Name the job
If the intended contents are a key bowl and the day's post, a full console may be more furniture than the task needs. A small shelf, an existing cupboard top or another nearby surface could serve the same purpose. Decide where those objects should live before choosing the piece that will contain them.
If you also need drawers for gloves or a lower shelf for bags, measure those items. A console with tiny decorative drawers may not offer the storage its appearance suggests. Check internal dimensions and the space required to open them in the hallway.
Measure the route at its tightest point
Door handles, skirting and the console's own handles all project into the passage. Measure the narrowest usable gap, not just wall to wall. Walk through carrying the things normally brought inside: shopping bags, a suitcase or a laundry basket. Test the needs of everyone who uses the hall.
Pay attention to the front door and nearby room doors. A tabletop corner should not stop a door opening normally or create a squeeze behind it. A console may fit along a clear wall but become awkward precisely where people turn into another room.
Legs and lower shelves matter at floor level. A splayed base can catch feet even when the top appears narrow. If shoes tend to collect underneath, include them in the assessment rather than imagining a permanently empty floor around the furniture.
Check what a drawer would do to the passage while someone sorts the post. A shallow table with long drawers can occupy much more of the hall during use. A single open shelf may serve the same small collection more easily, provided it does not encourage loose objects to spill onto the floor.
Let omission be an option
Try the hall without the table for a few days. If the route improves and the contents easily find a better home, you have learned something useful. A hallway does not need a console to be furnished. It may need a secure place for keys, good light and less furniture. Where a console does earn its place, keep its top from expanding into a general landing zone for everything carried through the door.
