The Best Coffee Tables To Elevate Your Living Space
Are you looking to update the look and feel of your living room without spending a fortune? Forget getting a new couch or replacing the window curtains; all you need is a stylish coffee table to bring your laid-back living space back to life. With their alluring designs crafted from unique and unusual materials, coffee tables serve as the focal piece of the entire room.
The lavish and eye-catching décor accents of a coffee table can make it an eye-catching centerpiece. Whether you need to prop your feet up while sipping coffee, showcase your limited-edition books and décor pieces, or play board games with your friends, there’s no end to what a coffee table can do for you. If you have eyes for this year’s hot favorites, this list picks out the top-ranking coffee tables of 2023.
Finding Your Next Coffee Tables: A Buyer’s Guide
Despite the high renovation costs, there’s always a way of remodeling your living room on a budget. Either spend your money on something as subtle as the flooring or the wallpapers or be creative and spend your hard-earned money on a cool and aesthetic coffee table. The humble coffee table has become the most widely sought-out living room furniture. But, the style and aestheticism of a coffee table are only a part of what it actually offers.
Why Are Coffee Tables So Popular?
Even though pandemic lockdowns are now a distant memory, working from home has become a reality. As more than 45% of full-time American employees shift towards home-based jobs, lots of cash has started flowing into home renovations. While some are turning their living rooms into home offices, others are trying to revamp their rooms to make them more convenient and comfortable.
Since coffee tables are the focal piece of a living room where most of the activity happens, it’s often the first thing on most homeowners’ checklist. From minimal and aesthetically appealing tables with only room for magazines and a flower vase, to more practical versions with storage space, there’s an endless variety of coffee tables to steer through.
You can even find flip-up coffee tables that turn into a work desk or a little dining table, eliminating the need to change spots when you feel comfortable on the couch. Regardless of what coffee table you intend to buy, consider the following factors for a satisfactory purchase.
What To Look for When Buying a Coffee Table?
Type
With the enormous range of coffee tables today, home improvement enthusiasts and designers have categorized the most popular coffee table types:
- Retro: With their hardwood structure, attached drawers, and double-tier platforms, retro coffee tables are ones that never go out of style. These timeless pieces can go along with both traditional and modern interior designs.
- Contemporary: A hot favorite in most households, they exhibit a sleek, minimal, and aesthetically appealing outlook. Modern coffee tables are focused more on the look than practicality.
- Coastal: These coffee tables are designed to exhibit a natural and earthy look, typically inspired by traditional pinewood houses at the beach. They are built from light-toned wood that is yet to be refined or processed.
- Vintage: As one of the most widely sought furniture designs, vintage coffee tables look classy and quirky simultaneously. This makes them a perfect fit for traditional and contemporary interiors that are more catered to raw design.
- Ottomans: Typically inspired by Ottoman culture, these coffee tables integrate well with cozy settings. These are designed to cater to both seating and storage requirements.
Build material
Even though coffee tables were initially constructed from wood and metal, as designers’ creativity started dispersing into furniture, we see tables made from glass, acrylic, and even marble. Here are the most commonly used materials to build coffee tables.
Wood: Due to its versatility, sturdiness, and rich style, wood is the oldest material used in furniture construction. Even though hardwood is the sturdiest of all, it’s rarely used to construct furniture due to its high cost. Instead, MDF sheets have taken over the furniture industry due to their cost effectiveness, durability, and waterproofing.
Metal: Being sturdy yet lightweight makes metal a popular material in furniture construction today. Although it’s mainly used in combination with wood, glass, and marble for building the frame or structure of the furniture, metal is used in manufacturing industrial-style coffee tables.
Glass: Like numerous other materials, glass is primarily used with metal frames creating a stunning and sleek outlook. While it brings an opulent shine and luster to the furniture, glass is the most fragile of all of the materials listed here.
Storage capacity
Not all coffee tables are all grandeur and elegance; some are crafted to expand the storage capacity of your living room while keeping everything nearby. If you want to get the most of both space and aesthetics, a two-tier platform will suit you the best. With two different storage levels, you can place your decorative items and books on the top shelf while using the bottom for storing gaming consoles and remotes.
In case your storage requirements surpass the capacity of two-tier tables, shift your attention towards coffee tables that feature dedicated storage space. Open racks and drawers are common storage options that can store your magazines, books, remotes, phone chargers, and cables.
Despite all that space, some larger families may need even more storage space in their living rooms. With everyone having one thing or another lying around the coffee table, you have no choice but to get a top-lift coffee table. These tables have lift-up tops that can be pressed open, enabling access to a spacious storage compartment. Lift-up tabletops work as a desk or dining spot when required.
Compare Our Favorite Coffee Tables in 2023
Rolanstar Lift Top Coffee Table
– Best Overall
For a sturdy, functional, and retro-styled coffee table, the Rolanstar Lift Top Coffee Table takes the lead. Unlike typical low-height tables that require you to lean forward while sitting on the couch, this table features a metal lift mechanism that flips the platform open to a raised height. Feeling too lazy to get off the sofa? You can simply use it as your new dining table and work desk without straining your back.
This hardwood table exhibits a retro-styled outlook that seamlessly aligns with most living room decors. While the dual platform design is sufficient for placing your décor items, books, and magazines, the soft-closing bottom drawers make perfect storage spots for keys, remotes, consoles, and cables. An easily accessible hidden compartment maximizes storage capacity, making it this year’s best overall coffee table.
- Hardwood construction ensures sturdiness
- The lift-top feature expands its versatility
- Retro-styled outlook matches various interior spaces
- Offers healthy storage capacity
- The assembly can be difficult
Signature Design by Ashley Valebeck Farmhouse Coffee Table
– Extensive Storage Capacity
Of all classy and stylish coffee tables, nothing captivates your attention as well as the Signature Design by Ashley Valebeck Farmhouse Coffee Table. An artful combination of plain wood, pine veneers, and engineered wood brings out its eye-catching vintage look, inspired by typical farmhouse furniture. With its massive dimensions, this cocktail table offers just as much storage space.
This tabletop exhibits a split style design coupled with a spring lift top, allowing you to access the storage area effortlessly. It displays a dual-tone accent with industrial brackets and plank effect style, improving the table’s style and functionality. The package comes with an easy-to-follow instruction guide for quick and hassle-free assembly.
- Boasts off a solid and durable construction
- Large-size ensures maximum storage space
- Built from pine veneers and engineered wood
- Split style design enables convenient storage access
- May have a strong chemical odor
WLIVE Lift Top Coffee Table
– Hidden Compartment
Imagine dining and working from the comfort of your living room. The WLIVE Lift Top Coffee Table offers a lift-up tabletop that smoothly turns into a workbench or dining table, making work from home utterly convenient and dinner more comfortable. This coffee table is crafted from an oakwood board with a heavy-duty steel frame, making it both waterproof and wear resistant.
This coffee table is divided into two storage compartments. The longer part of the tabletop lifts to access the compartment below, whereas the other part of the tabletop slides sideways, exposing the secret storage area. Both opening units are equipped with soft-closing fixtures, which prevent slamming and smashing.
- Stylish and contemporary style
- Feature dual storage compartments
- Table top turns into a workbench
- Smooth closing mechanism
- The assembly can be challenging
NSdirect Round Coffee Table
– Wood Grain Imitation
The 36-inch NSdirect Round Coffee Table with its two-tier platform offers ample space for storing your everyday essentials nearby, including books, magazines, and décor items, keeping the rest of the room tidy and spruced up. Instead of standard hardwood, this coffee table is constructed from an eco-friendly MDF particle board that exhibits ultra-fine wooden grains maximizing its vintage appeal.
Despite its minimal and simplistic design, the table improves the interior decor of your living space extensively. It is built from a solid alloy structure with powder coating for better waterproofing and wear resistance. The easy to assemble design can be set up in minutes, thanks to the step-by-step instruction manual.
- Allows quick and easy assembly
- Made from sturdy MDF boards
- Comes with three years of warranty
- The two-tier platform provides sufficient space
- The metal structure isn’t sturdy enough
Athena Rectangular Coffee Table
– Tempered Glass Shelves
Nothing comes close to the Athena Rectangular Coffee Table when it comes to lavish and classy interiors. From king-sized bedrooms and living rooms, to executive offices and drawing rooms, the linear geometric shapes of this coffee table will bring style and elegance no matter where you place it. While the table is constructed from a durable steel structure with a brass finishing, it uses tempered glass shelves, balancing durability with luxury.
Even though tempered glass is stronger than regular glass, you should refrain from placing too much weight on the surface. A couple of decorative items and some design magazines will be more than enough to place on the table.
- Lightweight than standard coffee tables
- Made from steel with glass shelves
- Brass enameled steel enhances style
- Perfect for executive offices and living rooms
- The glass shelves are too fragile
People Also Asked
A: Coffee tables are often designed at the same level as your couch, since they are mainly used for aesthetic and decorative purposes. If you want to enjoy some added benefits, look for tables that support height elevation to suit dining and working needs.
A: Since both feature the same height and distance from the couch, there’s no clear difference between a coffee table and a center table, apart from the fact that a center table is slightly larger than a coffee table.
A: Unless you are comfortable sitting on the floor, having dinner on the coffee table while on the couch can take a toll on your spine, since both are the same height. So, either shift to the dinner table or get a coffee table that offers lift-up tabletop functionality.
A: Since it's not compulsory or recommended, it depends on your style preference. Most homeowners and designers prefer going with a unique and unconventional furniture which sets the design statement of your living area.
