DESIGN IDEA: Credenza or Console Table

We have spent the past couple weeks looking for a piece of storage/cabinetry furniture to go just inside the front door.  The top of this piece will serve as a landing strip for keys, phones, anything we need to remember to take with us when we leave the house.  But it should also have a couple drawers along the top and, if it is to be especially practical it should also have cabinets below.

We weren't sure what the thing we were looking for would be called.  I began by looking for credenzae (I've decided that is the plural!) and breakfronts.  Searches for credenzae mostly produced pictures of office furniture (including some beautiful Florence Knoll (henceforth, FloKno) pieces with walnut panels and marble tops) alternating with lots of those teak/walnut MCM pieces with the ridiculous dated designy shapes on the doors and pulls.  Also, most credenzae are much lower than we would want.  I think 30" is the absolute minimum height although V is more flexible (which helps when having to stoop to get your keys of the low top surface). 

The big problem was that most of what I was seeing was too deep.  In order for this piece to not jut out in front of the big deep-contoured window moldings (which, are a good 8 inches wide), it can't be deeper than 18 inches.  Plus, the floor moldings are almost 2 inches deep so it would be best if the legs of whatever we get are recessed a little at least on the back so that the top of it actually abuts the wall.  

Once you get down to the shallower pieces, it seems the things we're looking for are called "Console Tables".  So, that's nice.  Now we know what to call the thing we're looking for.

Maximum width is 76" or it will block the door, but it would make sense to go closer to 54" and leave some room on either side. 

Anyway, we found a lovely looking Baker cabinet on CL - and we talked ourselves into it.  Then we found out that it was sold already.  Bummer!

So back to the drawing board.  Here is a slew of pics of "console tables" - all except the first one are from Overstock.com.  The first one is just a prop in an ad for a sweater pattern from the Swan Island Yarn company website -- too bad, it's my favorite.

and here are some more from various sources found by googling "console table" or "console cabinet":

Here are a few of the links for ones I like:
http://www.zinhome.com/french-oak-console-table/ 
http://www.rubylane.com/item/332834-U-C2712/Retro-Tambour-Door-Cabinet-TV
http://www.aaafurnituredirect.com/servlet/the-18865/Jonathan-Charles-492973-CONSOLE/Detail
http://robertbortreeandassociates.com/custom13.htm