A console is the easiest piece of stone furniture to get right, because it carries almost nothing and is seen from one side. That frees you to use the most dramatic slab in the yard — a heavily veined marble that would be overwhelming across a whole kitchen is exactly right on a 1.4 metre top in a hallway.
The top is normally 20 mm, mitred down the front and returns to read as a thicker slab without the weight of a solid one. A 40 mm mitred edge is the usual choice; 60 mm and above starts to look deliberate rather than substantial. If the console is against a wall, the back edge can be left square and unpolished, which saves both stone and money.
Bases are the decision that dates a console faster than the stone does. Stone legs in the same material read as a single carved block and age well. Blackened or brushed steel is the safe contemporary choice and lets a thinner top sit lighter. Whichever you choose, the base has to be set out before the top is cut, because the overhang determines whether the top needs support at the centre.
Consoles get leaned on, and stone is strong in compression but weak in tension — a top that spans between two end legs with nothing in the middle will eventually crack if someone sits on it. Anything over about 1.6 metres between supports wants a central leg or a steel spine bonded underneath.
Specification at a glance
- 20 mm slab, usually mitred to a 40 mm apparent edge
- Cut to your wall length — no fixed sizes
- Stone, steel or timber bases
- Back edge can be left square where it meets a wall
- Support required over ~1.6 m between legs
- Bookmatched pairs available in most marbles
Work out what you need
Give K2 the wall length, the height you want and a photograph of the space, and the slab can be selected to suit it.