19th c. French Console Table

Found in Montpellier, this 19th-century French table spent its working life as a surface to get things done on, its thick top marked by years of use, long before it became a console. The splayed legs and the low shelf beneath point to a work table, built heavy and plain to stand up to daily work, the shelf there to keep tools or baskets up off the floor. When the work finally moved on, a table like this found its second life against the wall of a front room, too good and too solid to give up. Sylvie stands it in an entry with a lamp, a bowl for keys, and a stack of books on the shelf below.