The console table is one of those pieces that earns its keep in nearly every room of the house. In a hallway it catches keys and gives you somewhere to land when you come through the door. In a living room it creates a moment behind the sofa. In a dining room it holds everything the table cannot. Black is the finish we keep coming back to because it does something that natural wood and white often do not. It grounds a space. It makes the things sitting on top of it look deliberate rather than collected. A black console table does not blend in and that is entirely the point. What we looked for here was proper construction, proportions that work in real rooms rather than showrooms, and that quality of darkness in the finish that reads as considered rather than stark. Some are sleek and minimal. Some have more going on. All of them are worth more than a passing glance.