Designer Tips For Coffee Tables and End Tables

Designer Tips For Coffee Tables and End Tables
By Jennifer Akre







One thing's for sure, what defines coffee tables and end tables in the marketplace today continues to evolve. Nearly anything imaginable can serve in these roles in the modern home, from steamer trunks, antique luggage and cedar chests to designer pieces involving innovative uses of metals, glass, stone and even recycled or re purposed materials that were once destined for the landfill.
While this gives today's homeowner tremendous latitude in terms of choosing coffee tables and end tables that fit their own sense of style, personality and d�cor, it also complicates the issue since there are more choices now than ever before.
As always, the general rules of furniture apply. First, you don't need to have any of these furnishings in your home at all. However, if you choose this route, eventually you'll be casting about for something that can hold your food, drinks, remotes, iPads and books. Tables are really an essential part of any home and going minimalist by going without these tables isn't really going to make you look fashion forward, but perhaps, only incomplete.
What are the other rules? Well, as always, you need to take scale into account. You don't want your tables to dominate the space they are in. While you may fall in love with a huge square coffee table, it may be more appropriate for a large sectional than a small sofa and two chairs. You want the room to look balanced, moving from a single focal point outward to the other pieces. You don't want your individual furnishings to fight each other for attention, but rather, complement one another.
You also want your coffee tables and end tables to have a synergistic quality to them. Find a single thread to tie them together, even if they are different styles or approaches. For example, you can go with a nice bombe chest for a coffee table if you pick up certain design elements or materials out of it and use them as the inspiration for your end tables, such as the same stain, color or metal trim.
One of the newest trends is the design of coffee tables and end tables that look as if they once served a different purpose. This can include brand new tables that look like they have traveled the world with the rich and famous, only to spend their retirement years serving as your furniture. These are delightful pieces, from luggage inspired coffee tables to drum shaped end tables.
Creating a central theme for your room can help guide you in your journey toward the perfect coffee tables and end tables for your home. For instance, you may want to go tropical with your overall theme and use tables with a travel theme as part of the d�cor. If you live in a beach home or love the ocean, you may want to go with a more nautical look, such as an old hatch cover for the coffee table or a pair of end tables that have glass tops of ships wheels.
One of the best things you can do, according to many designers, is to purchase your upholstered furniture first, then purchase a coffee table. Complete your room with the end tables, which are the least dominant pieces in the room as they are usually butted up against other furnishings or anchor a corner, either of the room or a grouping of furniture. They rarely have a starring role in a room, but are very important supporting cast members.
Coffee tables and end tables are one of the main ingredients in creating a great looking room. Think of them as the completer set, showcasing the pieces around them and adding a sense of style and personality to the room that reflects your own unique tastes.
Author Jennifer Akre is an owner of a wide variety of online specialty shops including that offer both items and information on how you can easily furnish and decorate your space. Whether it is accent tables for your living room or kitchen racks for you newly remodeled home, there are many tips you can use to make any spot both functional and beautiful. Click today and indulge your senses.
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