Coffee Tables, bringing friends and family together.

In the late 18th Century, coffee tables were introduced to support entertaining with tea service.  These early tables were used in the lady’s entertaining area, her Boudoir, and the drawing room.  Being lower than dining tables and sofa tables, the height of the table was decided to be low enough for you to see your tea companions clearly without a centerpiece blocking your view and yet to be high enough that a plate of sweets and savories could be visible at eye-level and reached easily. 

Most if not all coffee tables were designed to encourage conversation.  As such they have become one of the most common pieces of household furniture.  Nowadays they are used in the living room, the family, the den and sometimes the formal master bedroom to compliment a sofa and sofa sets.

Coffee tables are also now used for storage and dramatic impact.  A unique table can change the mood of your decor.  Tables with drawers and flip tops are often used to store everything from remotes and magazines to the board games your children play.  There is no limit to the style options now available for coffee tables: from Traditional to Contemporary, Mission to Art Deco to Victorian. Sizes and shapes of tables are also up to your imagination!

Do you want a square table to compliment an L-shaped or V-shaped sofa set?  Do you want a round table with smooth edges to avoid accidents with corners and shins for those of us less coordinated?  How about a leather-covered coffee table with a huge top to store children’s games and provide a soft landing if someone “accidentally” jumps on the couch and falls off….

Choose metal or glass coffee tables to compliment your modern, contemporary decor or mahogany and oak coffee tables for a more traditional living room.  Anything and everything from Ultra Modern to traditional with materials safe for use in the home and outside are available in coffee table form.  Have a patio with seating?  Try a wicker table or wrought iron and glass table to hold your refreshing beverages and snacks while you enjoy the warmer Spring, Summer, and Autumn months.

Coffee Tables can be fashion statements in and of themselves.  For those more adventurous consider a coffee table that has a display area or light box.  Then you can add the sea shells from your last vacation or your children’s or grand children’s artwork.  Though we often think of these tables as being of British heritage, it is interesting to note that Japanese and Korean families have also long used a variation of the coffee table for rice chests and living room fire pits, styled as the hibachi table. Mainly for warming the water for tea, the Asian variation includes a metal bowl that hangs below the table surface to hold the fire and coals with a plate to cover the fire partially or a spit above the fire. Some more elaborate tables may be used for cooking a meal. In all cases such tables have long been a gathering place for family and friends for nourishment and conversation.