Console yourself; Able tables are so useful.

STILL searching for that ideal partner who's slim, good-looking and practical?

Tracking down that elusive combination can be tricky but don't overlook a housemate who has all those credentials - the console table.

This versatile piece of furniture fits snugly into even the most awkward narrow space and with its slender, streamlined shape rarely dominates and is always useful.

After all, where else can you pop your keys, the post and all the other miscellaneous but essential items that need storing somewhere you won't forget them?

Console tables, thought to have originated in France in the eighteenth century, are also a good place for showing off that precious piece like an objet d'art or a collection of treasures, because their traditionally simple design means they don't compete for attention with the display.

Ian Bisatt, Multiyork's head of design and development says: "Console tables have a great presence, whether it's to welcome guests into a hallway or to echo the style of a home in a sitting room.

"As well as being proportionally elegant, they are also very useful and serve a functional purpose. Quite simply, these popular tables fill a space where normal tables just don't fit."

So even if personal romance is proving hard to find, you could find the perfect match for your home with our guide to some of the best console tables.

Knock on wood

WOODEN consoles are probably the most popular, and you can choose from contemporary, Eastern and traditional styles.

Check out John Lewis' collection. Our top choices include the modern Criss Cross table in a light oak veneer with a clear glass table top surface, pounds 295.

Alternatively, create an Oriental atmosphere with its Mandalay console table, with a lauan frame and marine plywood top with sandstone crackle finish. It costs pounds 325.

The Sonoma console table at Marks & Spencer is contemporary and practical and it comes in a dark oak stained finish. It has two drawers and a glass lower shelf. It costs pounds 349. Matching mirror, pounds 199.

See-through style

GLASS furniture has a light, airy feel and can look dramatic if spotlit, so it's a must in a fashion-conscious home.

The design-savvy will make their first stop Ocean's range which includes stunning glass tables. A glass console table, with an undershelf costs pounds 475.

Greenapple specializes in glass furniture and has an excellent console table collection.

Some are solely glass while others are a clever blend of wood and glass. They start from around pounds 460.

A simple glass console with a glass undershelf costs pounds 495.

Mirror mirror

CAPTURE the atmosphere of the 30s with a mirrored console, which reflects the light and would be an asset in a dark hallway.

Graham & Green's mirrored furniture collection includes a console table, pounds 549 for a small size or pounds 581 for a large (right). Matching mirror, pounds 445.

If you're watching the pennies, Next's mirrored console table, with two drawers, is a bargain at only pounds 199.

Show off console

SOME consoles just want to be the centre of attention!

If you're looking for something a little bit special, stand out from the crowd with these stunning versions.

The Shell console from Andrew Martin definitely falls into that category, with its decoration of a huge variety of tropical shells.

It costs from pounds 1,595. Also look out for an ornate Obsession table, available in brown or white, which costs pounds 695.

Habitat's Lorenzo well-designed console table looks as though it should cost twice the price. It is oblong in oak veneer, with a tempered glass shelf and top.

It costs pounds 199.

CAPTION(S):

CONTEMPORARY AND PRACTICAL: The Sonama console table from Marks & Spencer, pounds 349. Sonama mirror, pounds 199. Rockland chair, pounds 599' MODERN: The Criss Cross table at John Lewis' LOOKS FISHY: The Shell from Andrew Martin