12 Coffee Tables to Stir Up a Living Room Look

by Charmean Neithart Interiors, LLC. · 12 photos · 25 comments

modern living room by Digs By Katie | Katie Leede & Company

This basic wood coffee table has a fresh twist with a lower-than-standard height, about 12 to 14 inches, giving this sunny living room an updated appeal. Stack your favorite books in piles on top for a casual, homey look.

by Digs By Katie | Katie Leede & Company

traditional living room by Chad Jackson Photo

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The glass table is a classic choice for both traditional and contemporary interiors. Glass tables help create an airy, uncluttered feel. If you have a beautiful rug that you don't want covered up, glass is your answer.

by Chad Jackson Photo

contemporary living room by Christy Dillard Kratzer

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A live-edge slab table gives an instant soft modern appeal. With a metal base, it's a great style to mix into eclectic arrangements.

by Christy Dillard Kratzer

modern living room by Schwartz and Architecture

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Tree trunk coffee tables such as this trio have become very popular as part of the green furniture movement. They're typically very heavy; buy ones with casters to make transit much easier.

by Schwartz and Architecture

contemporary living room by Powell/Kleinschmidt, Inc.

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A coffee table made of separate pieces, such as these four square ones, is perfect for people who like to mix things up and move furniture around regularly. This geometric grouping has great modern appeal.

by Powell/Kleinschmidt, Inc.

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Have a favorite table but long for a change? Splash on some paint! The color can tie into the room's palette or introduce a splash of random color.

by Joel Snayd

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A petite coffee table set to one side is a great option for a daybed. Allowing for easy access to the seat, this small table is just big enough to hold books, a lamp or a mug.

by Best & Company

traditional living room by Cecilie Starin Design Inc.

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A painted coffee table feels very traditional, adding complex layers the eye loves to rest on. Note how this black coffee table is mixed with white painted chairs and medium-toned end tables.

by Cecilie Starin Design Inc.

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Make it a soft top. An upholstered ottoman is so comfortable and legs-up casual that it's hard to resist. You can always place a tray on top as a solid surface for drinks or accessories.

by Branca, Inc.

contemporary living room by Tucker & Marks

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Natural stone tables are beautiful in traditional and modern settings. Durable and substantial, they anchor a room as the focal point. Stone is a great starter for a neutral palette.

by Tucker & Marks

traditional living room by Bosworth Hoedemaker

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Repurpose an old trunk or suitcase. These types of pieces give a room a lived-in look while adding storage for blankets and pillows.

by Bosworth Hoedemaker

traditional family room by Patrick Sutton Associates

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Consider a café-style height, just like in your favorite coffee shop. A café height changes the look and function of the table completely.

by Patrick Sutton Associates

Comments

Darzy Nice article Charmean! Thank you. I think I've owned/used most of these styles at one time or another in my lifetime....well, except the tree stumps. : )

4 months ago · Like ·

Rough Linen Trunks all the way! And ottomen, and stacking stools - anything but a coffee table!

4 months ago · Like ·

sindisiwe1 That is a gorgeous ottoman!

4 months ago · Like ·

Home Decorating Shop UK Great photography. With all of the ways in which a coffee table can impact a room, depending on the style involved, it seems to be a very nearly indispensable item of furniture for any home.

4 months ago · Like ·

Miho Beckmann Very nice coffee tables! We use attached photo at this moment. It certainly gives a good look and practical as well :)

4 months ago · Like ·

Planika They are all very interesting. The one by Branca looks very comfortable. What about this one:

4 months ago · Like ·

910 Castings Couldn't agree more! Very nice article. I have one more suggestion to add to the mix...would you consider a custom cast concrete coffee table?

4 months ago · Like ·

eliette26 do you have examples for French provincial furniture in living room

4 months ago · Like ·

debmarkey Does anyone know where can I find the large stone coffee table (3rd picture from the bottom)?

4 months ago · Like ·

Lisa Frederick These are great, Charmean! Thank you! I am on the hunt for a living room coffee table and you've given me some great ideas to think about.

4 months ago · Like ·

Charmean Neithart Interiors, LLC. Hi debmarkey. I suggest you post a question on that particular picture. The designer will be alerted she has a question and hopefully will get back to you. I know the designer of that space is very good about responding to her inquiries. Thank you for your comments. Charmean Neithart

4 months ago · Like

Charmean Neithart Interiors, LLC. Hi eliette26. I suggest a glass table for a french look. Also, really anything with a Queen Anne style leg will work. Here are a few pictures to illustrate this suggestion...a galss table
French Colonial Living Room 1
This is a Queen Anne style leg...
French Colonial Living Room 2

Finally, a chinoiserie style such as this would look great mixed in with a French style interior...
San Francisco Spanish Colonial Revival
Hope that helps. Charmean Neithart

French Colonial Living Room traditional living room

by Charmean Neithart...

French Colonial Living Room 1

by Charmean Neithart...

French Colonial Living Room 2

by Cecilie Starin Design...

San Francisco Spanish Colonial Revival

4 months ago · Like ·

TrueBee® Design Oh, a TrueBee Design CROWN Storage Ottoman would be fabulous in so many of these spaces...it beautifully combines coffee table, footrest, storage and extra seating!

4 months ago · Like ·

Christy Dillard Kratzer Nice ideabook! Thanks for including my photo.
Christy

4 months ago · Like

kroze Lovely article on the most interesting part of any living room. It truly reflects a part of our individual personalities. They can be fun, witty, showcase, or just plain functional. I have a bit of a coffee table fetish and own several. This is one of my favorites. It is two pieces of beveled glass with an Indonesian tribal textile between the two pieces. They rest upon two porcelain pots used to store food supplies on trading ships to the Spice Islands in the Seventeenth Century. When the food stuff was consumed the traders used them to barter for Spices. That is where I found them. I had to be creative to find a functional use for them in an already crowded home.

4 months ago · Like ·

lucca I love the old furniture carts as a coffee table

4 months ago · Like ·

kroze That was cool Lucca. Love it!

4 months ago · Like

Charmean Neithart Interiors, LLC. Yes, Lucca, Great looking option.

4 months ago · Like

matched This chest is a family heirloom, which we love. It works perfectly at our lake house.

4 months ago · Like ·

Charmean Neithart Interiors, LLC. Hi matched.
Great trunk. Looks perfect for a lake house. Thank you for sharing your picture. Charmean

4 months ago · Like

kaye cie how about this recently completed beauty, cobbled together from bits and ideas... found the top on the street, recycled the legs form another project, designed the stencil to accent the negative space, which i stained with a homemade vinegar and steel wool concoction, the legs are darkened with a blow torch, to explore the effect. this coffee table says a lot about me and my style. it'll live in our backyard seating area once the weather warms/ dries up!

a coffee table is a great form to explore style and function- simple enough to mess up and recover, complex enough to be commanding, important, but easy enough to swap out in a pinch

4 months ago · Like ·

busyperson I do not like coffee tables, any suggestions of what to do with a mid size living room with a lovely oriental rug with a center medallion that I don't want to cover up. cay

4 months ago · Like ·

Charmean Neithart Interiors, LLC. Hi busyperson. Yes, take a look at the last picture I selected. A bistro height table set to one side is a great look. That will work with the scale of your room and allow the center medallion to show on your rug. You can also try several small tables placed around the medallion. Like this...

Marrakesh by Design Morrocan Homes...

Hope that helps.
Charmean Neithart

4 months ago · Like

frenchdecor @busyperson I have tea set, two chairs and bistro like table, all wood, but I think about replacing with 2 dining arm chairs and small metal and glass top table for mismatch look and add more texture; side table (should be about sofa's side height) and depends on your furniture arrangement you can have console table behind the sofa (about it's back height).

4 months ago · Like ·

busyperson thanks, everyone for your input,

4 months ago · Like ·