How to Select the Right Coffee Table for Your Living Space

The living room is the heart of our home, the place where we gather, relax and spend quality time with family and friends. When it comes to decorating the living room, ideas are generally centred around getting a cushy couch for us to sink into after a long day or having a cool TV and audio set for binge-watching over the weekends.

One critical piece of living room furniture that usually does not receive the attention it deserves is the coffee table. A fitting coffee table is more than a mere companion for our couches. With the right design, material and size, a coffee table not only enhances the aesthetic appeal of our living room, but is also a crucial centrepiece that makes the living area more functional and versatile. Here are some handy ideas that you should keep in mind when choosing one for your living room, which includes how to choose the right type, and simple side table, coffee table or center table decoration ideas.

1. A Heat- and Stain-Resistant Tabletop Material

Most people place both hot and cold beverages on their coffee table. Therefore, the tabletop material of a coffee table should cater to this use, which means that it must be durable, waterproof, and able to withstand both high and low temperatures – while fitting into your living room’s aesthetics. Ceramic coffee tables and Sintered Stone coffee tables tick all of these boxes because they not only add an element of elegance to the living room, but are also easy to care for, and can withstand extreme temperatures.

Fun Fact: Did you know that when an ice-cold cup of water is directly placed on a wooden table, it will cause a white ring mark to form?! This happens because of moisture being trapped in the wooden table’s finishing. So if you truly love your wooden coffee table, always use a coaster.

Speaking of sintered stone, did you know that this material is the go-to tabletop material today? That’s because all it takes to clean is a single wipe, thanks to its water, stain, heat and scratch resistance qualities! Most importantly, it is close to being indestructible, making it perfect as coffee tables and side tables as they might be moved around the living room once in awhile to accommodate your guests. All that’s left to do is to learn to choose the right table type and size for your living room, which we will cover next!

2. Be Generous When Choosing a Size

Coffee tables are also used as tabletops for us to do all sorts of activities in the living room. For example, children can huddle around the coffee table to play board games or piece together a puzzle. Some of us may even rest our feet on it. The size of a coffee table is, therefore, another important consideration. So, pick a coffee table that is large enough to accommodate all these daily activities, but it should not be so big that it occupies most of the living area. Here are some more tips on how to choose the right coffee table size:

1. To determine the size of your coffee table much more accurately, measure the length of your sofa. From there, get a coffee table that is two-thirds the length of your sofa for the perfect living room composition. Of course, if it exceeds by mere centimetres, it is still acceptable!
2. As for the height of the coffee table, it depends on what you use it for. For instance, if you regularly dine or work on the couch, you definitely need a taller coffee table for better ergonomics, lest a lower backache. Otherwise, you can stick to conventional coffee tables.

3. Choose the Shape That Best Suits Your Lifestyle

Here at Comfort Furniture, you will be spoilt for choices by our different types of beautiful coffee tables, including ottoman coffee tables, nestable coffee tables, and storage coffee tables, just to name a few.
As a tip, start by choosing the shape you like! Coffee tables come in different shapes such as rectangular, square, round or a combination of them. Picking the right shape will depend on a number of factors, including the features of your other furniture in the living area and whether there are kids at home. As a guide, if you have kids running around at home, look for either a round coffee table or a square or rectangle one that comes with rounded corners.

Next, assess whether there’s a need for more storage. If there is, then nestable coffee tables are meant for you, because you can nest them compactly when not in use, and bring them out when in need of more table top space! As they are designed to be space-saving and mobile, you can move them around the house as and when needed, giving you the value of two (or even three!) tables for the price of one! Most importantly, the design and cohesiveness between the furniture in all the rooms will be unaffected!

4. Complement Your Other Furniture

The right design can boost the aesthetic appeal of your living room. Take a look at your living area to get an idea of what changes you wish to make to the overall ambience. For example, are you going for a contemporary feel or prefer something that is more rustic? Or do you intend to make the room look more spacious?

As a guide, coffee tables with a clear glass design are versatile and can fit into most living rooms. They also help make the area look more spacious, while Scandinavian-style coffee tables with a wooden design give your space a rustic, yet contemporary, look. A great way of complementing your furniture is to get a side table that matches your coffee table. Instead of wasting that empty corner beside your sofa set, a side table fills in that space, bringing the whole look together.

Looking for ideas to decorate your living room side table? Here are some:

1. Place a novelty standing light next to it for some added flair
2. Source for table-sized artificial planters and green up your living room
3. Place your favourite mini figurines to give it some personality

What about ideas on how to decorate your coffee or centre table? We’ve got you covered:

1. Place a small vase of flowers to colour up the space
2. Use a tray to fashionably organise small items and decorations
3. Stack up books to make the space more sophisticated

5. Go for Added Functionality

Some of us may want to hide our stash of magazines and dozens of remotes from sight. If this is what you are aiming for, then coffee tables with additional shelves or compartments will fit your storage requirements. Lucky for you, we at Comfort Furniture have a gorgeous selection of such coffee tables:

– Coffee tables with open storage: Quintes, Brooks, Sora, Delilah, Fygan, Castle
– Coffee tables with closed storage: Ambrose, Kyushu
– Coffee tables with both open and closed storage: Saymore, Elijah, Michee

For those who prefer their coffee table to be height adjustable so they can work on their laptops while still seated on the couch, we have the amazing Harrison and Elevate. There are also extendable coffee tables that offer additional space on demand such as Stretch and Dex!

Meanwhile, if you (almost) always work or dine on the couch, there are taller coffee tables for the job, such as Fygan, Harrison, Dex, and Elevate.

If you happen to prefer coffee tables that can be tucked into your sofa, either for more leg room or just more space in general, there’s Lappy, Carrie, Elevate, Dex, and Delilah. Oh, and did we forget to mention that Dex can have its height reduced to a mere 17cm (and can be stowed within your wardrobe)?! It’s truly one of our most unique masterpieces!

Last but not least, if you believe that less is more, and love the idea of multi-tasking your coffee table across different rooms, then our selection of lightweight and portable coffee table design will reel in the miles. Tino is useful indoors and outdoors, Shoggi is lightweight, easy to clean and kids-friendly, while Alicia can be used as a stool around the dining table for extra dinner guests.

Essentially, the idea is that there is a wide variety of coffee tables with added functionality that cater to specific needs. You just need to choose one that’s right for your lifestyle.

6. Don’t compromise on style. Make your furniture you

Don’t shy away from the spotlight, especially when it comes to choosing what is essentially your home’s statement piece.
Pride yourself as an avant-garde and bold person? Terrazzo coffee tables are your calling, for they don’t bow to trends; they are the reason behind them.

Do you always patiently research and only purchase items that will last forever? You can never go wrong with bronze, gold, copper or champagne furniture.

Can’t help but fall head over heels with the timeless and classics? There’s rattan furniture for that.

Do Japanese aesthetics bring out the best in you? Complement it with wooden furniture.

Always had a soft spot for neutral shades, clean lines (and everything Scandinavian)? There’s the Uno Coffee Table.

Well, as long as you’re equipping your home with one of Comfort Furniture’s, your home is in good hands. We truly hope that the tips above will help you in selecting the most suitable coffee table for your living room!