How to choose a Coffee Table

Whether you’re creating your living room, remodelling, or designing your bachelor pad, the coffee table you choose will be the all-important anchor for your room and your primary complimentary piece to its partnered Sofa.

There are hundreds of styles and finishes to coffee tables, and when choosing one for your home your first stop should be making sure that it complements its paired sofa.

Take stock of the room. Ask yourself whether you want your current sofa to blend with the décor or if you want it to stand out.

For example, if your sofa is of contemporary style, pairing it with a minimalist-styled coffee table will help your sofa remain the centerpiece for the room.

Good interior design is about balance and objects should only stand out when you want them to. You may want to use a glass coffee table to add ‘shine’ to the room and show off your rug if you have one down.

Sizing and Layout

A coffee table should be half but ideally 2/3 rds the length of your sofa. It should sit about 50 cm away from your sofa and should be a comfortable reach from the sofa to put down glasses or books, while still keeping enough room for people to walk by.

To easily visualise and experiment with the size and positioning of your coffee table, we recommend laying out newspaper on the floor in the size of the coffee table, so that you can see its footprint on the space.

The height of your coffee table should be within a few centimetres of your sofa’s seating height – the standard height is around 43 – 35 cm.

To find the correct layout for your room, we suggest using this handy guide:

Budget

When choosing your coffee table remember that it’s a 'forever piece'. There is no secret formula to how much you should spend on a coffee table as they vary greatly due to materials and craftsmanship, and quite often will have a longer lifespan than your sofa.

If you must compromise, make sure that you don’t throw the balance of the room off with the wrong piece, as demonstrated in the above graphic.

Easy tips to getting started

• If you’re going for a classic look, the Bass Coffee Table or Cross Base Coffee Table are great choices

• If you wanted a lighter but still elegant look (possibly Glass), then consider the Marianne Coffee Table

• Remember to try our newspaper tip above!

If you would like some free help, Sherryl and Nan are always happy to assist you in finding the right piece for your unique home and are available over the phone on 03 9939 1967 or via email at info@gaudions.com.au