Buy 25-35 cm of depth, 75-85 cm of height, and never more than your hall's clear width minus 90 cm. A console that is 30 cm deep takes keys, post and a lamp without turning the corridor into an obstacle course; 40 cm is the point where two people can no longer pass each other in a 110 cm hall. Height 75-85 cm puts the top just below a door handle (usually 100 cm), which is where the eye expects a flat surface.
Shop the pieces in this guide
The length rule: clear width minus 90 cm
Walkway width is the constraint nobody measures. Two people need 90 cm to pass without turning sideways; one person with a bag needs 60 cm. In a 110 cm hallway that leaves a 20 cm console — a wall shelf, not a table. In a 140 cm hallway you get 50 cm, enough for a slim drawer unit. The 90-100 cm consoles only work in halls of 190 cm and wider.
Measure at the skirting boards, not at eye level. Skirting adds 1.5-2 cm per side and door frames another 2-3 cm, which is enough to turn a "fits" into a "doesn't".
| Hall clear width | Max console length | What actually fits |
|---|---|---|
| 90-110 cm | 20 cm | Wall shelf 15 cm deep, nothing on legs |
| 110-140 cm | 50 cm | Slim shoe cabinet 65 × 17 cm, wall-hung |
| 140-190 cm | 100 cm | Shoe cabinet 78 × 38 cm, or a 90 cm bench |
| 190 cm + | 100-140 cm | Full console with drawers, mirror above |
Depth: why 30 cm is the useful number
A shoe cabinet at 17 cm deep is a filing cabinet — good for 12 pairs and nothing else. At 26-30 cm you gain a top surface deep enough for a tray, a lamp and a bowl, and the cabinet still clears a 90 cm walkway in a 120 cm hall. Beyond 38 cm you are buying a sideboard and should treat it as furniture, not storage.
Watch the doors. Hinged doors need their width again in swing space (40-50 cm); sliding or tilt-out fronts need zero. In a hallway under 130 cm wide, tilt-out or sliding is not a preference, it is the only option that keeps the corridor usable.
Height and the mirror above
Top surface at 75-85 cm. Below 70 cm you will stoop to drop keys; above 90 cm it reads as a bar table. Hang the mirror so its centre sits at 145-150 cm and its bottom edge clears the console top by 15-20 cm — that gap is what stops the wall looking crowded and keeps the mirror usable while standing.
If the console is the only light source point in the hall, put a 40-50 cm tall lamp on it; the shade bottom should sit at 110-120 cm so you are not looking into the bulb.
What to put on it (and what not)
- Yes: one tray (A4 size), one lamp, one bowl, a mirror above. Three objects maximum.
- No: coats on the back of a console chair, stacks of post, anything taller than 45 cm that blocks the mirror.
- Storage maths: a 78 cm wide shoe cabinet holds 15 pairs on four shelves; a 65 cm tilt-out unit holds 12 pairs in 17 cm of depth.
If the hall is the only place for coats, pair the console with hooks at 170-180 cm rather than draping them over the top — the hook height guide has the numbers, and the entryway layout guide covers the full 2 m² plan.
Keep reading
More dimension guides are in the collection, and the full index is on the furnolio journal.
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