It may not seem like much, but choosing a coffee table is not an easy task. You put your drinks, your magazines, your remotes, maybe your cell phones. Often, it is a central piece because at the heart of your living room. For some, it serves as a dining table. It is a unique piece of furniture that immediately says a lot about the tastes of the tenant or the owner. Yes, a coffee table often reflects your personality. But beyond your tastes, it is also wise for it to follow certain rules which we will tell you about below.
Pay attention to the height of your coffee table
This may seem trivial. Yet nothing is more embarrassing than a coffee table at the wrong height. Too high or too low, it will not seem pleasant to you. The ideal being that it is the height of the cushions of your sofa, or even slightly lower. Everyone’s way of life greatly influences the layout of our rooms, if you are used to eating on the coffee table in your living room, in this case, provide it a little higher to avoid finding your back while rounded, which would put you in a relatively uncomfortable position.
Pay attention to the proportions vis-à-vis your sofa
Again, as with the right height, be sure to choose a coffee table that has the right length for your sofa. What is recommended is a coffee table that measures two-thirds the length of your sofa. So for a sofa of 1.50 meters for example, you should look for a coffee table that is about one meter long
Pay attention to the shape of your coffee table
After determining roughly its dimensions in terms of height and width, consider the depth. In other words, choose the shape of the coffee table of your dreams. There are so many. Square, rectangular, round or oval…
Square coffee table
The square is a user-friendly shape because everyone around the coffee table is an equal distance from the center of the top. It is a symmetrical table, very practical if you sit there to eat. In addition, sometimes it offers storage under its surface.
Rectangular coffee table
Rectangular coffee tables are resolutely modern tables. They are often the ones that offer the most space possible in terms of their top and any storage.
Round coffee table
A round coffee table can be really very welcoming for your guests or for a large family, especially to have an aperitif or to eat there. Add poufs to the floor on the other side of the sofa and the festive atmosphere is guaranteed!
Table basse ovale
Oval coffee tables combine aesthetics and practicality. They promote movement – no sharp edges so ideal for young children! Also, they provide enough space to store things on top.
Look at the one that would best match your room. Do you need to consider a fireplace or the placement of the TV? You need to calculate the space to provide for the best circulation in the room.
It’s all about balance
The fourth point to consider when choosing your coffee table would be its visual mass. In other words, its “weight” in your decoration. It must fit into the harmony of the room, so that your space is proportionate and balanced. To be more concrete: if your sofa has fairly high and rather thin legs, your coffee table can afford to be massive with very short legs, or even no legs at all. Conversely, if your sofa has no visible legs, you might consider a coffee table with thinner, taller legs.
Decide on a material
In wood, glass, stone, there are even low tables in plastic or cardboard. Before buying one, see which material would fit well with your lifestyle and decorating style. If you have young children, the glass may need to be put aside occasionally. If you have a small room, choose a material that is visually invisible. If you have wooden parquet on the floor, avoid opting for a wooden coffee table, rather go for a complementary material. Also see if your coffee table is intended for an immutable place or if you will have to move it often. It is all these questions and their answers that will put you on the path to your ideal coffee table.
Think in terms of lifestyle
What is your daily life? What does using a coffee table mean to you? Obviously, when choosing a coffee table for you or for your family, you must consider your lifestyle. Do you need a coffee table with lots of storage? In this case choose a coffee table with drawers or spaces to store. Are you the type who constantly plays board games in the living room? Make sure your coffee table is comfortable enough for you to find yourself around. Do you tend to put your feet up on the coffee table when watching TV? Maybe you should buy an ottoman rather than a coffee table!
Adapt your coffee table to your style of decoration
The range of possibilities is so wide: from nesting tables that are currently very fashionable to a table that you would have created yourself from recycled materials, passing through the voluminous coffee table advocated by the industrial style… Everything is possible. It’s up to you to define the style of your interior decoration and buy a coffee table to match. Often the legs are a singular element of the coffee tables, there are not only for the trays!