Conversations around a coffee table

A very useful part of your living room, coffee tables have their own distinctive style, and hold their own in conjunction with any kind of décor. The wide choice of coffee tables now available is indeed mind boggling. You can choose tables along modern or contemporary lines, or trendy or traditional styles to fit your requirements and style.

Neera Gulati of Modccon Interiors based in Bangalore says that, “A coffee table is a very practical and important piece of furniture in every house. The selection of a coffee table reflects the owner’s style of decoration”. On the selections available, she adds that options in different materials for coffee tables include wicker-rattan style, coffee tables made of metal (modern or ornamental), contemporary coffee tables with glass tops, tables with storage, and marble coffee tables with a touch of steel for a modern look. You can choose coffee tables with different shapes too, such as oval, or the traditional rectangular, or round or square which are common choices. A wood or wicker table gives the welcoming feeling of warmth. For something wacky and radical, she suggests a coffee table in the form of an aquarium.

Neera recommends that while selecting the style, shape and size of the coffee table, you should keep in mind the current style of your interiors and what use the table is going to have within the space of your living room. If you have children at home, the table should be robust and functional, whereas if you entertain often, functionality and appearance should be kept in mind. A standard coffee table should be typically at a height between 16 to 18 inches and placed within each reach of your seating arrangement.

If you have a small living room space, then a glass coffee table can help make the room look larger and than a solid wood or metal table would. Neera suggests that you could also use coloured glass tops for a coffee table to give it an interesting look. Marry two unlikely and different materials, such as metal and wood, and you‘ll be amazed at the outcome. If you have a space crunch, then what better than a coffee table which can double up as storage space? A solid chest has a warm appeal to it, but you can even use your old disused trunks, or a coffee table that has an inbuilt draw for storage.

Make it personal

Sirisha Murthy fondly recounts an interesting story about her unique coffee table (see picture of Sirishs’s coffee table above). For her husband’s birthday, she scrounged thorough various stores to find him that perfect gift. Her eyes lighted up when she set her eyes on two antelope statues with their antlers curving above their ears, onto the ground. They were a romantic pair, and Mrs Murthy thought it perfect. Needless to say Dr Murthy loved it. They decided it would look great as a coffee table. What made it extra special was that they designed the coffee table together, exchanging ideas and deciding on the design, and on how to place the statues, and the shape of the glass top. They got this done ten years ago, but it is still a favourite conversation topic for their guests.

Do it yourself

You don’t have to buy a coffee table from a furniture store, especially if you are working on a small budget or looking for something for your temporary home. A‘bright’ idea could be to paint an old trunk with vibrant and bright colours, and voila, you have your own kitsch coffee table. 

Leg work

Neera suggests a few furniture outlets where we found coffee tables for every kind of décor…and of course for all  budgets!

For wicker-rattan and wooden coffee tables you could go to Cane Boutique (where the coffee tables range from Rs.4,500 to Rs.20,000. Though it is called Cane Boutique, you will find coffee tables in a variety of materials including wood, sea grass, water hyacinth, metal and indeed cane. Cane Boutique can also custom make your coffee table.

Another contemporary place to shop for a coffee table is Angelo. The coffee tables range from Rs.10,000 to Rs.58,000. You can find coffee tables in materials like solid walnut, oak veneer, leather and wood combination, glass etc. Angelo import their furniture from Italy and Belgium.

Space wise, a designer store in Bangalore (Bhaskar +91 0 9731422447) can customise furniture to suit personal preferences using materials like ply and veneer. The price ranges from Rs.16,000 to Rs.35,000.

If you prefer to buy furniture that has been restored or are looking for a contemporary style only in wood then you have to peep into Something old, Something New where Deepa (+91-0-9845112869) salvages old furniture and restores it. Coffee table typically cost around Rs.7000 or more. Deepa also customises furniture, and the cost depends on the design.