apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

i have the same exact macbook! :-D

Where did you get that rolodex?

I like to keep it keep, so that there'd be room for my coffee.

Mine is pretty bare. You never know when you'll have people over for board games...or sake bombs.

I got rid of my coffee table preciseyl because all I used it for was as another surface to pile things on. And I didn't really need it anyway, the room is too small to have one and still look good and there's enough other places to put a cup or mug.

Mine has a ton of things on it, and cleanig it is akin to doing an archaelogical survey. However since May and my redecorating I've managed to keep it the ONLY place in the apartment where a mess is authorized (as opposed to every single flat surface before).

Oh, and for mugs and teapots I have a small wooden tray on X shaped folding legs that fits underneath when not in use.

I voted clean and pristine, but that's kind of cheating. Our "coffee table" is actually two leather cube ottomans sitting together, that get moved around the living room as needed. Our space is too small for a "real" coffee table.

There's not much of an opportunity for anything to gather on them. The only thing that's ever on them is a tray, that we bring out when we're having tea.

recently got the black ikea stockholm oblong coffee table & was so excited! until i realized my puppy could reach everything on it (he couldnt' when i had ikea's big lack table), so now the new table is completely naked until he's older. it looks so sad sometimes.

This sculptural steel & glass coffee table was the find of the century. We paid $20 for the base in a vintage clothing store then found an exact match on 1stdibs.com for $4,800. Unbelievable! http://stylenorth.ca/blog/about/

I inherited my parent's awesome black slate-topped coffee table and it usually has a small stack of magazines on it (a few select issues Atomic Ranch and BUST), a decorative plate/platter thingie and a small basket with a box of tissue, 3 nylabones and a dog comb and brush. The table is about 5' long so there's always plenty of room on it for stuff and sometimes it can get cluttered on weekends when I have my knitting out, but overall it stays fairly clean and since it's slate it can take a real beating and you don't have to use coasters and you can put your feet all over it.

One personal rule that has served me well over the years is to ALWAYS-ALWAYS-ALWAYS keep the coffee table and dining room table COMPLETELY free of clutter. It makes such a HUGE difference to the look of the whole room, try it and see! (especially important if you have roommates or cohabitants...)

I would love for my coffee table to be clean and pristine (and everything in my life), but I inherited my parents' pack rat clutter machine ways, so it's a constant and bitter struggle! I always tell my roommate to just be blunt and tell me to clean up my junk if it gets annoying!

My sofa is a 7 ft, deep, rich mahogany Victorian, and my coffee table is, unexpectedly to say the least, a 7 ft low bench made of a section of pier we found floating in the Hudson--very aged, grey wood, very heavy. Inexplicably, they look gorgeous together. I keep it entirely clear, probably because it's perfect for putting one's feet up on when watching TV, and also, my dog likes to lie on it to watch the TV when he's not interested in snuggling with me on the sofa.

I don't have a coffee table because my dog's tail wags at exactly the same height at most tables and one moment of happiness will sweep the tabletop clean!

I have three nesting tables next to my sofa and will sometimes pull out the two smallest and place them in front of the sofa for drinks, remote, etc. while I'm sitting there. Otherwise, the center of the room is open for walking and playing.

I think the coffee table is a somewhat dated concept.

I'm intrigued by this "dated concept". I don't have a sofa.. I want to someday. I do have a coffee table from my childhood home, it's been used but right now it's in the closet. I think I would tend to be messy, I'm not kidding you, I would be, to answer the poll.

If I did have a sofa in this apartment, I've always wondered that it would take up too much space with the coffee table. As skinny and long as it is, it's too much of an extension past the front edge of any sofa I'd have. So I could do without one, yeah? I suppose it's no coincidence that I had a recent revelation to put taller legs on that coffee table and use it as a counter in the kitchen. Nice, right?