. 

Equally, I think a console table is also a smart spot for hidden storage. Opt for a piece that has drawers or cabinets, and you’ll suddenly have extra space on your hands.

Create More Storage with a Console Table

Speaking of extra storage space, don’t underestimate how much a console table can offer. 

If you’re shopping around for a new one, I recommend a console table with drawers or one that has a second or third surface underneath. This will give you room to add baskets, trays, and other containers. It’s also possible to stack throw blankets and pillows in these areas too.

Add Chic Lighting

Skip the overhead light and incorporate warm, welcoming light fixtures on your console table. 

It’s the perfect surface for a matching pair of lamps or one cool statement lamp on a pile of books. 

If you’re after a more permanent change, I recommend selecting wall sconces to install on either side of the table to create a foundational fixture in your entryway or hallway. 

Don’t forget candles either. Gather a collection of three together in your favorite scent or add a pretty, structural candlestick set.

Personalize it with Family Mementos

I love seeing personalized touches in other people’s homes.

Styling a console table with family mementos or souvenirs from a trip is the perfect way to add personality and charm.

In our family, we always collect shells, dried corral, or stones on our vacations. I’ve placed them in a large wooden bowl below photos from our travels.

This is such a great conversation starter, as well as a fun reminder of our past trips for our family.

Add Volume and Texture with Bouquets or Plants

Any bare console table gets an instant transformation when a bold bouquet of flowers is added to the mix. 

It’s the perfect way to spruce up a collection of vases already styled on the surface and a gorgeous option for decorating with the seasons. Branches also make for a beautiful arrangement. 

If you’d like a longer-lasting plant set-up, choose a houseplant or two to add a dose of greenery. Just be sure you pop them in a leak-proof container or put a protective tray beneath them. Also, opt for low-light plants if you’re placing them in an area that gets little sunlight.

Lean or Hang a Mirror

One great technique for making a space feel brighter and larger is by adding a mirror. 

A reflective surface bounces light around the room and gives the illusion that it’s bigger. You can lean a wall mirror on top of the table for a contemporary take or hang it just above (this is ideal for those last-minute outfit checks when you’re heading out the door.) 

A full-length mirror is also a chic choice when placed next to a console table.

Stay Connected

I hope that this post has given you some ideas for styling a console table! As you can see, there are plenty of ways you can make it your own. Thanks so much for stopping by the blog today!

I’d love for you to stay in touch! Follow along with me daily on Instagram, weekly on YouTube, and become a blog subscriber to gain access to freebies, DIY templates and a weekly newsletter!

~Sarah