Consoles And Side Tables

Side tables, outdoor coffee table and bedside tables from Flower Power

Complete the look in your home with our range of beautiful and stylish consoles and side tables in a range of materials, from smooth, highly-polished marble to rustic timber. Both make for incredibly practical pieces of indoor furniture. Consoles can welcome guests, divide a big living space or create a focal point. Side tables provide a spot to show off your favourite decorations, plants or a lamp, or can be an elegant way to keep your mug, magazines and remotes handy. And an outdoor coffee table can be the beautiful and practical finishing touch to your outdoor furniture setting.

If your bedroom or living room needs a finishing touch, check out our full range online or come in-store today.

What is a console?

A console table is wide, fairly shallow and about the same height as a regular table or desk. You usually find a console placed against a wall in a room or a hallway, but they are often also placed against the back of a sofa. 

Generally, the height and width of your hallway console can be whatever suits your space. However, if you’re placing your console against the back of your sofa, you’ll want to choose a console that’s the same height as or lower than the sofa’s height, and no wider that the sofa. 

If you’re placing your console alone in a hallway or entryway, you don’t need to worry so much about matching it to your other furniture and you can choose an interesting style or material. 

What is a side table?

As its name suggests, a side table is placed beside a piece of furniture a person would sit on, such as a couch or a bed. When placed beside a bed, they’re often referred to as bedside tables. They’re useful for keeping essential or handy items within easy reach and can also be decorative additions to a room, and hold accessories like plants or lamps. 

It’s important to get the height of your side tables right, or they become awkward to use and look out of place in your room. A side table should be no taller than the tallest part of your couch, but no lower than the seat. If you’re not sure, sit on your couch or armchair and try reaching for imaginary items at different heights – you’ll soon get an idea of what works and what doesn’t.

When you’re choosing your side tables, try to match them to your existing furniture. They should blend or complement the style of the room, rather than be a focal point. However, if your room is otherwise very neutral, you can use your side tables to introduce a splash of colour or some new textures – consider rattan for relaxed chic rooms, stone for something weightier, glass and metal for a modern style. 

If you want to have a few different side tables, try to keep some elements the same. Either the same shape or the same material or the same colour will work well. 

While the two words are often used interchangeably, the main purpose of a side table and a hallway console is very different. Side tables are mostly functional, serving as a surface to place items within easy reach of people sitting on couches, chairs or beds, while a console table usually stands alone, often in a hallway or entryway, and is as decorative as it is functional.

How to decorate your console table

Add a piece of statement art above and in the centre of your console table, whether that’s one larger piece or several small pieces arranged in a row or gallery style. Make sure the outer edges of the artworks don’t extend further out than the edges of the console table, or you’ll make your setting feel too top heavy. 

If you can't hang something on the wall, resting a frame on the console and leaning it against the wall looks nonchalantly cool, just be sure the console isn’t somewhere it’s going to get knocked. 

Add a stack or two of gorgeous coffee table books to add weight and height to your arrangement. Make sure they aren’t stacked to the same height – variety is key here. Then add a piece or two that will extend the height even further. A tall candle in a holder is good, or a tall vase.  

You may find your arrangement now feels a bit grid like, with lots of straight vertical and horizontal lines. You can mitigate this with a few softer shapes like a bowl, greenery or flowers, or a curvy sculpture. 

A light source is a great thing to have on a console. We love decorative lamps or even candle lanterns that add character. A soft light is much pleasanter in the evenings than a ceiling light, and it will draw attention to your gorgeous console. 

If you’re a minimalist, you’ll probably find that this is plenty (you may even find yourself removing pieces as you go) but maximalists will want to add little extras in clusters. Think ceramics, figurines, crystals, candles. Anything goes, just keep the arrangement feeling natural rather than regimented. 

How to decorate a living room side table

Side tables are more functional than decorative, but that doesn’t mean you can’t make them beautiful! Here’s how to decorate a living room side table while keeping it practical. These tips also work for bedside tables.

Add light in the form of a gorgeous lamp. You can use this to add a pop of colour or an element of fun. 

Place a coffee table book (or two) on your side table. This gives you and your guests something to read in downtime, as well as looking lovely when not in use. 

Display a favourite treasure, like a small bowl, a pretty seashell or a heritage ornament. 

Bring in some nature with fresh flowers, or a little succulent in a nice pot. If you’re not great with plants, try our artificial flowers for non-stop appeal. 

You can increase your storage by placing a small basket underneath your side table or on the secondary shelf where you can hide clutter or unattractive essentials such as pens and notepads. 

If you need a side table, a hallway console or an outdoor coffee table, visit us at Flower Power today and find one you’ll love.