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The Coffee Table: The Hardest-Working Piece in the Living Room
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items The coffee table may be the center of the living room, but I’d argue it’s also one of the hardest-working pieces of furniture in the house. We use ours for storage, family game nights, laptops, snacks, decorating and, yes, eating dinner around while ...
Sections
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Coffee Tables That Actually Do Something
The Pretty Ones That Still Have to Live in a Real House
Coffee Table Decor That Can Move When Dinner Arrives
Coffee Table Books People Might Actually Open
Before You Buy or Style the Thing
Coffee Tables That Actually Do Something
Storage, lift tops, work surfaces and tables that can turn into a dining or game table. Because if one piece of furniture is going to sit smack in the middle of the room, I would like it to earn its keep. 😂
Coffee table, desk, dining table and storage in one. This is a very good answer to “but where are we supposed to eat while we watch TV?” 😂
17 Stories Lift Top Coffee Table Storage Shelf And Hidden Compartments, 4 In 1 Multi-Function Convertible Coffee Tables, Lift Tabletop Dining Table For Living Room, Home Office, Black
The square farmhouse look feels like a normal living-room table until the top comes up for dinner, homework or a laptop. The hidden compartment underneath is where the remotes should live instead of disappearing into the sofa.
Gracie Oaks Nilla Wood Storage Coffee Table with Lift Top, 35.5" Convertible Dining Table for Living Room, Modern Center Table with Hidden Storage Compartment, Rising Tabletop for Small Spaces, Apartment & Home Office & Reviews
Closed for everyday life, half-open for working and fully extended for eating. I especially like that it still gives you hidden storage and a lower shelf instead of making you choose between function and somewhere to put the books.
Longshore Tides Coffee Table Lift Top, Multi-Function Convertible Coffee Table With Storage And Hidden Compartment, Coffee Table Converts To Dining Table For Living Room, 40
This one can become a dining or game table for up to eight, which makes family game night much more comfortable than everybody leaning over a low table for two hours. 😂
Ophelia & Co. 39.4" Lift Top Coffee Table, 4-in-1 Convertible Coffee Table With Storage And Hidden Compartment, Multi-function Folding Coffee Table To Dining Table For Living Room, Small Space
A bigger, more furniture-looking lift-top option if you do not want your convertible table to scream “convertible table.” The clean farmhouse shape can handle a lot of different living rooms.
Dawnwood 50" Wood Lift Top Coffee Table, Created for Macy's
A classic lift top with hidden storage and a lower shelf. This is the practical family-room version: remotes underneath, books below, snacks on top.
Better Homes & Gardens Modern Farmhouse Lift-Top Coffee Table, Rustic White
This is exactly the kind of table that made me want this section. It goes from coffee table to work surface to a dining/game table for a crowd, AND it hides the clutter when you are done.
Bay Isle Home™ 40" Lift Top Coffee Table, Multi-Function Convertible to Dining Table with Drawers & Storage
Solid oak, rounded corners and three hidden compartments make this feel a little more grown-up than a lot of lift tops. Raise it for dinner or work, then put everything away and pretend the room is always this tidy.
Solid Wood Lift-Top Coffee Table with Hidden Storage & Rounded Corners
Proof that a lift-top table does not have to be a big rectangle. The round fluted shape is pretty enough to be the focal point, with storage hiding underneath.
Round Fluted Lift-Top Coffee Table with Hidden Storage
The Pretty Ones That Still Have to Live in a Real House
Not every coffee table needs hydraulics. These are the shapes and finishes I’d look at when the table itself is part of the room’s design, but it still has to survive drinks, feet, books and normal life.
Low, chunky and warm without trying too hard. This is the kind of table that gives a room a solid center and still leaves plenty of surface for the stuff you actually use.
Coffee Table Natural - Hearth & Hand™ with Magnolia
The pedestal base keeps this visually simple and the round shape makes conversation and game night feel a little less formal. Bonus: it arrives assembled.
Wooden Round Pedestal Coffee Table - Hearth & Hand™ with Magnolia
A round table with a lower shelf and a little storage tray gives you somewhere for the everyday stuff without covering the entire top. Functional, but not in an office-furniture way.
round coffee table with storage, modern design
The hidden drawer is the star here. Put the chargers, remotes and other little living-room nonsense in there and let the walnut top be pretty.
Round Coffee Table with Storage and Feet
Coffee Table Decor That Can Move When Dinner Arrives
The trick is making it look finished without covering every available inch. A tray, something with shape, and maybe one useful little catchall is plenty when this table also has a day job.
A tray is basically the cheat code for a working coffee table. Corral the pretty stuff in one place, then pick the whole thing up when the pizza arrives.
10" Rectangular Woven Tray - Threshold™ designed with Studio McGee
Small enough for the little things that otherwise wander around the table. I would use this for a candle, matches or the tiny things nobody knows where to put.
Square Marble Catchall Tray - Threshold™ designed with Studio McGee
A little brass gives you contrast against wood, stone or a stack of books. It also makes three random objects look intentional, which is a useful decorating superpower.
Small Brass Tray - Threshold™ designed with Studio McGee
The handles are what sell me here. Style it, enjoy it, and then move the whole setup in about five seconds when somebody pulls out a board game.
Brass Footed Tray with Handles - Threshold™ designed with Studio McGee
Short is important on a coffee table because nobody wants to watch television through a floral arrangement. 😂 Add a few stems and you get height without building a wall.
Carved Ceramic Vase - Threshold™ designed with Studio McGee
Coffee Table Books People Might Actually Open
I refuse to believe coffee table books exist only to make a beige stack under a candle. Pick subjects you actually care about so somebody eventually opens one.
This one earns the coffee-table-book label: a century of interiors, architecture and photography in a big book you can actually disappear into for a while.
Architectural Digest at 100 - by Architectural Architectural Digest (Hardcover)
Possibly the most on-topic book for this entire list. It is about arranging everyday objects into rooms and vignettes that feel personal instead of staged.
Arranging Things - by Colin King (Hardcover)
Beautiful enough to leave out, but there is actual decorating and renovation thinking inside. That is my favorite kind of coffee table book: pretty AND useful.
Call It Home - by Amber Lewis (Hardcover)
Another one that can live in the stack and still get opened when you are trying to figure out why a room feels off. Lots of rooms, details and ideas to steal.
The Art of Home - by Shea McGee (Hardcover)
Coastal homes and retreats from around the world, so obviously this one got my attention. 😂 The photography gives you plenty to look at even if nobody reads a word.
By the Sea - by Mirjam Bleeker & Frank Visser (Hardcover)
A completely different mood from the coastal book: mountain houses, landscapes and gorgeous photography. Coffee table books are more interesting when the stack actually reflects what you like.
Mountain House - by Nina Freudenberger (Hardcover)
Choose a place you love, have visited or want to visit instead of buying a book just because the cover matches the sofa. These are colorful enough to be decor and interesting enough to start a conversation.
Assouline Travel Series Hardcover Coffee Table Book
Before You Buy or Style the Thing
A couple of free reads for getting the scale and styling right without turning the coffee table into a showroom display nobody is allowed to touch.
Architectural Digest walks through several ways to style the table, which is helpful when you want ideas without buying another basket of random decor.
How to Style Your Coffee Table for Any Occasion
The coffee-table section is quick but useful, especially the reminder to mix shapes instead of lining up a bunch of matching rectangles. Free inspiration before you start moving everything around.
How to Style 5 Key Spots in Your Home