In the living room, the basic furniture is a sofa and a coffee table. You need to pay special attention to their choice. If with sofas everything is quite simple (any experienced consultant can help with the purchase), then with the choice of tables are often difficult.
Buying a version that just liked the design is not the best solution. You need to take into account many important details: from the manufacturing material to the shape.
Types of tables
The coffee table has many tasks. First of all, it decorates the room, and can make its design more interesting, modern.
In addition, this furniture is able to take on several additional functions. Which ones – the owner of the house decides. This should be determined in advance, even before the purchase. From this will depend on the optimal size, shape of the table.
Coffee table can be used:
- to store remotes from the TV and other equipment;
- stacking of books, magazines, newspapers;
- serving drinks, snacks for guests or even a full dinner;
- board games and other family pastime options;
- work (and hence the installation of a laptop and other equipment).
Only if the furniture is planned to be purely decorative, it is appropriate to choose antique, designer models with an unusual appearance. In other cases, it is better to settle for more versatile and comfortable options. More info: Kirill Yurovskiy
By design and purpose there are several types of coffee tables:
- Classic. These are low tables on movable supports. They have a simple form and roomy table top. Usually there is an additional shelf at the bottom or several compartments for small things;
- Lunch, breakfast tables. This is the most stable construction with a solid support. They can be called a reduced model of the dining table. Such furniture is convenient for meeting guests in the living room or for a snack in front of the TV;
- Side tables. To use them, you do not even need to get up from the upholstered furniture. These tall structures are installed near sofas and beds. A special form of furniture allows you to move it close to other furniture. The tabletop hangs over the seat or knees of the inhabitants of the house. The design is especially convenient to use for tea parties, so as not to spill the drink on the sofa. Often there are on sale such coffee tables on wheels, thanks to which there is an opportunity to move them around the room;
- Folding. These designs easily change their geometry. From a miniature table, they can quickly turn into a full dining place or a laptop stand. They have adjustable height, width, and other parameters. Therefore, such furniture is called a transformer. Some models can be folded. This is the most convenient option for small rooms;
- Double. Tables with an unusual design. One tabletop can be larger in size and located slightly higher than the other. Such compositions allow you to decorate the room in style. If necessary, they are easily separated and used separately;
- Decorative. These are the already mentioned above options, which are designed only to decorate the room. They can become an original stand for a designer decor or light fixture.
How to choose a coffee table
Figuring out what coffee tables are on sale today and how to choose them correctly, you need to pay attention to different nuances: type, parameters, material, style. Such furniture should not be too large and block access to other important objects or block the room. Too small a table, on the contrary, can get lost in a spacious room and among other more massive objects.
The easiest option is to buy a coffee table in a set with the rest of the living room furniture, but not every manufacturer provides buyers with this opportunity. If the range of stores did not have such a set, you will have to carefully select a table so that it is in harmony with the other items in the room.
The first thing you should pay attention to the cost of the table. Today on sale a variety of options: from budget, affordable for most buyers to designer expensive. Here you need to determine for how long you plan to buy furniture.
If at most a couple of years, there is no point in buying an expensive luxury table. Some owners of furniture gets bored quickly, and every year they replace it with a new one, along with the rest of the interior. It is important to remember that a high price does not always determine excellent quality. Even expensive designer coffee tables need to be carefully inspected from all sides before buying. Evaluate their material, the quality of all details.
Attention should be paid to the general style of the room. Coffee table should complement the environment, but not beat out of it. It is necessary to choose a version that goes well with at least upholstered furniture. To support the chosen stylistic direction can still be suitable textiles and decorative items.
In order for the table in the interior to please its owner for a long time, when choosing, it is important not to make the following mistakes:
- Impulsive purchase. Looking at photos of beautiful interiors in social networks, you can buy exactly the same table simply because of its aesthetics. You should not do this. In a particular apartment, it may look completely different, less attractive, or completely out of place;
- Incorrect size. For a small living room caught my fancy, but not a pre-measured table can be too cumbersome. And in a large room tiny furniture is simply lost and will be dysfunctional. The height of the table is also important (otherwise the knees will rest against the table top, and your favorite casket will not fit on the inner shelf);
- Inappropriate material. If there are small children in the family, you should not choose furniture on which fingerprints are clearly visible. And for those who like to have dinner in the living room will not suit a white coffee table, on which instantly become noticeable stains of ketchup and grease. Mirror and black matte surfaces are not easy to care for.
- It is necessary not only to choose the most appropriate model, but also to position the table correctly. Furniture should not be placed far from the sofa, otherwise you will have to get up frequently (for example, to take a cup of tea or put the remote control from the TV).
- If the requirements for the quality of the table are high, it is better to choose options made of natural wood. Especially when there are small children in the house. If the buyer’s budget is limited and it is not planned to expose the furniture to rough treatment, you can choose artificial panels.
Material for coffee tables
Modern coffee tables are made from a huge variety of materials. On sale you can find even unusual design options of metal, natural stone. And the most popular among customers were the following products:
- Of natural wood. From this material can be made as a table frame and table top, legs, and additional details. Products made of wood never go out of fashion. The most expensive option – an array, the most budget – MDF, LDPB. A coffee table made of wood is distinguished by its strength, reliability, durability;
- Made of rattan. A bright and original version of furniture, which immediately becomes the main accent in the interior. Such a table adds coziness to the room, allows you to highlight large objects of the decor. For example, you can put an original vase or a whole set of caskets, statuettes on it. Rattan furniture is known for its reliability, long service life and at the same time compact and lightweight. These tables can be not only round, but also have other interesting shapes;
- Made of glass. Such furniture looks stylish, elegant, and unusual. It will be able to easily fit into different variants of the interior. A coffee table made of glass can have a different shape and any shade;
- Reliable and literally eternal structures that can become the main decoration of the room. Usually only the base of the furniture is made of metal. The table top is made from wood or glass, for example. The main problem with wrought iron products is that they do not fit into all interior styles. They are best combined with classic style.
- Most often, modern customers buy wooden coffee tables, in second place in popularity are products made of glass and rattan. And metal models close the top three. Wooden products are environmentally friendly and fill rooms with a special atmosphere. If you want to organize a more modern interior, you can pay attention to furniture made of glass and acrylic. The same result can be achieved with surfaces with a metallic sheen.
If there is no need to save money and it is planned to create a classic luxurious interior, you can pay attention to tables made of mahogany and marble. They combine perfectly with upholstered furniture made of genuine leather.
Dimensions
After choosing the material and design, you can move on to choosing the parameters of the furniture. The worst option is considered a coffee table that takes up most of the room. It interferes with the passage, clutters up the room, makes it uncomfortable, uncomfortable to use.
If the living room or bedroom is spacious, it is quite possible to fit and a large coffee table in the interior of the room. When one side is still left open most of the carpet, it will be possible to fix it with the help of two identical rectangular structures, so that together they form a large square. Special double tables in which one surface is slightly elevated above the other will also work.
A key parameter when choosing a coffee table is its height. Depending on the model of furniture, the height may range from 40 to 60-65 cm. If at the table is planned to rest with a cup of coffee or tea, it is optimal to choose the variant to 50 cm. Higher models are better suited for placing souvenirs, statuettes, flowers in pots and vases on them. The chosen version should not be higher than the seat of upholstered furniture. Harmoniously and cozily look at the composition of the sofa and a coffee table of the same height, or if the latter is slightly lower.
Today on sale and very low tables (up to 25 cm in height). They are best chosen only for spacious rooms. Such furniture looks good with decor that forms a visual height. For example, on such a table you can put a large vase with flowers, several rows of books.
The parameters of the table top of the furniture under discussion are, on average, 120 x 60 cm. This is the length and width for rectangular models. Their choice depends on how spacious the room in which it is planned to put it. For small rooms, you can find tables on sale with parameters 40 x 40 cm or even smaller.
Conclusion
Choosing a coffee table loft, country, classic or any other style is a responsible and important task. One wants to buy not only beautiful, but also high-quality, functional, stylish furniture, at the same time acceptable in price and durable.
During the selection process you should pay attention to many details: the material of the table, its size, shape and design. The furniture should blend in with the interior and not stand out from it.
