Art in the Home and Office with a Modern Coffee Table

You can find a modern coffee table in many materials, shapes and sizes representing different aspects of the Modern era: post modern, ultra-modern, classical modern, pop art, post minimalism and for works produced more recently, contemporary. Influenced by Impressionism, Modern art developed in the late 19th century and has endured as a style for home furnishings. The development of Modern as a style was both a social and economic decision to break with the previous traditions. Instead of representing idealized versions of life the art forms seek to represent common life as it is lived.

If you want to add a modern coffee table the first decision is whether you wish to build on a style you have already developed. If not, then what style of modern best suits the new direction you seek to take the room? The second important consideration is how you will use the piece. If it will be used daily with vigor you will want to choose materials to withstand the constant contact. If however the coffee table will be in a room infrequently used, your choice of material becomes less important.

For Modern coffee tables that will be used daily with great vigor, wrought iron and other durable metals are often used by the craftspeople creating the tables. Wrought iron coffee tables as with other metal coffee tables can be in any color without the same restricted range that wood tables experience. High density plastic also enjoys the widest color range and can withstand high traffic areas in and around your home. Another benefit off a metal or extruded or formed plastic is the ability to create any shape imaginable. Instead of a coffee table with a rectangular top and four legs for support, you can find or design a top of any shape and supports that seem to defy gravity.

A favorite table of mine is a bright, magical orange formed plastic coffee table. The supports and table top are all one piece; the supports look like upside down traffic cones. The table is reversible in the sense that it can be used either as a coffee table or turned over can be used as a two traffic cone warning sign. My husband isn’t quite so keen on it, but for my very modern office, this piece is a show stopper! It is definitely an object of art and it can handle the high traffic area of our reception area because it is super high density plastic.

A few words of caution about the plastics: though they can withstand bumps and moderate amounts of weight, most are not built to handle individuals sitting on them. Your table is not likely to break the first time someone sits on it, but over time, or with enough weight at once, the table can shatter. The stress in a plastic table builds over time in a process referred to as deformation. If you know you will have people perching on the table, either find one specifically designed to carry the weight or choose a sturdy metal table. The right modern coffee table can give your home or office an uber cool vibe and a piece of functional art.