DO you really need a coffee table?
A newlywed just moved into a new house. The wife is looking an idea to decorate the living room by magazine. She makes a list of furniture on a paper. Cabinet, television, sofa, lamp and a coffee table. She seems concerned about something so she asks her husband. ‘Darling, should we put a coffee table? I notice not all decorations in the magazine have a coffee table’. The husband said it is compulsory to put a coffee table but the wife doesn’t agree with him. Stop fighting!
A coffee table and a couch is an automatic living room combination in everyone’s mind. All of us will think that something is off if there is no coffee table. Why? Because it is a stereotype created for everyone that it is required to have one coffee table. You can check it out at any furniture shops. Each decoration of living room has a coffee table as it is created by the staff of the furniture shop. It is a marketing strategy made by them so that you will buy the basic coffee table. Don’t you know that we can create a living room without a coffee table? Here are some alternatives to the traditional rectangular coffee table you might want to replicate with your own four walls.
Side table
Side table is a type of table intended to be located against the wall. It can work as a coffee table perfectly as it has a cool visual flow in your living room. With so many choices, it is a difficult decision to pick the right side table. Don’t worry as we create some guidelines to ease your decision. Height is the main consideration to choose a perfect side table. A side table should be equal or just below the arm of the couch it is next to. The standard of online sofa arm heights should be in the range between 24 and 32 inches. Next, you should notice that there are a dizzying array of shapes and styles out there. So, you need to think in terms of adding a contrast to your living room. Take note the styles and shapes of the existing furniture in your room. It is bored to have same styles so you should choose a different style that can be the center of attraction.
Ottoman
These days, there are lots of multipurpose furniture that can save the space in our living room. From small ones to oversized ones, ottomans are the hidden gem that may be missing from your space. Ottoman were first introduced into Europe from Turkey in the late 18th century. The characteristic of the ottoman is padded, upholstered seat or a bench without arms or a back. The main function of an ottoman is to place your feet on them. You can decide the ideal measurements of an ottoman as it is available in variety of sizes. For those who are living in an apartment or a small house, having an ottoman is a great idea as it acts as a shared space seating. It has its own versatility to add seating to the shared space or you can even place it against the wall and it will transform as a couch. It is a good hiding spot of your unnecessary items. Ottomans with a hinged top make the best storage that is handy and disguises itself beautifully.
Rug
Have a thought in removing your coffee table? Yes, you can ditch it and replace with a rug on the floor. Just like you have a family time by eating foods together, while chatting with your family members about the memories you created together. By doing this, the bond among family members will get stronger and closer. However, you must take care the cleanliness of the rug as you don’t want your food fall on it or your drinks spilled over the rug. Let me tell you the secret of choosing the best rug. The general size of rug must be about the size of your living room’s seating area to ground the conversation space. To avoid looking awkward, most designers suggest a rug that is large enough to cover a conversation area, with the front legs of your sofa and chairs on the rug to anchor the space. Your new rug looks best if it has cool colours. It helps create a calm vibe and tone down the loud wall colours that can your nerves feel exhausted at times. The good news is that almost all rug styles are using neutral colours so colour is more important than pattern of the rug.
Bench
Has anyone sitting on a coffee table? If not, you can do this action depends on the types of table. A bench is a type of seat with no back or sides that brings its own versatility enough to transform into a coffee table. The idea is you can use this alternative in a small seating group and move it off to one side as an extra seat for a clique of guest. Don’t let the bench empty as you can put a serving tray or a few of inexpensive books to convert it into a functional coffee table, or an ornamental box to stash the remotes. By using a bench as a coffee table, whether made of a hard material or soft and upholstered, just gives a bit of sturdiness and extra function to the seating arrangement of your living room that a basic coffee table can’t do by itself. It will invite physical activities such as sitting, leaning, lying down and many more that a coffee table might be too delicate to anchor. It will give the usual styling and vignette arranging of the living room layout.
Accent table
An accent tables are long, thin table that always located between the couch, the wall or in a narrow entry by a door. They are useful in tidying other tables in an area of a house. This furniture sells in variety of sizes, colours, styles and types at every furniture shops. Many of us don’t realize the functionality of the tables because they are usually acted as a decor, emphasizing a room. It can be useful as display, nightstand or end table. If you think that this is a perfect alternative, you should consider certain aspects to ensure that they can fit well with other furniture in your living room. Some shops sell a pair of tables that has matching accent and coffee tables. They even have an additional storage that are shelves and drawers to store items, which may want to keep in mind if you are needing extra storage space. Some of these tables are used simply for a place to set a drink on.
Conclusion
Each problem has a solution. Whether you are having a small space in your living room, no ideas to choose a perfect coffee table or just looking for inspirations to beautify the layout of living room, switching out a classic coffee table for a new type of furniture is an unexpected way to improve your room. Your coffee table is forever but new ideas are always welcomed. Playing with the styles, colours, sizes, and shapes of these alternatives can give your framework a whole new design of your living room. Who knows your living room will be the front cover of a magazine or goes viral in the social media? It gives an inspiration of other people who are running out of ideas. There is no exact when it comes to coffee tables because the decision is in your hand. A decoration that carried out successfully should not be done by following everything in the book, but rather be a response to room and housemates. For more details, check here.
