In interior décor, attention to detail goes a long way, especially in the living room. It is essential to know which piece is meant for what space. This becomes a challenge when some décor pieces look as though one can get away with using them interchangeably. For instance, you might ask, is there a difference between a sofa table and a console table? Or are they both just slightly tall, rectangular tables? Well, the answer is, the two are different; by design and, though slightly, by function. Let us look at each one individually first in order to start a discussion about the differences.
Console Tables
Did you know that the word ‘console’ was derived from a Latin word? A consolor is a Latin verb that means ‘to lighten’. This etymology gives us an idea of what console tables were traditionally meant to do; to alleviate the empty and rather open space, mainly in the hallways or entryways. Although some inconsistent differences have arisen, a console table is mostly used synonymously with the pier table. A pier table means ‘that which is placed against the wall’. A console table therefore is a slightly tall, rectangular-slender table that mostly decorates people’s hallways, entryways, or foyers, and is usually placed against the wall. However, in modern design, console tables are seen to be placed in living rooms, dining rooms, or even bedrooms for accentuating or decluttering spaces. But even in these modern cases, they still go against the wall.
Sofa Tables
The name of these tables suggests a correlation to a seating piece or the sofa. This is because the design of a sofa table is in most cases dependent on the design of the sofas they go behind. These designs range from their height to their length. Traditionally, sofa tables were designed to be placed behind the sofa (hence their name). They were therefore designed slightly (almost an inch) lower in height than the sofa, with their length being more than half the sofa’s length, but no longer than the exact length of the sofa (there has to be a space allowance on either side of the table.
The uses of sofa tables and console tables may depend on your purpose for them. For instance, a console table could hold a small basket of car keys, a vase of flowers to decorate the foyer, an art piece, family photos (especially when placed in the living room), and so on. The sofa table on the other hand could be used to hold a basket of fruits, a serviette holder, and or even a small stack of books. In cases where it has space below, small stools could be placed under it to make it a useful table for writing or as a small laptop holder and so on.
Please note: With interior décor upgrades over time, the uses of sofa and console tables have become more versatile.
Read below for the summarized differences between a sofa table and a console table.
How is a sofa table different from a console table?
- A sofa table is slightly shorter than a console table. This is because a sofa table was always designed in correspondence with the height of the seating piece it was placed behind.
- A console table is mostly placed against the wall in hallways or entryways while a sofa table is placed mostly in the living room behind a seating piece.
- Most sofa tables are designed with space below them that can accommodate small seats, unlike console tables which mostly have a more decorative base with no space (however, some sofa tables have no spaces below and some console tables have spaces below – it just depends on the unique design of the table).
So next time you go shopping for a statement piece to accentuate your space, you will know which table is perfect for where!