table: what sort of table is this?

[JennyShaw]

I bought this table from a charity shop. I can't work out what it is meant for. It is higher and more sturdy than a kitchen table. The top is 34 inches (87 cm) from the floor. The top is mostly tiled but partly wood.

I have 3 ideas about what it could be meant for

1. laundry room
2. utility room
3. food preparation

I have looked on the IKEA site and can find nothing like it. Laundry tables don't look like it and food preparation tables seem to be mostly stainless steel. What do you think? Perhaps you have one just like it.

Having Google Lens'd it, it appears to be a breakfast bar that used to have stools that fitted underneath, on the wooden slats.

Yes, it looks so similar that you must be right. The only thing different is that my one couldn't have stools underneath because it's a continuous shelf. Unless the stools are meant to go on the shelf when not in use?

Surely it’s a table for whichever purpose you bought it ?

I assume it's intended to be like this:

https://dynamic-media-cdn.tripadvisor.com/media/photo-o/23/94/83/85/warwick-holiday-flats.jpg?w=1100&h=1100&s=1

It's a taxidermist's bench for stuffing owls.

I think.

It looks very much like one of those pics and it has the same shelf too. Maybe you rest your feet on the shelf?
Anyway I’d use it for food prep or for serving though I’d probably put wheels on it to move it around.

We have one of these, it’s a breakfast bar with 2 stools that we purchased from John Lewis about 13 years ago. We no longer use it as a breakfast bar, it’s been repurposed in the utility with storage cubes under it for laundry.

Yes, it looks like the stools fit on the shelf under the table.

What was your intended purpose for it @JennyShaw? I assume you bought it with something particular in mind, so I'd use it for that 😉

I like tile-top tables and my favourite colour is blue so it seemed a good idea at the time to buy it, especially as it was only 20 pounds. When it was delivered it looked very sturdy and utilitarian so I couldn't help wondering if it had a special purpose.

My kitchen is too small for any type of table but I can keep this one just outside the kitchen and use it for eating or drinking or paperwork.

Imagine there was a special table for changing babies nappies but you were using it to eat off! Everyone knew its purpose apart from you. They would think it funny, like wearing a tea cosy for a hat!

Definitely, and only owls allowed.

I love it OP! Jel!

I saw something similar under a kitchen island- the enclosed area was designed to incorporate a large dog bed without using floor space.

Owl taxidermy is much more probable though, to be fair. Or a sleeping platform for extremely naughty toddlers. Or somewhere to park a robot cleaner, or a boot rack.

Beginning to feel I might need one of these in my life...