Wood Telephone Table

Caroline Patterson Interior Design Expert

Caroline is a young, New York-based interior designer and home decor writer, obsessed with textiles and designer furniture. Backed with rigorous training from a prestigious design school, as well as a profound understanding of material quality and fabric care, she offers spot-on advice on how to furnish your place with reliable, functional, and aesthetically pleasing pieces.

Updated 21/03/2021

In the days when telephones were lashed to a short cord or hooked to the wall, for the daily dose of gossip, a person would stand or sit in one place to get the full scoop. Eventually, the telephone table and chair combination was born. We have a fun and classic collection of those very wood telephone tables for the old days, that can still be relevant for today's uses.

Buying Guide

A wood telephone table could be part of your added productivity plan. By placing the phone away from your desk, you are less likely to answer it during your working hours. This can be especially important for people who work at home. By letting the answering machine take your calls, and muting the volume, you can keep your inspiration flow going and still get all your important calls. A telephone table can also be positioned in a hallway or other shared area so that in a household where only one phone is available it can be shared by all.

What are the uses of a wooden telephone table?

A telephone table is almost becoming an anachronism as more and more people are moving toward personal phones instead of one central house phone. Even so, a telephone table can be a handy furnishing. It can be used as a plant stand, as a small desk or as a support for a three-dimensional work of art. It can be a place to put your phone – even if it is your personal one – along with a charging station. Or it can be the central location for all the family phones when they are not in use.

What's the selection of wooden telephone table out there?

Unfinished Telephone Table

A simple telephone table usually consists of a square table top surface that is about eight to ten inches wide and deep. A small drawer is right under the table surface, making a handy place to keep a telephone directory. The unfinished stand can be stained, painted or left its natural color. If the latter is chosen, it can either be coated with a sealer to preserve the natural blond color of the wood, or it can be allowed to slowly weather to a soft grey.

An Elegant Telephone Table

The basic telephone table theme can be expanded to create a beautiful piece of furniture, not unlike Louis XIV style, with the slender legs and the graceful body. With that said, the design still preserves the small table top, but instead of the single drawer beneath the top of the table, there is an open space where an ornament can be placed. Three small drawers at the bottom allow for a collection of phone books to be stored.

The Hall Secretary Telephone Table

This is a truly beautiful piece of furniture. Shaped to resemble a small secretary desk, it has a decorative lip at the back of the top shelf, a small drawer under the shelf and then the primary table top. On either end of the table, there are compartments with lift-up lids, just right for small things such as a notepad and pen, postage stamps, and envelopes. Beneath the lower table top is a wider drawer that could conceal a phone directory or stationery. The legs are unbraced and there is no lower shelf. A small chair could easily be teamed with this table, making it a desk or workstation.