How to Decorate a Console Table

Consoles come in many shapes, sizes and styles and you’ll find that there is always space to fit at least one in every home. This unique furniture is one piece that you can have to show off your artwork, décor items, and prized mementoes.

Not only that. A console can also serve as a makeshift bar or even something as basic as a TV stand.

From the classic, chic and streamlined to the rustic farmhouse and modern style, console tables are one of the most practical pieces of furniture you should have in your home, whether you think you have space for one, or not.

Aesthetically pleasing, especially if decorated stylishly, many homeowners often overlook the fact that they can provide a zone for decorative display while also serving as a space for storage of sorts. And when placed against a wall, a backdrop of your favourite wall painting or framed mirror will turn the space into a room’s focal point.

7 Areas Where You Can Place a Console Table

1. Between two windows

2. In a living room

3. A nook or niche in the home

4. A hallway (foyer) - clean and uncluttered

5. Behind a sofa

6. Upstairs landing

7. As a divider between two zones

Though console tables have limited spaces to display because they mostly have skinny surfaces, yet they are pieces of furniture that should be viewed as a microcosm of design preferences.

Though it is small and compact, it can still be used to express one’s personal taste and style. It is like . . . “what can you say about yourself on this small surface without overwhelming the space?”

Minimalist Style - Console Decor

Best Ways to Create a Stylish Console that Speaks Volumes

Though there is no hard and fast rule on how to style a console table, there are a couple of tips you can follow to ensure your console table and its contents not only look stylish but also make a great statement.

Less is more - When it comes to interior design, sometimes less is more. This also applies to surfaces that hold items of decorative display.

Create a balance - Work in both verticals and horizontals. For instance, if you place a table lamp on your console table, make sure you balance if off with a couple of low objects like a little treasure box and a bowl of potpourri; ceramic ware, a set of cubic bowls, or a small mother of pearl inlay tray for your car keys.

Choose shapes wisely – Use decorative items with different shapes – rounds, squares, rectangles, cylindrical, etc... The art shapes and objects you use can take the space in any direction you wish.

So, rather than clutter the surface of your console table with a little of this and a little of that, make a few strong choices. It will create twice the impact.

If you don’t have items to display (but you probably do), scour the flea markets for great finds. You’ll be amazed at what you may discover in these markets, and at such cheap prices too.

Online stores are another place where you may find exotic or plain simple décor items that will make your console look beautiful.

Further Reading:
How to Style a Coffee Table
How to Style a Plain Sofa
How to Style your Interior Space with Accent Chairs

How to Decorate a Coffee Table Stylishly

Just like interior spaces can be styled around a particular theme using furniture, furnishings, and interior finishes, so can furniture items, especially those with surfaces like tables, display stands, consoles, bookshelves, mantelpieces and similar projections, and accent furniture.

Decorating a room, therefore, shouldn’t stop at having a great stone floor, placing some wonderful artwork on the walls, setting up expensive sofas, classic blinds, or pretty accent chairs. You can go beyond that by decorating a piece of furniture like your coffee table, enhancing the look of your window with placements on its sill, or making your shelving serve more than just placing books.

Style your Coffee Table

Your coffee table can be made a wonderful focal point in your living room, but this depends on how you style it. This important piece of furniture should serve more than what its name implies. It should also serve as a display surface to hold art pieces, flowers to act as ‘softeners’, carvings, keepsakes, scented candles, coffee table centrepiece, etc... 

How you display or place each item is not really an art in itself but it is good to ensure that whatever décor items are placed on your coffee table, they must be a mix of vertical and horizontal pieces. This results in a more balanced look that’s better on the eye and more aesthetically pleasing to the senses.

Add something exotic like a tabletop water fountain with gently cascading waters, colourful boxes, natural elements, or a beautiful tray with its own decorations in it to break-up the coffee table’s surface. Eye-catching sculptures will also add some height and drama to the table’s surface!

Nothing looks so unpleasant than a ‘naked’ coffee table. You’ll be doing much injustice to this important furniture if it’s left empty or with one lone décor piece.

So, give your centre table some extra flair. Decorate it creatively! And you don’t have to spend tons of money to achieve this because you can remix décor items you have spread all over the house by moving items from one interior space to another. 

See also:
How to Style a Plain Sofa
Klismos Chairs - Ancient Greek Chair Designs
Fish Tank Coffee Table