Do you really need a coffee table? I'm in the middle of redecorating my living room and that's the question that I asked myself when trying to come up with an arrangement that really works for how I live. The previous incarnation of my living room was kind of formal: two couches facing each other with a coffee table in the middle. This time, I decided, I wasn't going to have a coffee table at all!
When I sat down to really think about it and take a really good look at how I use my space everyday (and not just the few times a month that I have people over), I don't need a coffee table. I don't entertain like my parents; people don't come over for cocktails every night around six.
Here's what really happens in my living room: I like to sit by my window in the morning and write while I drink my morning latte. Later in the day, I might take a break from work and lie down on the couch or go back to that same chair by the window and read. If people do come by, they often bring their kids or their dogs who play at our feet as we talk. Occasionally, yes, a coffee table might be a nice thing to have, but that might be once every two months.
What I decided I need is a place to put down a drink (and the remote) next to each place to sit. So, instead of a coffee table, I'm getting a few side tables that can be pushed together if the need for a coffee table arises.
What about you? Do you really need a coffee table? Or is it just a habit?
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I have never had one. I like lying down on my living room rug to stretch, read, or even nap. A coffeetable would just be in the way (and another surface to collect clutter).
I have a console table behind my sofa which gets more use as a drink holder/magazine rest than my coffee table ever did.
I was coffee table shopping this weekend so this post is right on time! I was wondering if I really even need a coffee table. I think I am going to borrow your idea and stick to side tables. Thanks.
I have never had one. I like lots of room to move around and like you said, when my friends w/ kids come over they are usually sprawled out on the rug coloring or wrestling w/ our push over lab :)
we could live without one...most of my friends and cousins who have kids skip the coffee table to have space for the kids to run around and its cool eitherway :)
I have a large leather ottoman that serves as a floating coffee table/ footstool/ extra seating.
I have a 4yr old who uses the open floorspace for all of his epic Thomas The Tank Engine storylines :)
These days a lot of people use ottomans as coffee tables, and then put a tray on them. I think that's not a bad way to go. Meanwhile, if a living room arrangement had a rug had some kind of focus point in the middle of it, that could bring a little bit of cohesion.
I have 3 tables like this one from Target, and they move around as needed - to act as a drink stand, fancy tv tray, foot rest, etc. The flexibility is awesome, and serves my couch and arm chair perfectly.
I agree with the comments...you don't have to have one. I don't have one and it makes my living room feel bigger. However, once in awhile it would be nice to be able to put my feet up, but then again that's what ottomans are for.
You can always keep an ottoman to the side somewhere to pull out when you want to kick your feet up and relax!
We have absolutely no room for a coffee table, or end tables for that matter. We sacrficed some space for a large, low, deep couch (see CB2 Movie Sofa) that can seat many guests and double as a bed for overnight guests. I'm intrigued by the idea of having a sofa table behind the sofa, even if the sofa is against a wall. I wonder what the sofa table would look like between the sofa and the wall? We could get the drinks/remote control/magazine rest we need without the large footprint of the coffee table.... but is this practical? ...would I end up spilling drinking or knocking over things when I lean back my head too hard? hmmm...
Another benefit to not having a coffee table is that it's much easier to vacuum. That alone makes it worth it to me!
We've never liked 'em. There are only a few we've ever liked, but have never been so enthused about that we have forked out the money for them. Maybe some day. We have a big poof for putting up our feet, and side tables for tea, etc., and so are comfortable enough for now.
The only time it becomes an issue is when my book club comes over.
i find ours too handy to get rid off. It stores the remotes, keeps the drinks/pizza box, and is perfect when I want to rest my feet on it.
We just use it too much to not have one.
I have a beautiful 40" round moroccan table top that sits atop a papasan chair base and serves as a coffee table, a foot rest, and an office (with a wireless keyboard and mouse, the tv acting as a monitor); it can also sit on top of the largest of one of my nesting tables at the perfect height to seat 4 for dinner. Or I can roll it into its spot as wall art and use the nesting tables for drinks or as ottomans. I like Transformer furniture.
We don't have a coffee table, but we do have a one year old! We have an ottoman we use as a table/extra seat/push toy (it also houses extra cloth diapers and wipes). We never find ourselves wishing we had one. We would much rather have all that extra space to get down and play with our little girl. But, before the little one was around and we could sprawl out on our couch and drink a glass of wine willy nilly, we loved having two small lightweight IKEA side tables (as opposed to one big one). Still ended up with more dirty dishes and junk on it than I wanted most of the time though.
We don't have a coffee table... but was thinking we needed one after moving to our flat this past weekend.
We've been using 4 marais stools (http://www.dwr.com/product/marais-stool-18-in.do) for extra seating and have used them individually or grouped them together as a ersatz coffee table.
I have always had coffee tables, I never even thought of not using them. I guess it's just a box I like being stuck in, plus some coffee tables are so pretty. That being said, my current coffee table is lightweight and can double as a bench too, which it has in the past depending on the space I am living in. I like the idea of ottomans and trays as coffee tables so maybe I will use those options in the future.
I agree with the other commentor who likes transformer furniture, I'm a big fan of versatile furniture.
I don't think you need a specific coffee table, but you need something.... An ottoman is a great alternative.
If you do decide to get one, you will be surprised how versatile it can be and how much it will tie your room together.
I've toyed with this notion before, but I really feel like the coffee table is the anchor of the room. When it's not there, I almost feel as if the room is drifting apart.
This just blew my mind. I'm redesigning my small living room. I already rid it off the monstrosity of a television and was trying to figure out how to make it more spacious. I've always had a coffee table, I think forgoing that option is just what I need. Thank you!!!
Our coffee table is the center of our living room--we love it. It's the right height to rest your feet on while sitting on the sofa. We also eat many meals around it, hubby and I sitting on the floor with the baby, and our preschooler pulled up to the table in her own little chair. It's the right height for the preschooler to sit at and play, and for the baby to pull up on and cruise around. Nope, I wouldn't want to go without our coffee table.
My coffee/bill paying desk/dinning table does triple duty so for me so it really is necessary. I just change the legs out (I have 2 different heights) depending on how I'm using the table.
I'd never felt the need for a coffee table but when my husband and I married he brought along a lovely one he'd made. He left it with me when we parted and I ended up selling it, feeling guilty, of course. Now I've inherited my parent's coffee table and I'm about to move again and guess what, it hasn't been used and now I'm selling that one, too. I like little wooden stools or mini-benches to hold the drinks. I have a few of those, an odd assortment and that's what works for me. I prefer the space in the middle of the seating arrangement. I always managed to knock my shins on the c. table even thought I admire how they look in photo shoots and other people's houses. Practical for me? Nah.
I can't imagine NOT having a coffee table! Add a pillow and it's an ottoman for comfy TV watching (probably its most important function), move the pillow and it's a place for food and drinks, a display surface for flowers, books and magazines. My bf doesn't have one - no side tables either - just one of those little upholstered cubes with a flip top - and it drives me a little crazy. I can't get comfortable. I also think a coffee table anchors the seating area - visually and functionally. Even a slim bench can function as a space-saving coffee table. I love them!
I love this idea! I have a midcentury surfboard coffee table that has been threatening to fall apart. Maybe once it finally does I will not replace it at all and instead get a set of side tables.
Side tables only work if there are 2 people sitting on the sofa. If there are 3 you need something in the center.
I love coffee tables, and I think my marble Florence Knoll table really makes my space. I think whether or not one needs a coffee table really depends on the room and furniture placement. To me, the picture above looks like something is missing.
I wouldn't be against being coffee table-free in the future, but I couldn't give up my current coffee table! It holds all my favorite books, it hides remotes and wii paraphernalia, as well as my "tv weights" (pretty much what it sounds like - the rule is if I watch tv I have to do weight reps and lunges). I also eat, drink, write reports, and put my feet on the coffee table. Sometimes I sit on it. Honestly, it would be easier to get rid of the couch!
We're debating this too. So far, we've been coffee table-less with two small side tables. However, with the addition of a second sofa, we're leaning towards a coffee table now. But this begs some new debate!
When we lived at our last home, the living room was just too small for a coffee table. And with a wild child running around, it just didnt make any sense to put another head-smashing piece of furniture in the room. Now we live in a bigger place with plenty of room...but we have another baby. Honestly, I dont miss having a coffee table that much. With a little walker around, it'd have to be bare anyway most of the day. I did find a C shaped table (at ana-white.com) that I am thinking of making instead. I couldnt imagine giving up the play area for a useless table.
You seem to have at least two side tables.
An aditional big coffee table could be too much and take away the openness. I'd leave it just as it is.
No coffee table. Just a two-tiered end table. We also have a very long, low credenza on the wall next to my husband's "TV chair"; he puts his drinks on that. Everyone else likes to sprawl out on the carpet, and a coffee table would just get in the way.
I do like the idea of nesting tables that can be put to the side and used as needed, though.
IMO - A living room without w coffee/cocktail table, a cocktail ottoman or smaller bunching tables is like a Thanksgiving dinnertable without a centerpiece. Sure, you can live without it - but the result is rather blah.
I have a large square table with drawers for remotes, etc - shelves for books - and I stack more decorative books on top along with some interesting vintage Italian pottery.
Blah, where was this thought 3 months ago when I bought a coffee table? I really like the one we ended up with, but I feel like all the other design choices are trapped around the coffee table. I wish we had done 2 C-tables for our laptops and invested in a great rug. Now I don't really know what to do.....
I didn't have one in my last home and don't have one now. I do have a leather ottoman, I just throw a tray on it when I need a surface. The rest of the time it's a footrest with storage. Easy to move around as needed.
I also use trays right on the couch for drinks, etc. (I don't have end tables either).
I strongly disagree with bepfs, as is the case with so many so called decorating "rules" it just depends on the space and your other pieces. If I put an coffee table in my current space, it would interrupt the flow of my narrow living area and make it look cluttered. I do have art books and decor on a shelf up against the wall next to the tv so my room definitely doesn't have the blahs just because of the absence of a coffee table.
Oh... I think nesting tables would be perfect for the space above in lieu of a coffee table or perhaps two little ottomans which could be stored on the side but pulled out onto the rug with trays when the need arises (there are also small sized ottomans with storage that the top flips over to reveal a built in tray).
Yeah the IKEA coffee table (which we do utilize on the rare occasion we entertain) that I bought assembled on Craigslist & wrestled up 2 flights of stairs is pushed against the fireplace. If we didn't need its ample storage, I would seriously consider getting rid of it. I think you really need quite a big space to comfortably house a coffee table.
Bold but you definitely need a coffee table in my opinion.
I have a coffee table that spends most of the time as a large side table. I don't really want a coffee table as the open feeling (and I am one for many Things and lots of Stuff) is really nice. But I need a foot rest, so today the coffee table has moved back to be my footrest, until I can figure out an ottoman I like. Side tables are fantastic. I have a mix of them, but many aren't the right height for the arms of my sofas. So it is a work in progress.
Nope - central coffee tables are just junk collectors and calf bruisers. I like to stretch out on my big rug and my daughter runs circles around me. nesting tables are a good choice, kidney shaped tables are great too for your cuppa. we also have our tv on a wheeled trolley so it is moved back out of the way when we are not using it, so its not the focus of the room layout
ps. did someone above just mention that they rest their feet and eat off their coffee table. eww
2 words - Storage.Ottoman.
@tinabalerina - Yep. I'm so sorry, as I normally live to never gross random people out on a comments board, please accept my heartiest apology. And rest assured that right after I let my bare, dirty feet touch the coffee table, that I do blow on the table a little before pouring my food directly on to lick it off. ;)
We have an ottoman/coffee table deal. It doesn't have storage, but we bought it because we only have one side table, and I didn't want something that my son (a baby at the time), could crash his head on. We use it for propping up our feet, and when we need the extra drink space, put a tray on it. I didn't buy it with the intent on having it forever, and when we redesign the space, I'll opt for something other than a coffee table. It's a pain, but my kids use it to color on, and race their cars across.
I think I'd rather have an oversized ottoman. If I need a place for drinks, I could add a tray. I've seen other people who made do with just an ottoman. For drinks and remote controls, etc, they used a 12x12 tile they got as a sample from renovating their kitchen. It was just like one giant coaster.
i think you need something to anchor the seating area... IMO the room pictured is screaming for a little coffee table/ottoman. right now were using a leather storage ottoman as we have little ones, but i've been keeping my eye out for a good looking vintage coffee table... or something to diy. we use the ottoman all the time, for coloring, for snacking, for resting our feet, for storage, i can't imaging not having anything there!
never had one...cumbersome and just steals the space. You can feel the breathing room is needed and the mid-space anchored the whole clustered furniture.
I've definitely been to homes without coffee tables. In my experience, it's usually people with little kids. Or big dogs. They'd rather use the floor space for rolling around and playing. Which is valid. That being said, I don't think a room looks as pulled together without a coffee table. The above photo is a perfect example. If all of the seats were occupied, it would look like everyone was gathered around a rug, which is weird (in my opinion). Add a coffee table, and it changes everything. But that's just me. I love my coffee table. I love to put my feet up while I'm watching TV; I like to sit on the floor in front of the table and read a book; I set out food when I have company........ I don't think I could sacrifice it.
I like a coffee table to put my feet on, but now that I have a 13 month old who falls and bangs his head on everything and grabs any cup of coffee you leave laying around. Rather than getting those UGLY bumper pads, we removed the coffee table. For now.
NAY!!!!
While you can live without it (come to think of it, you can live without everything, I currently live with no kitchen), I think it is necessary if you can afford it and have the necessary space.
I like it when people can put their drinks on the same surface; you are sure that people are facing each other and talking, rather than struggling for their drinks on the side tables. It acts as a focal activity point; that social function is why I'd never dump my coffee table. People naturally gravitate around your coffee table, never around side tables.
I also don't like the feeling of facing couches or chairs. It feels like people are too close to me, as if we were talking much closer than we could. The coffee table acts as a separator and as a focal point, when I put foods and drinks on it, and I love that double duty. Then again, maybe I'm very weird and cold.
Double duty furnitures sound like a great idea when you have limited space. I'm still looking for a good looking coffee table that could do all I ask of it. That is the one real challenge for me ! I have not found one I love yet.
We moved a few months ago and gave away our cheap IKEA coffee table, intending to get a nice one once we settled in but so far we haven't needed one. We have a toddler and 2 cats and they use the coffee table space very effectively. It is awkward for the middle person on the sofa, though, and we haven't done any non-casual entertaining yet.
My family didn't have a coffee table when I was growing up, instead we broke out the liberty bell-emblazoned TV trays (oh, the 70s) when we had company in need of a place to put drinks. I kind of want to get some TV trays but my husband very strongly disagrees.
@dirce79
HAHA
I have a coffee table. It has a glass top and a drawer to display collections. I have it to display my one visually-interesting collection, otherwise... well, I might still have a coffee table just because there are such nice ones around to tempt me.
Although dirce79 has almost convinced me to get a coffee table, here's another vote for the storage ottoman: much softer when you run into them and a boon for those of us with no built-in storage.
I use my queen size bed as a sofa so it's too deep to get any use out of a coffee table. Instead I bought a couple of trays that can sit on the bed for putting my drink on and when not used I stow them away on top of a kitchen cabinet.
no coffee table for us, just 2 young kids, an ottoman and 2 ikea lack side tables which get pushed around as needed
I have never had one. I think it is a huge spacer eater. End tables with storage work the best for me, especially with living in small spaces.
I don't think I would be comfortable in my living room without a coffee table. We use it as an ottoman and play games on it. I feel like the room would look oddly heavy on one side if we did not have it.
I don't have a coffee table either. I addition to a sofa and loveseat (which I will never buy again) I have a fairly big (and super comfy) chaise lounge which takes up some space. I also have 2 greyhounds and they like to toss stuffed toys up in the air and catch them. You can imagine that coffee table (potentially with cups of coffee on it) does not suit this scenario too well.
Plus, like somebody already mentioned, it is easier to vacuum if there is no coffeetable. And vacuum I do. A LOT.
I have a small chest/ottoman (stores the games that don't fit in the bottom of the chessboard). It has a padded top, so it's useful for extra seating or putting feet up on. And it can be topped with a tray if necessary, but I never do.
I have side tables/low bookshelves convenient to both chairs and the sofa for drinks/remotes. I think I want to get some wood tray tables (upscale TV trays LOL) for when I eat in front of the TV (bad habit, but we all do it occasionally).
I recently decided that in the apartment I'm moving into next month I will not be having a coffee table, much for the same reasons. Wikipedia's article on coffee tables is interesting and indicates they may not have even existed in their current incarnation until the 1930's. In small places, especially, the floor real estate is too valuable, not to mention my shins just don't need more corners to bruise against!
I've also been thinking about how I use my (small and too full) living room and what could be different and I realized that the coffee table is only useful when my kids and I do dinner-and-a-movie or when they need a flat project space (they want to be where the action is, not tucked away at our dining room table). Really, what we need is a foldable table that could be easily pulled out when needed, but mostly tucked away, and one that's roughly coffee table dimensions so that it will fit the space when in use. I'm not sure I've ever seen a collapsible coffee table...but I'll start looking!
I recently exchanged my clunky Ikea coffee table for a taller, squarer antique table that you can write at, eat at and read at. Much easier to maneuver around, AND you can see my rather nice rug. Best design move I've ever made.
No. Got rid of it years ago to play Wii. We love the open space and it makes the area feel larger. One less item to dust!
Breaking the rules? I've never owned a coffee table, my parents have never used a coffee table, my grandparents don't have a coffee table. I also hate being in other peoples' living rooms that contain coffee tables. Clean coffee tables seem dated, stuffy and pretentious to me, the ones covered with magazines and clutter are just eye-sores.
I have had many "coffee tables" over the years. My first one was a Queen Anne tea table with a lift-out tray. When I moved to a smaller apartment I used an antique Chinese chest because it gave me great storage. I have also used a 40 inch round Chippendale tripod dining table in the middle of the living room. As a collector I like having the space to display things. My current coffee table is a low rosewood Ming style. I don't entertain that often so the room only has to be arranged for the way I use it. When I do entertain it is usually a small cocktail party and if I need the space I move the coffee table into the hall closet.
I'm surprised at all the conversation this post has generated. This very topic is currently under debate in our house with my non-coffee drinking husband advocating for the table and me decidedly against it. I've never had a coffee table. I would consider one of those wooden armrest tray thingies for the sofa or one of those C-shaped tables that hover over and around the sofa.
We got a giant leather ottomon (with storage, of course) and replaced the feet on it with caster wheels. It functions as a coffee table when we set a tray on it. It's plush enough to use as seating for large gatherings. And it moves out of the way super easily for random projects.
Also, it makes a great footrest :)
Interested by lydiechan's comment re. coffee table history. Have noticed that my older house has very different use of space than those of similar size from post WWII era. Rooms are meant to be walked through. No corners just to look at or store things in. Storage limited to a kitchen cupboard. Coffee tables require committed space, as do built in closets, etc. I think they are, like built in closets, an artifact from the era of "stuff". . . .
This is a good idea. I think you should not have a coffee table if there is no need for one. It's better to have the space for leg room, pets, and smaller children without having to worry about them getting injured or stuck under a coffee table.