Before proceeding with the selection of the console, it is necessary to take into account the size and layout of the room with all its features. After that, you need to understand what the purpose of this piece of furniture is.
Professionals in their field with the help of it solve difficult problems when planning space in an apartment. The console will be a purely decorative element in the room, or it will have a functional purpose.
Types of Consoles
As a rule, the height of these furniture items is from 80 to 120 cm, the depth is narrow, like a shelf from 30 to 40 cm. High models are used mainly to decorate the interior. The height of the set-top boxes is between 75 and 85 cm high. A typical console consists of two elements - a support and a tabletop.
Consoles come in three types:
- hanging tabletops without legs,
- on two or one leg,
- mobile, attached with four legs.
In medieval architecture, this piece of furniture was the support of a balcony or cornice, so the first modern models of these pieces of furniture with one edge of the countertop had a wall mount. Hence their semicircular shape.
In any room of the home, consoles find their application: in the office, in the bedroom, in the bathroom, in the hall. Most often, consoles are installed in living roomsthat is not accidental. The living room is the place where the family spends a lot of time, so I want to make it the most convenient for relaxing after a hard day. I would also like to fill this room with pleasant and memorable family members with souvenirs brought from trips. It can be frames with photos, watches, flower bouquets, figurines. For these purposes, consoles fit like nothing else. Today, the showcase console with the placement of antique interior items on it is particularly relevant..
Over this interior decoration, designers recommend hanging a watch, a mirror in a beautiful frame or a picture. Under it, put a pouf, an outdoor vase.
Indoor console
Designers recommend choosing a console in the living room based on the size of the room. A small room with a massive prefix will look out of place.
For small rooms, prefixes of small sizes and light colors, as well as glass ones, are usually chosen.
Such furnishings in general can become a godsend, if you need to make the room visually larger and decorate, adding a surface to accommodate various decor. In this case, the room will not be overloaded with furniture. In the spacious rooms, the prefix is located behind the sofa..
In the living room, the console usually serves not only for decorative purposes, but can also be very functional. Designers recommend using them to decorate small piers and niches.. Perhaps your console is designed to perform a function such as, for example, closing a radiator or opening in the wall.
History, Description
The word console in translation from French means "support", "bracket". So called a narrow table - freestanding or attached to the wall. The idea came from architecture - at first the structure was wall-mounted, semicircular, cornices, balconies, shelves, statues, vases, other protruding parts rested on it, and the shape of its legs was curved, with curls.
In modern times, this is a separate piece of furniture, something like a mantelpiece on which almost anything is placed - vases or souvenirs, jewelry boxes or houseplants, family photos or postcards, a floor lamp or a flat-screen TV.
Types, shapes, sizes
Depending on the purpose, the console looks like a narrow long table or a miniature shelf. Its average parameters:
- height from 70 cm to 110 cm,
- depth from 30 cm to 40 cm,
- length from 50 cm to 120 cm.
In shape, this item is made semicircular, quadrangular, polygonal, less often asymmetric.
By type of construction:
- freestanding - usually has four legs, wheels, is located anywhere in the room,
- wall - rests on one, two, three, four legs, which are straight, chiseled, intricate shapes, leaning and attached to the wall, is something like a half of a table,
- pendant - wall, mounted on brackets, has one or more legs that do not reach the floor, but go along the wall,
- folding - is a narrow transformable table, when unfolded it becomes a full round, oval, quadrangular table.
The color of the stand is almost any, it merges with the color of the walls or contrasts with them. The most popular are wood, metal, neutral, pastel shades. Bright, multicolor designs are less common.
In two-story apartments, a decorative console is placed under the stairs - there is often a lot of free space there.
Styles
This piece of furniture is selected for any interior:
- classic - a cold stone countertop on marble legs, perfectly in harmony with other elements of the decor of stone,
- hi-tech - a brilliant element of chromed metal, glass, mirror elements, decorated with plasma cutting,
- Baroque - is made entirely of precious wood, is richly decorated with carvings, false parts made of stone, ivory, stands on its legs in the form of snakes, dragons,
- country - a light wooden structure, usually rounded, has thin slightly curved legs, drawers with curly handles,
- art-believe - the stand is made independently of euro-pallets, painted in bright colors, painted by hand,
- minimalism - a simple U-shaped design in white, gray, beige color, completely without decor,
- Art Deco - elegant wrought iron stand with a round top, legs on the legs in the form of animal, bird legs,
- loft - solid dark metal frame, the tabletop is thick, wooden, artificially aged,
- Japanese - entirely woven from rattan, usually freestanding, combined with the same chair, armchair, stool,
- marine - design in blue and blue, models of sailing ships, postcards with sea views are placed on top,
- modern - made of wood, MDF, has metal parts, an asymmetric configuration,
- Chinese - has narrow sides of the tabletop bent upwards, executed in red-brown tones, painted with hieroglyphs,
- ecological - made from almost untreated wooden parts, with knots, cracks, pieces of bark, decorated with fresh or dry flowers.
If it is impossible to fix a real console, they create a high-quality imitation of it - a shelf is hung on the wall, and legs are painted on the bottom or suitable moldings are glued.
Production material
The console is made of the same materials as any other piece of furniture:
- natural wood (beech, oak, hornbeam, cherry, walnut, pear, pine, spruce, larch, alder, etc.),
- natural, artificial stone (granite, quartz, marble, porcelain stoneware, agate, acrylic stone, etc.),
- plastic,
- Particleboard, MDF,
- metal (chrome, forged parts),
- glass (frosted, transparent, colored, patterned),
- rattan.
Often several materials are used simultaneously - wood for countertops and forged legs, stone bottom with glass top, MDF with decorative elements made of stone, wood.
It is advisable that some other pieces of furniture be made from the same material as the console.
Interior Application
The console is located in any room of the apartment, private house - kitchen, hallway, bedroom, nursery, living room, dressing room, study, bathroom. It can be strictly functional:
- serve as a stand for a TV, a narrow aquarium with fish,
- a compact dressing table, a dressing table with cosmetics
- partially close the battery for heating,
- shelf for storing books, notebooks, which are constantly used,
- jars with spices and spices are placed in the kitchen
- a place to place lighting fixtures,
- indoor plants in beautiful pots are put here.
Decorative is also widespread:
- serve to host any collections, emphasizing the enthusiasm of the owners of the premises
- decorated with candles in candelabra, souvenirs,
- become an addition to the picture, the mirror on the wall,
- become a bright accent detail of the interior,
- covered with knitted or embroidered napkins.
High coasters are more often used as interior decoration, lower - for practical purposes.
In the hall
The console in the corridor is installed near a long or short wall, in the wall, niche. Soft ottomans, boxes with shoes are placed under it, a mirror, a key holder, organizers for small items, hooks for hats and umbrellas are hung above the stand. Also, the design is sometimes equipped with drawers in which gloves, clothes brushes, shoe creams and others are folded. A large “full wall” mirror is made behind a transparent stand, on which lovely souvenirs, vases with dry bouquets are placed.
In the hallway on such a stand place a lighting device, in the form of a small floor lamp or two.
In the living room
The most common location for the cantilever structure in the living room is under the TV, opposite the dining area, the resting place. When the room has a very narrow window sill, the console is placed by the window, originally decorating this place or masking radiators. Plants in flowerpots, a collection of ceramic whistles, a series of photographs are placed on top of it, if necessary - a room fan.
In the piers between two window or doorways, an interior item of an appropriate length is installed. Sometimes the stand serves as a table, a kind of home bar, located next to the armrest or at the back, including between the sofa and the wall.
When the TV is hanging on the wall, on the stand under it is placed a game console, speaker system, Wi-Fi router.
In the office
In the working area, this piece of furniture serves as a stand for office equipment, often used office supplies, and papers. If there are additional shelves below, books are stored there, several sockets are mounted nearby for charging mobile phones, tablets. The design can also become an additional workplace, especially if it is not possible to organize it in a separate room. The decorative console is decorated with potted plants, corporate photos, souvenirs from the company.
A cup with morning coffee, a saucer with cookies, an electric kettle is also easy to place on a stand, if you are too lazy to go to the kitchen.
In the bedroom
Here, the design is placed next to the closet, bed or window. The spacious bedroom has two small consoles on either side of the bed, and bedside lamps, including nightlights, are placed on them. The most popular option is to use it as a compact dressing table: then several drawers are necessarily made in it, and a large mirror is hung on top. Less often at a console table they sit with a laptop, make up a to-do list of purchases in a notebook. A tall, long construction with wheels is rolled over the bed, using as a table for breakfast, dinner, a decorative element is decorated with soft toys, various children's crafts.
If there is a canopy, a gap over the bed, the console is designed in a similar style.
In the kitchen
The console will become a practical detail of the kitchen, if you place on it cans with cereals, boxes with spices. Sometimes a salt shaker, sugar bowl, napkin holder, carafe with filtered water for drinking is also put here. In a cramped kitchenette, the design plays the role of a miniature buffet or bar counter, which, if necessary, folds out into a real dining table. Decorative is decorated with a narrow tablecloth or towel, decorated with a collection of souvenir bottles from expensive drinks, designer packaging for tea.
From below, the cantilever tabletop is illuminated with an LED strip to create a romantic atmosphere.
Conclusion
A furniture console is a necessary, useful thing, especially in cramped rooms, as it does not take up much space. There are many options for using the design; some companies even offer entire console headsets, with mirrors, shelves, cabinets, and retractable seats. This interior item is easy to make from improvised materials with your own hands.
Console as a bright accent
These items of furniture in the interior can be both inconspicuous, and be the subject of emphasis, the owner of bizarre shapes and finishes. The console table is often finished with marble and malachite, as well as gilding.
In modern houses, a common prefix is to put a bright console in the most favorable place. The design should not differ from the style of the room, for example, baroque. Against a neutral background, a bright console will become the main figure in the room. Do not forget about the combination of color and finish of the product. Ottomans are usually put on the table, and the picture is completed.
Choosing a console table in accordance with the style of the room, consider the following. In a minimalist style, a table with an abundance of decor will not look; you should prefer a small table lamp. In the classical style, the main thing is symmetry. Usually in the middle of the side table they put a mirror with a chic frame or a composition of paintings. A classic can have many decorative elements.
Current side tables are usually restrained and concise. Another problem can be solved using the console for storing items in the room. Many products have a cabinet close by and drawers under the countertop. Beautiful frames with photos, table lamps fill the interior with individuality. Modern consoles can also be laid out.
