Coffee tables come in many different shapes and sizes, but in general, a coffee table is a small, low table that is the focal point of a common waiting room, lounge, or family room. Coffee tables are useful because they are usually used to store things like TV remote controls, books, and magazines. They are also a great place to put snacks or a coffee mug when having guests over. But as the centrepiece, modern coffee tables are usually chosen to match the style and decor of the room they are in. This adds to the overall effect.
Because of this, it is easy to find modern coffee tables in many different sizes, colours, shapes, styles, and materials. Glass coffee tables are popular, and if you keep the dust off of them, they look nice in the room. If you pair a glass-top coffee table with a frame made of stainless steel or chrome, the room will feel clean, sleek, and modern.
As a throwback to the 1980s, art-deco tables are still easy to find. However, this style seems to be becoming less popular as we get closer to the end of the "noughties." Still, you can still find pastel-colored blobs and planes made of plastic that look like they were pulled straight from a Picasso painting and used as coffee tables. Because they aren't as popular as they used to be and are easy to make, they tend to be cheaper these days. It's important to note that you can find more "tasteful" designs with the same themes.
If you want your coffee table to have a more classic look, you should probably look at ones made of wood. On the cheaper end of the scale, you can find new coffee tables made of plastic that looks like wood or veneer-covered "chipboard" coffee tables, but these tend to look a bit tacky and be of lower quality.
If you're willing to spend more than $200 on this small piece of furniture, you can get a solid wood coffee table of good quality that will really set off a room. Most of the world's old-growth forests have been cut down, so the only place to find beautiful solid wood coffee tables for less than $1000 (with the exception of pine) is at an antique furniture store.
If your pockets aren't quite that deep do not despair! If you're willing to put in some work, second-hand stores are the best place to look for something you like. Beautiful coffee tables can be found at low prices, but they need to be sanded, stained, possibly filled or given new fasteners, and given a few coats of clear varnish. The end result can be quite stunning, turning a $60 piece of furniture into a $400 centrepiece that any homeowner would be proud of.
Due to the way business works today, it has become too expensive to make complex hand-crafted mosaic coffee tables. These tables are made with inlays of wood slices with alternating patterns of colour or with table tops made of ceramic tiles. You can still buy tables like this made by a machine, which doesn't look as nice, or you can import them from places like Pakistan and India for a lot of money. Once again, you can find real masterpieces that just need a little bit of work at second-hand stores and similar places, giving hardworking home-improvement fans coffee tables of outstanding quality and beauty.
