My aunt who lived in Jacksonville, FL, had her phone in the hallway, and she had a telephone table, which was like a wide chair with a table on one end, and a small shelf under the table. The shelf was to hold the phone book.
It’s such an antiquated thought now to have to sit in one spot to talk on the phone. My daughter, who is a teenager, is amazed when I tell her how when the phone used to ring, you’d pick it up and have no idea who was calling until the person started talking, and how if you were waiting for an important call, you couldn’t go out because you had to stay home to answer the phone, and you couldn’t be on the phone with anyone else or you’d miss the call.