Unique Coffee Tables Ideas

Making Home Decor Count

Coffee tables are one of the most underrated furniture options for the home today. It provides convenient support for your everyday items, ranging from a place for your coffee to magazine storage.

The actual benefits that a coffee table offers are pretty variable. If you have a basic structure, it can be a storage surface that fills up with clutter quickly.

When your coffee table design includes shelving and drawers, you’ll have more ways to stay organized while maximizing the convenience this furniture offers.

Today, most coffee tables are made from wood. You can also find metal and glass selections available, especially with aluminum and stainless steel.

You can also find several unique designer-style coffee tables that can be a statement piece for your home.

Where Did Coffee Tables Originate?

Most historians believe that the first coffee tables appeared during the late Victorian era. It became trendy at that time to have a gathering place in your home where people could socialize, play games, and have a place for their tea.

The fundamental idea for coffee tables likely comes from the Ottoman Empire. Their low designs were often incorporated into tea gardens, following trends that were seen in Japan in the late 19th century.

Once we reached the 1900s, most coffee tables started getting made in revivalist and Renaissance styles. That’s when the Georgian and Louis XVI options began reaching the market. Although the manufacturers suggested at the time that these items were based on the real thing, there’s no evidence to suggest that Europeans were using this design for the home during that era.

In a 1938 description for coffee tables, it was said that the furniture was a low, wide table used before a couch or sofa without historical precedent for the design.

Do I Even Need to Have a Coffee Table?

After your seating arrangements in the living room or an entertainment area, the coffee table becomes the next essential addition to your interior design.

Although it is technically optional, you won’t have a spot to place your drinks, store your remotes, or put your feet up after a long day. Could you lie on the couch to relax? For sure, but is that something you want to do with a glass of lemonade perched on the armrest?

When you start shopping for a coffee table, you have a few elements to consider.

• Size. Your coffee table should leave about 18 inches of space from any seating arrangements. You also need about 24 inches of space for traffic patterns.
• Statement. The coffee table should be one of the conversation pieces in your room. The only exception to this idea would be something bolder or grander that you want people to notice.
• Shape. Every space requires a different form. If you have a closed-off area, a square or rectangle works well. When people walk by the table all of the time, rounded edges are a better solution.
• Materials. You can find coffee tables made from glass, wood, resin, and more today. The texture and tone should match or complement what you’ve already got with your seating arrangements.

What Are the Best Coffee Tables to Buy Today?

If you’re in the market for a new coffee table, here are the best options that you’ll want to think about adding to your home.

1. RiverWood Master Resin Table

This beautiful resin table follows in the traditions of the river-style furniture that started becoming commercially viable in 2011. You’ll find the life edges of two slabs on both sides with this design, creating a rough product that still looks polished and beautiful. The water-like feature carves its way through the center, ensuring that the craftsmanship will get noticed every time that someone comes over to visit.

2. Inception Coffee Table

The movie Inception won an Academy Award for its visual effects. This coffee table does an excellent job of replicating that experience at home. It was made using a 3D printer, some steel, and plenty of wood. With the design seeming to defy gravity, you’ll have a city that looks right-side-up and upside-down simultaneously. We also wrote about it here. With its wrap-around design, you don’t even need to worry about attaching legs to it. If you have kids and pets, another option might be better.

3. Duffy London Woodsman Axe Coffee Table

This unique coffee table replaces all of the legs for axes, as if you chopped down the surface from the forest, and now you’re ready to use it. The designers based the concept on an idea in Little Red Riding Hood, using imported hickory axes with walnut and oak for the furniture to create a sustainable design. You can order a customized finish when working with the company directly. It’s a handmade product, so you’ll want to plan for at least 12 weeks to receive it, especially when you live overseas from the designer.

4. Art Inside Parametric Table

If this coffee table didn’t have a glass top to use, you’d probably mistaken it for a work of art. When you use parametric ideology to create a base design, there’s almost nothing to limit your imagination. Although you can find several choices to consider from the manufacturer, the Spider style is the most innovative. It stays compact, gives you a straight edge to use, and feels like you’re putting a racecar into the living room.

5. Pamono Wrought Iron Tree Coffee Table

This coffee table delivers a beautiful heavyweight base of 15kg, shaped like a tree, from handcrafted wrought iron. It was made in the 1970s, creating a vintage result that will make an immediate and positive impact on the home. The best part about using this material for the base is that it develops a lovely patina as time passes. You’ll get a glass top to support all of your items, while the weight ensures that the thing isn’t going anywhere.

6. Touchscreen Coffee Table

What could be better for an intelligent home than a touchscreen coffee table? This product comes with a 42-inch HD touchscreen that operates on the Windows 8.1 operating system. You can integrate numerous connectivity options to it, especially since it comes equipped with the latest processors designed by Intel. Not only is it one of the fastest mobile devices on the market, but you can also use it to play games, watch movies, or manage your security system.

7. The Up Balloon Coffee Table

This playful coffee table provides the impression of having a series of balloons rising to the sky. It comes with a glass tabletop suspended above the sculpture, with the primary components made from a metal resin composited. Toughened steel rods ensure you’ve got plenty of stability. The round edition is limited to 25 editions, although you’ll have plenty of color choices from which to choose.

8. KubiTribe Bone Inlay Moroccan Coffee Table

If you want a handmade coffee table that creates a stunning focal point for any room, you cannot ignore this beautiful furniture. It adds a touch of elegance wherever you decide to keep it! The artisans use traditional techniques to create the inlay, proving the master craftsmanship of the piece. You’ll find that the patterning works well in virtually any design, providing some fresh air with its overall simplicity and grandeur.

9. William Morris Wallpaper Steamer Trunk Coffee Table

One of the latest trends you’ll find for coffee tables today is to use repurposed items. When you select this upcycled steamer trunk, you’ll have a fantastic place to keep a glass of wine in the evening. It uses original William Morris wallpaper to enhance the design, offering elegance and sophistication without the complication. You’ll even get to display the locks and handles. It’s beautiful, functional, and the perfect size for storing your extra blankets and throw pillows.

10. CarlottaLynn Mediterranean Sea Coffee Table

Instead of settling for a river-style coffee table, you can bring the tide pools of the Mediterranean into your living room. The entire top of this furniture is made with epoxy, covering various shells, sea stars, and other items to make it feel like you’re at the beach. Even the table legs use a similar style, molding surf pebbles into beautiful stands.

Underneath the water, you’ll see just the edge of the beach form, making it feel like the only thing missing is the afternoon sun.

11. Kabul Gallery Pietra Black Marble Table

This handmade table is vintage from the 1990s, delivering beautiful lapis lazuli and a marble inlay to create a lovely sparkle. It’s said that the craftsmen who made this item are the family members of those who built the Taj Mahal, but it is a style of craftsmanship that you cannot find online very often. If you love incorporating Moroccan items in your interior design concepts, you’re going to adore what this design can provide for your living room.

12. Coffee Table Company Boat Wood Coffee Table

If you love being by the sea, the salty smell of the air likely ignites your senses. You can hear the bells ring on the boats, seagulls crying, and the wind as it blows ashore. When you add this gorgeous coffee table to your living room, you’ll discover the same results with the repurposed wood from salvaged vessels.

You’ll get a walnut undercoat to give the teal coloration an extra pop. It does come with the legs shipping separately, so you’ll need to put it together upon arrival.

13. CysStudio Giant Cassette Coffee Table

If you find yourself pining for the glory days of music, this cool coffee table is the perfect addition to your home. It provides your home décor with a retro feel while taking advantage of modern technology. The artist uses pine to create the foundation while offering a vast cassette tape sticker on the surface.

It even features a hidden shelf where you can store items by pulling down where the magnetic strip would be. You can have any name, text, or words put on the product.

14. Mark Stoddart Horse Coffee Table

Bronze figures are a traditional way to memorialize a hero or remember a famous moment in history. This work entered the home art market because of its impressive quality and durability. It was once considered a sign of wealth to use this material, but you’ll discover that this coffee table is remarkably affordable. The artist said he was moved by the idea of horses swimming, so he crafted a stunning table that replicates that effect.

15. Machine Age Lamps Steampunk Coffee Table

You won’t believe your eyes when you see this incredible coffee table. It’s the perfect addition for anyone who loves cars because the composition’s foundation is a Carroll Shelby 427 engine block. It’s mounted to an antique barn wood base, coming straight from Minnesota timbers that are over a century old. Lighting gets added to each cylinder to create the impression that it is running, while tempered glass gives you a practical surface to use.

16. Precious Finds Décor Green Gemstone Table

If you don’t mind spending a little more on your coffee table, you’ll find that this beautiful green malachite option provides the right first impression. You could put fresh flowers on it every day, keep the morning paper there, or use it as a statement piece. Although it has a base, it also incorporates the traditional footed design to ensure you can dazzle everyone when they visit. This piece is uniquely one of a kind.

17. Victoria Silver Coffee Table

This handmade coffee table provides a touch of elegance to any living room. It’s made with pure silver cladding, creating an investment-quality piece for any home. The artist uses the traditional Indian design that was quite popular during the latter half of the 19th century. You’ll see heritage motifs, glistening surfaces, and a lovely console shape that works almost anywhere.

18. Peacock Silver Lapis Coffee Table

With this coffee table, you’re getting the combination of authentic malachite and lapis with antique silver accents. The peacock serves as the base, showing off its feathers in bright glory with the eyes using semi-precious gems. It is a masterpiece that everyone will adore once you bring it home, especially with the smooth dark tabletop that rests on top. You’ll need to give this item about 16 weeks for delivery.

19. Full Home Live Wood Root Coffee Table

20. Basho the Sumo Wrestler Table

If you love watching Sumo wrestling or are fascinated with Japanese culture, you’ll appreciate the hand-painted designer resin base of this coffee table. You have an athlete who is ready to charge across the ring to knock over his opponent. Although it certainly isn’t the right product for everyone, you will love how much of a visual impact it makes on anyone who walks into the room.

Tree roots provide an intricate web of visual energy when they get finished properly. When you grab this coffee table for your home, you’ll add immediate value to any space. The artist preserved the initial structure carefully while adding a carved glass top to provide support. It uses a tripod-style stand to minimize space and increase its visual impact.

Final Considerations for Your New Coffee Table

When you purchase a unique coffee table for your home, the goal should be to make it a statement piece. That means you’ll need to keep the surface clear whenever possible. The goal should be to see over the top any of the accessories you place on the furniture.

What are the essentials you can add without making the room feel cumbersome? You might consider a box for your remotes, a tissue box, or a small plate with candles.

Since open surfaces tend to collect the most junk, you must make a proactive effort to keep everything clean and tidy!

The best way to do that is to develop a new cleaning habit for the times you’re at home. Whenever you move to a new room, take one item that needs to get put away. Once you accomplish that step, repeat it if you must go to another area of your home.

When you take 15 seconds to put something away instead of leaving it out, your home will feel more organized. That effort will let the investment you’ve made into a coffee table shine instead of covering it up under papers and magazines.

If you decide to use your new coffee table for drinks and more, please remember to have coasters available to protect your investment.