Did you know that the humble coffee table goes way back? In use since the late 18th century, during the English coffeehouse boom, there’s a reason why these functional pieces of furniture are so enduring, across time and among homeowners. If it’s not for their convenience and versatility, it’s their aesthetic value and ability to blend into any décor scheme. While the fact that there’s an inexhaustible variety of styles is a blessing, it does make it hard to choose. Hence, the purpose of this guide.
Shortly, we’re going to give you a rundown on how to buy a coffee table that complements your space, including all of the considerations to make beforehand. Plus, to make it nice and straightforward, we’ve broken things down by room. Now, no more waffling, let’s get a move on.
Considerations To Make
As with any longer-term purchase, it’s easy to feel that creeping sense of decision fatigue ebb in, especially when there are practically endless options to choose from. Do you pick something in line with your existing décor? Perhaps an eclectic look with a mismatched coffee table would feel more refined? How many do you need? What size? – The questions feel endless.
Luckily, we’ve got the answers. Often, the secret to avoiding buyer’s regret is simply listening to your gut, all the while weighing up your space’s physical limitations, such as room layout or the floor space available.
So, learning how to pick a coffee table as if you are an interior designer is just a matter of balancing these two key areas: what visuals speak to you, plus what will work in your interior.
Purpose / Function
This might seem incredibly straightforward, but sometimes, in the dopamine rush of the shopping experience, the function of your coffee table falls by the wayside. This can pose a real problem if you lack the tabletop space for the board game nights you were planning on hosting, or if you can’t quite squirrel away the TV remote and miscellaneous chargers as you’d hoped.
That’s right, you should always keep the purpose and functionality of the piece front-of-mind when browsing. If it helps, you could even write down a list of questions or requirements it needs to fulfil. Does it need to be safe for small children, or maybe be elevated slightly to accommodate older users? Is manoeuvrability important?
Whatever the case, remember that you should aim to buy a coffee table that complements the interior. Think of it as an essential tool for tying the surrounding elements of the room together, adding both style and substance.
Size / Dimensions
Quite possibly the easiest mistake to make when buying a coffee table is overlooking the importance of size. Get it wrong, and you run the risk of either making the room feel cramped and claustrophobic or, at the other end of the scale, vast and purposeless. The trick is to ensure it both fits the space and contributes to the intended ambience of the interior.
It really depends on the surroundings you’re working with, but there are 3 routes you can go down: oversized, undersized and balanced. By contrasting a big coffee table with smaller surrounding pieces like a sofa, you create a decidedly modernist appeal, striking and unexpected. This can work well when there’s plenty of square footage to fill up.
Now, the inverse: an undersized coffee table. With a smaller coffee table, you carve out a tiny island, a visual zone you can further develop with visual motifs. For instance, why not place a mid-century modern circular table in the nook of an L-shaped sofa? Pop a brassy floor lamp overhead and a stack of coffee table books on the surface. Here, you’ve designated this section as a small reading zone -how cosy!
With a medium or standard-sized coffee table, or at least one that balances with the nearby pieces, you can lean into a sense of harmony and cohesion, the coffee table blending into the overall scheme rather than standing out as a focal point.
Shape
This is where a little bit of science comes into play – after all, shapes have a huge influence over our sense of perspective. Sharp edges and regular shapes like squares and rectangles convey a more traditional, regimented feel, whereas curves and flowing lines are more relaxed and freeing.
Of course, uniform and symmetrical shapes have their place and can perfectly complement schemes like art deco and mid-century modern, which require a hint of dynamism and the geometric, but if you’re more about capturing a sense of calm, we recommend looking beyond the conventional options. In shorthand: curves are perceived by our brains as safer and more comforting, while angles are more alive, stimulating and striking. It’s up to you to find the right balance.
Materials
Curious about how to pick a coffee table that looks and feels expensive? Well, a lot of that lies in the materials used in the model’s design. As a rule of thumb, to make the room feel truly grounded, your best bet is to opt for materials that have been around for a really long time or those found in the natural world. This lends a sense of timelessness to the space, ensuring that even when trends come and go, this piece will never feel outdated.
There’s also the matter of ageing. Organic materials like copper and brass patina over time, developing a layer of texture that adds an element of visual complexity and that ‘lived in’ feel we all love so much. Similarly, because wood already has irregularities in the graining, it can weather future imperfections beautifully, gaining character rather than losing it.
We’re imaging solid wood with eye-catching graining like oak or a heart-warming depth of colour like mango and flush metal handles. Unlike a glossy, plastic coffee table, which might look chic for the first couple of years, it is still going to look good after many spilt drinks, bumps and scratches. Plus, you can always sand it down and refinish the surface. In short, all of the furniture you bring into your home, including the coffee table, should improve with age – like a fine wine!
Aesthetic
As human beings, we’re naturally drawn to things with warm colours, interesting textures and visual elements that direct the eye in a particular path. As such, it helps to choose a coffee table that exhibits some of these ideas.
Here, you could lean into symmetry with an angular option, with matching handles or a pair of handy drawers. Alternatively, there’s the notion of asymmetry, which you can achieve by dressing the surface with odd-numbered groupings of accessories or even selecting a table crafted into an abstract shape. Contemporary aesthetics like Danish pastel and hygge really suit them.
Whichever you lean towards, do your research into the various design styles that exist, making sure not to buy into an aesthetic just because it’s currently in vogue. Instead, it’s much better to land on one that speaks to your character and interests. This way, you can truly feel at home in your interior.
Versatility
While this purchase might be your designated living room coffee table at this point in time, chances are, you might reshuffle your living arrangements, redecorate the space or outgrow the piece – all scenarios necessitating a certain degree of versatility.
This might mean forward planning for additional storage with shelves, a hollow interior, drawers or indeed some combination of them, or picking a design with wheels that can be easily relocated. Another consideration could be a nest of coffee tables. Stacked up neatly when they’re unneeded, they can save on floor space whilst presenting ample surfaces at different heights that you can move about at a moment’s notice.
You don’t strictly have to stick to a traditional coffee table either – especially when ottomans and trunks exist!
Tips For Picking A Coffee Table By Room
Now that we’ve got the fundamentals out the way, let’s drill deeper. Here are some room-specific suggestions to get your creative juices flowing.
Living Room
Living rooms tend to be the largest spaces you’ll see coffee tables in action. This means there are a few specific things you need to keep in mind. First, it’s really easy to accidentally arrange your furniture in such a way that it evokes a sense of discomfort or unease. Usually, this is down to too much or unevenly distributed negative space. Fortunately, you can use coffee tables to combat this, creating enclosures in the empty pockets of space.
The most obvious place is by the sofa – an oval or rectangular piece perfectly balances it – but don’t forget corners or even the vacant space in front of windows. The idea is to create cosy nooks that make the animal part of your brain feel protected.
Home Office
While the productivity zone is incredibly important to a home office, try not to skimp on the break area. In multi-purpose spaces such as a bedroom study where you have more space to play with, you could even play around with building a designated relaxation nook with a small sofa, coffee table, floor lamp and some potted plants. Sounds like the perfect pace to give your eyes a rest from the screen while you ponder over your tasks with a cuppa in hand.
Kitchen
In a kitchen or kitchen-diner, coffee tables are usually restricted to either corner seating areas or zones designed to break up open-plan spaces. Doubling up as a convenient spot to pop your decorative items or emptied dinner plates, they can also act as a buffer between your seating and the wall. To ensure maximum cohesion, you can further the visual division of the zone by placing down a large rug to tie each of the elements around it together.
Bedroom
You might not immediately link the bedroom with coffee tables in your mind, but we’re here to tell you that they can and do belong in the space. Picture this: a slimline coffee table along the foot of the bed, decorated with a bouquet of flowers, stacks of extra books (with stunning covers, of course!), baskets, a glass perfume distiller and even accessories like jewellery. Not sure about that last one? Well, you could pick an option with in-built storage to keep the essentials hidden.
How To Buy The Right Coffee Table For You
Learning how to buy the right coffee table for your space isn’t so hard after all. It takes a little research; pondering over size, shape, materials and placement; and even some thinking outside of the box, but at the end, you should have a new piece of furniture you can shape into a mainstay of your décor. Remember, avoid trends if you can and centre longevity and utility in the process – and you can’t go wrong.
With these closing remarks, concludes our coffee table buying guide. We hope you found the insights helpful. Whether you’re browsing online or in a physical showroom, with our tricks in your back pocket, you’ll find it much easier to make a confident decision in the knowledge that your shiny new coffee table will suit your design sensibilities to a tee. Now it’s up to you to start looking.
