Looking again at Craigslist, and I continue to be amused.

Caught ... mid-lick.

Honestly. Wouldn't you have tried to shoo him off before taking the photo? LOL!

I'm with your DH on this one and think you should keep your hallway open and clear. I do like the idea of a small table in the corner by the front door though. And are your other lights on dimmers?

No, they are not on dimmers. That's something we should probably get around to doing throughout the house sooner rather than later.

Here's a sweet little Mission style corner table. I'd definitely negotiate shipping, tho.

@auntjen, here's one I have been wanting for my own home, very similar to the one you posted -- it's only 9" deep by 32" wide.

Dimmers make all the difference in the world!

How about a night light until you find the right table?

banyan leaf night light

A nightlight's not a bad idea.

Hooker makes some really pretty narrow consoles. Not sure how well this goes with our style; on the other hand, I'm not even quite sure what our style is. I like this though, but their pieces are a bit pricey ... $662 at Wayfair.

Edit: $648 on Amazon. Getting better, but still a bit rich for me.

The one thing you need to keep in mind if using one without an open back is to use an LED bulb, so the fixture doesn't get hot.

I have the one above in our courtyard entryway and one of these porcelain lights in the keeping room.

porcelain night lights

Those are lovely, Cindy. I would have a hard time choosing one!

The more I look at that Hooker piece, the more I am falling in love with it.

Top:

Another pic:

And one more:

Our front door is knotty alder and wrought iron and has a very rustic-elegant look about it. That's how this piece strikes me, and I think it would be a good choice for the space, provided it fits.

I used to have a Hooker computer armoire, bought about 8 years ago and the quality was very good, a solid and well made piece.

Thanks, chispa. I've owned Hooker furniture in the past and agree that the quality is very nice indeed. Probably well worth the $648 (lowest I've found so far), but when I first started thinking about this I was considering around $200 for a table. I didn't count on this lovely thing showing its face though. ;-)

Sadly, I have to face the fact that the Hooker console will completely fill the space width-wise and be a bit overwhelming because of that. Too, even at a mere 12" deep, it will also still cut into too much of the walkway to satisfy DH. And then, there's the price.

What will work best is going to be something in the corner to the right of the front door. I like this piece (also from Hooker), and will continue my search.

Gorgeous!

I think it looks too narrow to put a table. Even if it does allow plenty of room for passage, it would feel like something you need to get around.

OMG those leg tables are horrific.

Can you do a floorplan with the round one? The one you photoshopped doesnt look to scale.

Oh, that wasn't anything close to being Photoshopped. Much more primitive - my mockups are done in Word and then captured with a screen shot. Pitiful! LOL! But you're right - the hallway will accommodate a console table, but I think it would throw the whole space off slightly to have one there. The round table by the door would work well though. I need to do some measuring when I get home later to see exactly what size table would fit.

I think the round table (like a plant stand) or one of those small wall-attached demi-lunes will work much better in that space next to the door. I think it will also be more handy. The one you posted with the small drawer will be quite handy, for holding spare keys and a flashlight.

I agree with other posters-the hallway is extremely beautiful as it is..if you do find a narrow console table that will be a match in terms of a general feel-it will need to be either a very, very lucky Craigslist find, or it will be very expensive-and still will throw things off.

When you look for this tiny table next to the door(I agree it's much better option here)-search for "pedestal table"(unless you already do that, LOL). These are very small and can be very interesting, sculptural, etc.

Another nice idea that was given here already- a sconce. I doubt that you'll have space for anything on a tiny table if you put a lamp on it anyway..except maybe keys, for a moment.

I wouldn't want to see anything with legs as it inhibits the walking space but attached are wall pieces and you may find on the will work well with one of the art pieces. wall tables

OOPs. sorry, forgot to press copy, hold on

https://www.google.com/search?q=narrow+table+attached+to+wall&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8

Yayagal, your "wall tables" link is a link to images of BOSTON CHRISTMAS WINDOWS 1958.

Auntjen, that is the kind of "photoshopping" i do, too! DH bought me photoshop for xmas last yr (or the yr before?) but I have never sunk the time into figuring it out!

Jen, I can't 'see' a regular table height by the front door, especially with the high ceilings~it will look dwarfed. IMO, a taller plantstand would work very well, and you could 'top' it with a native American sculpture, rather than the 'expected' plant. It would also be a good excuse to purchase one you may have had your eye on...........or a Christmas gift for DH. ;)

While I absolutely love the Hooker table(and most things Hooker!)find it may be a bit ornate. IMO, the one mdln posted looks to be more in keeping with other furniture pieces seen in your home. Just my 2 cents.......

I was just looking at the one mdln posted a little while ago! I like it - just not sure about the drawer on the end though, which makes it look a bit like it should not be placed length-wise against a wall - ? I've also been thinking about a wall table as suggested, but think I need an actual table as I want to put a lamp on top and need to be able to snake a cord down behind the piece.

When I get home this evening I think I will play around with a couple of my Stickley accent tables that I have in other areas of the house to see what they look like by the front door. I've got one in particular that's upstairs on the landing next to the chair that the cats like to lounge on, and they don't need a table. ;-) The height may be an issue, as it is true that the high ceilings may dwarf a table if it isn't tall enough. That's what I loved about the Hooker console, at 36" high. Darn it all.

Thanks for helping me to continue to think this through! You know how obsessed I can get. ;-)

Along the same lines as pattycake's thinking, I started out looking for a narrow hall-tree type piece with a shelf for lamp, when I spotted that little triangle table, above. I found a few, but nothing with a great place for a lamp. But maybe a plant stand with the lamp instead, to give it all a bit more height.

I have the one that I posted. The little drawer is not really noticable; I was afraid of the same thing. It was so cute and inexpensive, I bought it and do not regret it. I have it placed lengthwise against a wall.

I think a table by the door would work much better than one in the hall even though it is wide enough to accommodate a narrow table. You have great taste so whatever you end up with will look grand!

If this is mostly a lighting issue, what about installing a dimmer switch?

Thank you all so much! I do still like the thought of a little triangle-shaped table, but haven't found anything that absolutely knocks my socks off (yet). We did discuss the lighting/dimmer issue upthread and I do want to install them. I also like the thought of a lamp in this space somewhere. Makes me happy to go out and come back in after dark, when a little lamp has been left lighting the foyer. :-)

What about tucking a torchiere floor lamp in the space to the right of the door? I believe there would be plenty of room - certainly so, if a table will fit there.

Not necessarily any of these specific lamps, but just to see where my brain is going ...

Just remembered I have one of these upstairs that isn't working. I'll try it in the space and see how it looks. Nothing ventured ... Although I can't seem to find a single photo of a torchiere floor lamp in a foyer (unless it's next to a piece of furniture), so maybe that's "just not done."

My entry is like that also. It's narrow, and although I could have a small table I don't, because there is a lot of activity that occurs in this space. What I do have is a shel which is about 5 inches wide. The shelf can hold a few things, and it does not get knocked around. It looks nice and also serves a purpose...mail basket,Eric.

I'm with your husband on this one. A table in a wide hallway is welcoming and gracious. A table in close quarters where two people could not pass by each other in front of the table is awkward and fussy. Dont do it-----Your lovely, spacious house does not need to be filled with furniture, especially junk from Kirkland's!

But no insult intended to those who have bought from Kirkland's, right? Wow.

Ouch!! Actually i've only been in a Kirkland's twice. I thought it was very similar to Pier One but the selection was less. Calling it 'junk' might be considered a bit harsh IMO.

How often are 2 people passing by one another in that hallway? I think a very narrow, table (like the ones posted by tib, MizGG, yours posted @1:44, or mine) would look good in the space.

Tape up a cardboard box the size you are considering (putting something heavy inside it, on the bottom [I used gallon paint cans]); let it live there for a couple weeks, and see if it works.

I think I'm going to buy a nightlight, install dimmers on the overheads, and call it good.

The torchiere floor lamp just looked gangly and silly. DH pointed out that the cats will use a table next to the door to possibly springboard right outside when the door is opened so that is definitely not going to work. The Stickley table that I brought from upstairs to try in the corner next to the door was instantly pounced on by Penny. That settles it. No table next to the door.

DH is opposed to a hallway table of any sort. I have to keep in mind that he is much bigger than me and his spatial experience is not the same as mine. Where I think something is fine and there's enough room to maneuver around, he often feels like a bull in a china shop and prefers more openness. I get that now, and I respect it. I just need to remember it!

I'm going to take another look at the nightlights Cindy linked to. Those were quite nice.

My apologies to anyone who was offended by my remark about Kirkland's. Our area of the state often gets the absolute worst merchandise for a particular store type. The Kirklands closest to me has occasional furniture that is terrible quality---scratched, poorly assembled, etc. Your mileage---or your Kirkland's----may vary. Ours does have nice pillows and casual serving stuff but I don't think anyone here would like the tables ours has on offer.

I think all of these stores vary by region. I remember going to a Kirkland's in a local mall that seemed junky to me. A new Kirkland's has recently opened near my new home (right next to Home Goods) and it's quite nice. They carry a lot of the same style of furniture (mostly distressed cottage style), and I've seen some things I thought were quite attractive - just not things that fit my current style or needs.

Not necessarily this particular one, although it is nice, a corner table?

That's pretty.

But I've resigned myself to the dimmers and a nightlight. What I witnessed last night with cat behavior around a table so close to the front door made me realize the danger of losing them to a quick dart out the front (and we face a very busy street), should they spring to the top of the table and out the door, or worse, somehow manage to hide behind the table and then make a break for it. We watch them very closely when we're coming in and going out. They exhibit some mild curiosity as to what's "out there" beyond the front door, but so far there has been no indication that they're going to try to find out for themselves. They generally just move on back when we tell them to get away from the door, but I can see how a piece of furniture so close to the door would add confusion and possible "cat intrigue" into the mix. It's not worth it.

I think I shall entitle my memoirs, "Cats: This Is Why We Can't Have Nice Things."

;-)

Now that you seem to have made up your mind I will tell you my thoughts. Every picture of some very nice tables I pictured myself pulling my Miele vac through the hall & how often I would knock into the table.

LOL! Yep, once we get past the "romance" of adding new furniture, the reality of what would have been can be eye opening! More surfaces = more things to dust, more things for the cats to jump up on and knock things off of, more things for DH to swing a bag full of groceries into, more hassle and annoyance when all I really wanted was a place to put a pretty little lamp.

;-)

Where are your outlets? Might you consider a plug in sconce with a cord cover?

I'm not sure if anyone has mentioned this, but what about lighting for your art? It could have double duty by providing dim light for the hallway plus highlighting your art. Of course, it would require an electrician but the total cost would probably be less than that piece of Hooker furniture.

This house has a ridiculous number of electrical outlets! In the entry alone, I think there are six! ('Course, this feels positively luxurious, coming from a 75 year old house with a woefully inadequate number of outlets.) I'm not sure where we would hang a sconce, as I have added smaller paintings on the walls to the right and left of the door (one on each side) and I really don't want to move them. I'll keep thinking about that option though.

I like the idea of lighting for the art, and may pursue that in the future. My dad worked in the lighting industry for many years and his would be a good brain to pick as to what would work best in this area.

Battery-operated LED picture lights are available. Not sure if they're any good though. You could try one and see whether you like it?

Your night lights and dimmers are great options. If you decide that doesn't work, would you consider hard-wired picture lights above your art inside the top of the arches or over the art in the alcove?

I don't think an electrician would be that expensive, but picture lights would take some shopping around as they can be pricey from some sources. I'm renovating a house, so I see the electrician every few weeks and am always tweaking the existing outlets/lights.