Is A Coffee Table Essential For Living Room Design?

12th Jan 2023

Posted by Alice Ewens on 12th Jan 2023

A coffee table can be an integral part of your living room design but is it essential? We take a look at the pros and cons, and offer up some alternatives for those with smaller living spaces.

The humble coffee table can make or break your room. You want to make sure you get it just right because it's going to do a lot of work as a multifunctional piece of furniture. Storage, display space plus somewhere for the all-important cup of tea and all the remotes - you want it to work for your home and look great while doing it. So, we've got some great tips and ideas on what to consider when choosing one. But is it really essential for all living rooms? What if you've got a room on the smaller side? Well, we've got some ideas for that, too.

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Coffee Table As A Living Room Focal Point

Create The Aesthetic

One of the many functions of a coffee table is its ability to tie a room together. Match your table to your overall room style to finish the aesthetic. Or you can build an entire look around a table style that you love. Whether you want an industrial-style room or a sleek minimalist look, there's a perfect table to complete your decor. Match colours and design themes for a cohesive style.

rectangular solid wood and black metal coffee table with industrials style design — Customer review image: Vivan F

Here's our Kinsley industrial-style wood and black metal coffee table, creating a theme for this living room.

modern living space with black velvet sofa and statement high gloss coffee table — Customer review image: Amanda B

Our Giovani high gloss coffee table with black glass and statement halo stand adds some sleek and light-reflecting minimalist class to this modern living space.

Use 'Dead Space' Effectively

A coffee table can add dimension and interest to a large room. It can fill up the 'no-man's land' between the sofa and tv or fireplace. It can also provide a gorgeous display space for your showstopper accessories that you want your guests to notice.

rectangular clear glass coffee table with shiny gold chrome metal legs in starburst nested arrangement, — Customer review image: Rosalia C

Our Leonardo gold chrome and clear glass coffee table serving a dual purpose here, adding interest and a focal point in front of the fireplace here, and displaying some gorgeous accessories.

square white high gloss coffee table with chrome silver legs and storage shelf in modern living room — Customer review image: Sandra H

The Anzio square high gloss coffee table with storage shelf and chrome legs is being used here to show off some seriously impressive silverware. The contrast of the white against the darker floor, rug and sofas makes it a lovely focal point, too.

Create Zones In Open Plan Spaces

bright modern living room with large corner sofa and rectangular glass coffee table with minimalist square leg frames. — @homewiththedarlings

If you've got an open-plan living situation, a coffee table can help create a zone that's designated as the living room space. This can help create a homely vibe, with a focal point to gather around to socialise or watch TV, especially when paired with a rug. It can help differentiate this space from a dining area or kitchen space, too.

In the example here, our customer @homewiththedarlings shows how a well-placed rug paired with our airy, minimalist Miami rectangular glass and chrome coffee table creates a living room zone in the corner of an open-plan space.

Coffee Tables As Storage

If you've not got the luxury of a huge living room full of storage, the coffee table can be the one piece of furniture that gives you storage solutions. Having a coffee table with a shelf or drawers allows you to keep things tidy and organised. Add a couple of storage boxes or baskets if you want to hide clutter but prefer the open look of a coffee table with a shelf over drawers.

Here, @lifewithrachelrose has gone for our Sandro white high gloss dining table with clear glass top, and shown how you can keep things tidy but pretty with those baskets on the storage shelf. Plenty of space up top for the living room essentials, or some gorgeous accessories!

modern livng room with 2 sofas at 90 degrees with rectangular white high gloss and glass top coffee table. coffee table has 2 storage baskets on stroage shelf, and accessories on top. — @lifewithrachelrose

Is A Coffee Table Right For Smaller Living Spaces?

If your living room is small, you don't want to make it feel cluttered and over-full. Here are some things to consider for the small living room spaces:

Opt For A Light And Bright Glass & Chrome Coffee Table

round clear glass coffee table with gold starburst legs in modern living room on grey carpet — Customer review image: Silvana C

A glass and chrome combo can maximise natural light by letting it filter through and bounce around off the surfaces. This can create a floaty and airy illusion, which can work better for tighter spaces. A round coffee table can also work better for smaller spaces.

Here, our customer has gone for both the glass and round design in our Novara round clear glass coffee table with gold starburst legs.

Choose A Side Table Instead

Will the addition of a coffee table to your living space blocks flow through the room? Then it really might not be the right thing to add. You don't want to sidle around it, or have guests tripping over it! Instead, you can opt for a side table (or two! how about either end of the sofa?!).

Our Kinsley solid wood and black metal side table can do the work of a coffee table on a smaller scale.

corenr space between two sofas. square cube side table with clear glass top and silver chrome base featuring geometric abstract shapes. Tall table lamp on top, — Customer review image: Linda S

Here, our customer has gone for our modern Amalfi square cube glass and silver chrome side table to neatly fill this gap at the end of two sofas! Perfect.

What Next?

We love seeing how our customers style their Furniturebox products so be sure to give us a follow on Insta and tag us in your product pics. We've also got heaps more inspiration over on Pinterest so give us a follow there, too

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