Chinese Altar Tables Set a Soulful Tone at Home

When it comes to foundation pieces, few things are as timeless and useful as the console. Its long, lean lines and minimal depth help make the most of space-constrained rooms. To add a touch of intrigue, consider using a Chinese altar table as a console in an entry, to anchor a floating sofa and more.

These tables date back hundreds of years; the Chinese refer to them as a gong an, or temple table, and traditionally use them as a place of worship to honor ancestors and gods with daily offerings. Their elegant lines and inherent meaning give them a soulful appeal, while the variety of available heights and sizes makes them versatile. Here’s how to incorporate one into your design.

Original Chinese altar tables were created by skilled craftsmen using hand-carving methods rarely seen today. Some have wing-like swooping edges and are born from a single piece of wood, without visible seams or joints. Tables that do not have raised ends are referred to as Ming-style tables.

Tip: A seamless winged top is a good but not foolproof way to tell if a table is original.

Altar tables vary greatly in size and appearance. Some have such a minimalist design that they may be mistaken for ordinary writing desks, while others feature ornate carvings that clearly speak to their Asian heritage.

Some altar tables have straight legs, some are adorned with horse hooves, and others are joined at the bottom with small beams. They may be made with solid vertical panels or beaded and floating panels that were originally intended to contract and expand with moisture and temperature changes in the environment.


Contemporary altar tables can have a similar shape and style to older pieces but are usually glued or nailed together rather than fitted together with pegs. They are less ornate and often have a manufactured look to their “distressed” finish. They are less expensive than their antique and vintage counterparts and may be preferred due to their more modern profile.

Cost: Antique and vintage altar tables can range from $400 to as high as $12,000 so, depending on the price of the piece you are considering, you may want to have an appraiser review your table before purchase.

As with all vintage and antique furniture, there are many counterfeit pieces on the market. To ensure that you are buying a table with age and provenance, research dealers online, looking for positive reviews and a strong reputation.



7 Great Ways to Use Altar Tables

1. As side tables. Steeped in history and expertly crafted, antique altar tables are a special piece of decor on which to display photos, flowers, art or important memorabilia. Smaller altar tables placed on either side of a sofa are an elegant and unexpected stand-in for side tables.


2. As a sofa table. Using an altar table behind a sofa provides a bit of global mystique. In a bright and airy minimalist space, a heavy, dark wood piece can anchor the layout and give an otherwise ethereal room a sense of history and depth.

See how to pick the right end tables for your sofa


3. As a vanity. As a bathroom vanity, an altar table offers maximum counter space and has an open framework below that helps the room feel larger. Less dense than a furniture-style vanity, an altar provides an organic counterpoint to tile and metal fixtures.

If vanity storage is a concern but you’re in love with this look, you could add wall shelves to hold smaller items, like perfumes and cotton swabs, in lidded containers, while large woven baskets under the vanity could hold towels and toilet tissue. A stack of hinged boxes could be put into service to hold toothpaste and cosmetics without taking from the overall look and feel of openness.

See how to pick out a vanity


4. In an entry. Most commonly used as an entry table, an altar can set the tone for the design story in the rest of the house, or it can blend seamlessly into the overall decor. Lacquered pieces, generally red or black, have a strong presence that can be balanced with large-scale accessories such as the blue and white lamps seen here or a statement-making mirror.

No entry hall? Create the illusion of one


A stained wood altar can work as a stand-alone art piece that turns an entry into a special space. Here the simple styling belies the inherent strength and gracefulness the piece brings to its surroundings.


5. As a kitchen island. The length and minimized width of a galley-style kitchen calls for an island that is equally linear. An altar table works as a unique take on a butcher block island and provides decent prep space. You can keep it in place with nonskid disks like the ones used to keep a bed frame from sliding across the floor.

Tip: You can move the kitchen island to double as a serving table when entertaining.

See more ideas for vintage kitchen islands


6. As a media stand. A wall-mounted flat screen can look too free-form with nothing to underscore its placement. A typical media stand can seem boxy in smaller spaces. In minimalist and contemporary homes, a slim, streamlined media stand adds to the overall unity of the room, making an altar table a great choice.


7. As a buffet or bar. You may be surprised at the generous amount of storage an altar-style cabinet offers for dishes, serveware and linens despite its slim profile.

In the room here, the altar-style cabinet turns what would have been a contemporary space into something more balanced, warm and eclectic.

Tip: An altar-style cabinet also makes a fantastic impromptu bar. When you’re not entertaining, bottles and glasses can be stored underneath, while a pretty tray stocked with vintage decanters can act as the mainstays on top.

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