How to Pick a Coffee Table?

We had been noticing this was a post a lot of folks have been studying recently so we thought let’s just put this up at the top of the website again! That’s the reason why we created this post so that you don’t need to guess what size, shape, or type you need to make the perfect couch fit. Enjoy this fast little republish. xx

The java table. So practical, so frequently an afterthought. Sofas get all of the living room decoration, and certain that they keep us comfortable. However, the coffee table would be the workhorse of this living room. It holds our drinks, remote controllers, beloved tech devices, treasured trinkets, as well as for better or worse, our semi-automatic dinners at the end of a long moment. It occasionally doubles as a stool (which we’re not endorsing, for lawful reasons, but we will not deny having done on occasion)a desk or a craft desk. With this kind of a large, diverse job, you’d surmise that it could be one of the first furniture pieces you thought about when moving into a new location and/or re-decorating… except it’s usually not.

How many hours do we put into choosing the perfect couch, the perfect rug, the ideal chairs for our living room…only to throw at a hand-me-down java table that used to belong to Aunt Susan? (bless her heart). Okay, we do not all go down the who-cares-about-a-coffee-table route. Plenty of you have definitely belaboured the option of a table, we are sure, but no matter what side of these scenarios you wind up, you may need some advice or inspiration from the java table buying department. What size and contour go with what sofa dimensions and shape? We have assembled a shopping guide including all the best coffee tables we could locate –round, square, rectangular, oval! –along with a few rules to keep in mind (with a diagram!) When picking a table.

To start principles. But if you’ve got a sectional with a duvet, as well as your table is moving within the open L-shape that sofa contour generates, that 1/2 to 2/3 guideline applies better to simply the length of the horizontal seat, rather than the complete length of the sofa. Here’s a quick picture to show you exactly what we mean, in addition to a breakdown of ideal shapes by sofa configuration:

For more alive room-specific tips, we broke down heaps of super useful tips like how much space you need around a table, rug size principles, lighting guidelines and more.

When you figure out the right size and shape, after that, it is more about making the right design choice for your area. Rectangular and oval-shaped coffee tables may practically be interchanged, depending on the kind of stream you’re looking for–goes with square and round. Let us break it down a little further (with the bonus of our favourite shopping selections ):

Rectangular coffee table

Consider rectangle (or oblong but more on this contour next) if you have a standard sofa (or an extra-long sofa with chaise) so everybody can have easy access to your own coffee, cocktail or late-night bite of selection. Additionally, this is an excellent option when you’ve got a narrow space with nominal walk-around clearance. If you are a household with more remotes or tech cords than you can count, consider getting a table using a few functional but still slick drawers. It is hard to see in the photo, but the table has a shadow box top (that is fantastic for putting in your favourite curiosities and trinkets but having plenty of surface area for you know…real-life things. Oh, and in the event that you regularly eat in front of your TV (if intentionally or because you don’t really have a formal dining area), a lift-top coffee table is super helpful for not having to hunch over your plate.

Square coffee table

If you’ve got a large comfy sectional or the conventional conversational set up with a sofa and a couple of chairs, a rectangular dining table is a great choice. It fits perfectly in the L-shape nook of your sectional or the big area in the middle of the chat zone. The best aspect of a square dining table? You receive the most styling space bang for your dollar. Who doesn’t enjoy a well-styled coffee table vignette? We really enjoy the mixture of the square top and round base of this table to get a play on shapes. Similar to the shadow box table we talked about in the preceding segment, the one from IKEA includes a draw with four segments, along with the glass top lets you view all the pretty things you choose to store (definitely not the smartest choice if you know you are going to just end up junking up that drawer with remotes and catalogues, though).

Round coffee table

It’s also a fantastic choice to pair with a sectional or sofa with chaise as it is a good”nook” shape. Another hot tip when space is at a premium or if your room is already busy would be to think about a glass top like. This helps matters seem more visually open–if you don’t see it, is it there? Talking of smaller distances, storage is NEVER undesirable in a tight room, which explains precisely why we love them for their deep, hidden-away storage (great for stashing hobby items, toys and more). Round coffee tables also seem to have a bit more fun (the blondes of the table world??)

Oval is a fantastic call if you have some tiny humans running around and wish to try to avoid any face-to-table sharp edge encounters (around can also be great for this). If your living room is a high-traffic area (like, do you need to walk to get to some other space such as the kitchen or dining room?), a more sinuous contour helps with the visual flow, as well. It accomplishes the same look just like a rectangle but softens a very angular or contemporary sofa. The classic mixed marble and timber design is a favourite around here.

So…what else do you wish you’d guidelines for? We’ve done a small number of articles with a lot of principles by room, but how do you want us to drill deeper down? What do you struggle with regularly while decorating that you want some touch EHD how-to article action on? As always, let us know in the comments.