Choosing a coffee table is one of the most important, yet often overlooked decorating decisions you’ll have to make. Coffee tables are often centrally located and they serve a very practical purpose inside of a living room. After all, without a coffee table, where would we put our favorite drinks, decor magazines, remote controls, and iPhones?
The coffee table is arguably what gives a living room the most character. It typically holds personal items and decor accents from the home owners, reflecting their personalities.
Personally, I think the coffee table is the second most fun part of designing a living room after picking out the sofa! From marble to reclaimed wood, there are so many fun coffee table designs to choose from – it’s hard to pick just one!
Here are some guidelines and ideas for picking out the best coffee table for your family room!
Choosing a Coffee Table
A coffee table should be proportionate in size to the sofa. As a good rule of thumb, the coffee table you buy should be at least one-half the length of your sofa, but not longer than the sofa itself. A nice happy medium coffee table length of three-fourths or two-thirds is perfect.
The height of your coffee table should be about even with the height of your sofa seat, give or take a few inches.
So what type of coffee table is best for your sofa? Well, it depends on the kind of sofa you have! If you have a standard horizontal sofa, then we recommend going with an oval or rectangular coffee table. If you have a sectional or L-shaped sofa, then we recommend going with a round or square shaped coffee table to fit in nicely. Of course, you can definitely make it work without following these rules if you really have your heart set on a specific coffee table!
