Designed as an item of necessity, rather than for pleasure purposes, the telephone hallway table responded to the need for a seat to sit on when talking via a wall-mounted telephone. Introduced in the late 1870s, the telephone hallway bench, often referred to as a ‘gossip bench’ allowed users, often of high class who were able to afford a telephone in their home, to sit comfortably and talk, instead of standing. The design first started as a shelf mounted to the wall that people could rest upon as they talked.

Naturally, people began to use chairs to sit and talk. When the phone became dismounted from the wall, the shelf and chair were combined into the modernized telephone hallway table. This consisted of a side table, often with a drawer to hold the phone directory, and a seat connected. The telephone hallway table and bench restricted telephone usage to one area of the house. When furniture became popularized in the mid-20th century, most people could only afford one phone. The phone was housed in the communal area – the hallway, so that most residents of the household had easy access. This restricted how much time was spent on the phone and where this time was spent. This ensured that people continued to interact face-to-face.

In today’s day and age, especially due to coronavirus, the dependency on mobile phones has increased. We see a reliance on phones for texting, video, voice call and so much more. The discouraged face-to-face conversation with the modern family is often pictured on their phones while eating together, or friends scrolling through social media when going out.