Petite toile, belle toilette

In the Middle Ages, a small, fine cloth or toilette (towelette) was used to cover clothing as a protection from insects and dust. The various and sundry articles necessary for a woman's or a man's personal grooming and embellishment were also wrapped inside such a small cloth and tucked away  when not in use, to be laid out in the morning when it was time to dress.   

Abraham BosseLes Cinq Sens, v. 1638 : La Vue

By the 17th century the "little cloth" might be of plain or decorated linen, or it could be a luxurious silk or sometimes even a small tapestry served as a wrapper for these necesary items. Now, the cloth, its contents, as well as the process were known as la toilette.

Jean-Francois de Troy Dame à sa toilette recevant un cavalier

"J'avais ce matin un Provençal, un Breton, un Bourguignon, à ma toilette," 

Mme Sévigné.

Boucher

Little by little, in the 18th century, the piece of furniture supporting the toilette 

very naturally became known as the table de toilette.

Elle passe des heures à sa toilette!

Clothing and all manner of finery being  part of the process from the start,
a lady's dress once worn took on the same expression, la toilette.

The room cabinet de toilette and toilettes (ladies'/men's room) came later
but then someone put a halt to the spreading of the word before everything was called toilette!

Avec le rare sentiment d'harmonie qui les caractérise, les femmes ont compris qu'il y avait une sorte de dissonance entre la grande toilette et la figure naturelle.

Avec le rare sentiment d'harmonie qui les caractérise, les femmes ont compris qu'il y avait une sorte de dissonance entre la grande toilette et la figure naturelle.

With the rare feeling of harmony that characterizes them, women have realized that there was a kind of dissonance between the elegant toilette and the natural state.

Théophile Gautier  La Peau de tigre 

photo St Tyl

Embroidered linen  toilette from 1640 , Musée de la Renaissance at Ecouen

for another cloth that gave a name to a piece of furniture, here

and a very particular table de toilette, here

Wooly desks

source lainesdespyrenees

Are you ready for a little etymology today? 

So many words and expressions relate to fabrics and weaving if you scratch the surface a little.

In French, bure refers to a rough, resistant cloth of heavy weave that is associated with hooded monks, watchful shepherds, and scruffy peasants from the Middle Ages. The name for the cloth derives from burel, a heathery quality of brown, black or ecru wool.

source Orpostal

This cloth was also used to cover tables. Henri Havard described the wool rugs that protected tables from ink and lessened the noise of clattering coins for money changers. 

source planetefacility

In the 14th century, this wooly rug became known as a bureau. 
By the 15th century, it was not only the rug but the piece of furniture - be it bench, table or chest -  together with the rug that was known as a bureau. The meaning, as we all know, went on to include a room for work at a bureau/desk and further, an administrative organization, i.e., bureau de poste, bureau de style,  bureau of investigation....