Coffee tables are amazing pieces of furniture, sometimes performing the duties of presenting a surface, storage space, and style at the same time. The right table can tie a room together and serve as a conversation piece at parties and other gatherings. But when you do choose a coffee table, choose wisely and well, or you might get stuck with an inconvenient eyesore. Here are three tips for choosing wooden coffee tables to keep in mind while you shop.
Keep Size in Mind
When a piece of furniture fails to fit in stylistically, it’s not a good look. When it fails to fit in physically, that’s even worse. An undersized table will underserve you by not providing enough room to set things down, work, or what have you. An oversized coffee table is even worse, taking up valuable space, interfering with movement, and visually overwhelming the room. Big, rugged handmade wooden coffee tables look better in a wider space, while more delicately-designed ones favor more bijou rooms. Measure your space and keep the dimension in mind while you search. And don’t forget height! The table surface should accommodate nearby chairs and couches and be in ready reach of you and your guests.
Material Issue
Coffee tables come in all sorts of materials and subsequent colors, tones, and textures, from handmade wooden coffee tables to ones made of marble, metal, glass, and combinations of all of these. Wood is really the most classic choice and rarely goes badly with anything but the most streamlined and modern of décor (and even then, there are nontraditional wooden designs that look as sleek as any metal table). That said, consider how the material interplays with the fabric of the furnishings, the color of the walls, and the amount of light or dark the room gets. Brighter finishes favor sunnier rooms, while darker stains can give a shadier room even more gravitas.
Function Follows Form
Here’s the final of our three tips for choosing wooden coffee tables: what do you want the coffee table to do besides provide a level surface? If you need more storage in the area, say for blankets, books, video game systems, and the like, pick up a coffee table with hidden spaces, another level, or drawers. If your family plays a lot of games or puts together puzzles, leave space for the board or puzzle as well as the assorted pieces you’ll need and refreshments you’ll enjoy. If it’s a smaller room, go for an open and airy design instead. Whatever the room and your needs demand.