Coffee Table Types to Choose for Home Decor

If there is one essential piece of furniture for any lounge room then it is a coffee table. The coffee table furniture in a room is the centerpiece for families to gather around and talk, enjoy a drink, and play. You may have books on your coffee table that you never read but it is more likely that you using it too put your feet up and keep your drinks on.

Children may rest on it as they play with toys or color in and you might rest your laptop on it in front of the television. What this means is that your coffee table furniture needs to be hard-wearing and long-lasting. Fortunately, if you select the right coffee table not only will it look great as a focal point of your room, but it will also last you many years.

Types of Coffee Table Furniture

For the purposes of this article, we are considering centerpiece coffee tables rather than side tables. Your coffee table is one of the most important pieces of furniture in you lounge room, probably after your couch. The coffee table is the best piece of furniture in your home to show a bit of artistic flair. While you might not want to get to daring on you choice of color scheme, carpets and chairs when it comes to your coffee table you can afford to be a bit more elaborate. This means that you can get something that really makes a statement.

You can get coffee tables made out of all different types of material and fashioned into all kinds of interesting furniture designs so why not let your coffee table be art as well as a functional piece.

Coffee tables can come in clusters, have drawers or just be made from a simple single piece of glass. Does your coffee table need to provide storage for magazines or books or do you want it to be simple and elegant with clean lines that don’t add to the clutter of your room?

Perhaps you have a more traditionally styled room and you want to use wood, as it is more in keeping. Maybe you have a very contemporary home and think that metal and chrome would go best. There really are so many options. One thing that is for sure is that when you get that coffee table for your room you will have a nice statement signature piece that will really finish off the room in a great way.

Oak Coffee Table

You can get coffee tables made out of all sorts of different materials. From wood to metal to plastic to glass, you name it and they make coffee tables out of it. You can even get stitched leather finished coffee tables if that is something you are going for.

For centuries wood has been used to make furniture in our homes and one of the grandest and most hardwearing types of wood that is used is that of the oak tree.  Oak Coffee tables are heavy and hardwearing and the natural contours and warm of wood makes for an excellent piece of furniture.

Many coffee tables that you can buy which appear wooden today are actually made out of MDF or a similar material.  This is usually a load of wood chipboard covered in a wood effect laminate. Whilst this can get the desired effect in many settlings, there is no excuse really, apart from cost, for not opting for solid wood furniture. This means getting a coffee table made from wood that has been crafted by a skilled craftsman rather than glues together by a machine. You will also find that this type of coffee table will be more pleasing to the eye.

Oak Coffee Table and Sustainability

Whenever you buy any wooden product, including down to toilet paper, you should make sure that it is from a sustainable source. Oak is not a threatened wood species, but you should look for a reputable company that displays credentials that they source their raw material from sustainable forests. This means that for each tree that is chopped down to make some nice furniture one or usually more trees are planted. This keeps the cycle going and ensures that the much needed trees for the air quality and future sustainability are kept in a cycle.

Oak is a magnificent wood to have a coffee table made out of and you will find that you are left with a stunning piece of furniture that will look great at the centre of your room if you opt for an oak coffee table.

Glass Coffee Table

If you are looking for a contemporary and sleek fixture for your living room, and are struggling to understand what the best color to go for is then you might want to consider a glass coffee table. The great thing about glass coffee tables is that they allow light through in small rooms, and if you have a fancy patterned or designer rug that you are proud of you don’t totally obscure it by placing a coffee table on top of it.

Types of Glass Coffee Tables

The first consideration you are going to have when looking at a glass coffee table is whether to go for clear glass or colored glass. Whilst most of the coffee tables that you find are likely to be clear glass, an increasing number of designers are starting to use colored glass.

This colored glass could be opaque or totally colored. You might for example get a completely black glass or just a slightly smoked effect one. Of course, mixing colors is in too and your could find that you get a clear glass coffee table with some colored elements.

The great thing about glass as a material for your coffee table is that it is very versatile material to make furniture out of. Although it is rigid it can be shaped and moulded.

This has to lead to the increased popularity of glass coffee table as many designs do not have joins or fixings and are constructed out of a single piece of glass. Glass is a very stylish material and remains fairly timeless unless you go for garnish and unfashionable colors. Also, if you have something fancy like purple area rugs, the see-through glass enables you to still appreciate it through the coffee table.

Where to buy Glass Coffee Tables

Despite the fact that any good glass coffee tables that you buy will be made out of toughened glass, you need to consider how you will transport it from the place where you buy it to your home. Many department stores will do delivery but they will charge a fee. If you choose to buy your glass coffee tables online then you are most likely going to need to get them delivered anyway. If you go for a table that is perhaps mixed medium like a chrome and glass coffee table it may need some construction and many companies will offer this as part of the delivery package.

Designer or Branded?

You can, of course, go for an off-the-shelf branded coffee table or you could look at getting one from a specialist furniture makers. There are a lot of specialists about but due to the nature of their work you will pay a premium for your coffee table. That said you will be getting a far more unique piece of furniture that will act as a great focal point for your room.