Brunel 180cm Console Table: Does It Suit Your Dining Room?

The Brunel is a long, architectural console. Its frame is built up in layered steps, with a rustic wood-effect finish on the inner layers and a matte black outer edge, so from the front it looks like a set of nested frames. There are no drawers and no shelf: it is one long surface on a stepped frame.

It is the longest console we sell, and it is made for a big wall. Here is how to tell whether your dining room is the right place for it.

Size at a glance

Measurement	Brunel
Width	180 cm
Depth	29.5 cm
Height	83 cm
Construction	Engineered wood
Finish	Reclaimed wood effect with a matte black outer frame
Storage	None, open display surface

Size and fit in a dining room

Wall length

At 180cm wide, the Brunel needs a long, uninterrupted wall. In most homes that means the long wall of a rectangular dining room, the back wall of a kitchen extension, or the side of an open-plan space. Check for radiators, sockets and door frames along the run before you commit, since a console this long does not leave much room to shuffle it left or right. If the wall is only just long enough, a shorter console such as the 120cm Fitzroy will look more comfortable.

Depth against a walkway

Length is the headline, but the Brunel is only 29.5cm deep. That keeps it close to the wall, which matters when it runs the full length of a table. As general guidance, leave about 90cm behind a pulled-out chair for people to get past, and measure that from the front of the console rather than the wall. Because the Brunel covers so much of the wall, every chair on that side of the table is affected, so the measurement is worth taking carefully. Our guide on what size dining table suits your room walks through the method.

There are no doors or drawers to open, so nothing projects into the walkway beyond the top itself.

Height against our tables

All three of our dining tables are 75cm tall. At 83cm, the Brunel is the tallest console in our range, and its top sits clearly above the table line. That gives a strong horizontal on the wall, which suits a long room. It also works well as a serving counter, since a taller surface is comfortable to stand at while plating up or pouring drinks.

Which of our tables it sits behind well

The natural partner is the Dakota, our 140cm rectangular table. The Brunel is longer than the table, so on a long wall it frames the whole table and runs a little beyond each end. The two also share a look: the Dakota has a rustic wood-effect top on a black powder-coated X-frame base, and the Brunel has a rustic wood-effect finish with a black outer frame. Put together, they read as a set without being identical. Our Dakota room planning guide covers the table side of the layout.

With the 120cm round Aaronsburg, the Brunel can work in a larger room, especially in the rustic brown finish, but a round table on its own does not need this much wall. Beside the 80cm square Pimlico, the Brunel would overwhelm the table in most rooms, and the Beaumont is a better fit.

One finish, and how to style it

The Brunel comes in one finish: rustic wood effect with a matte black frame. That two-tone look suits industrial and modern rooms, and it sits comfortably with black metal chair legs and darker wood tones.

With 180cm of surface, the Brunel carries a lot more than a standard console. A wide piece of art or a long mirror above it, a lamp at each end, and a low group of objects in the middle is a simple layout that suits the length. In a dining room it also makes a good drinks or serving station, with room for glasses and a board at one end and a lamp at the other.

Because there is no storage, think about where the napkins and placemats will live. If you need both display and drawers, the Brunel paired with a storage piece elsewhere in the room, or a smaller console like the Beaumont, may suit you better.

In open-plan rooms, the Brunel can also stand behind a sofa to mark where the living area ends and the dining area begins. Our small dining room ideas has more on dividing space in a combined room.

Living with it

Wipe it with a soft, dry cloth. For stubborn marks, a slightly damp cloth is fine, but dry the surface straight away. Avoid harsh chemicals and abrasive cleaners, and protect it from direct sunlight and excess moisture.

In practice, that means a mat under anything hot and a coaster under drinks, particularly if you use it for serving. A long console in front of a sunny window is worth watching, as the care notes ask you to keep it out of direct sunlight.

Where to go next

See the Brunel product page for photos and full details. For more on consoles in a dining room, read using a console table in the dining room, and browse the full range in console tables or our dining tables. Delivery is free to mainland UK, most orders arrive in 3 to 5 working days, and you have 30 days to return it.