ROYAL-CT101
Marble top coffee table
A coffee table with a marble top on a gold base.
- Size
- Not listed yet. Ask before you buy, and measure your doorway first.
- Materials
- Marble, Gold-finish base
Coffee tables that suit the sofa they sit with
A coffee table is judged against the sofa beside it, not on its own. Get the height and the gap right and almost any style works.
Models
4 models
No measurements have been supplied for the coffee tables yet. Until they are, the photographs are the honest guide, and the showroom is better than either.
ROYAL-CT102
Marble top coffee table
A coffee table with a marble top on a gold base.
- Size
- Not listed yet. Ask before you buy, and measure your doorway first.
- Materials
- Marble, Gold-finish base
ROYAL-CT103
Marble top coffee table
A coffee table with a marble top on a gold base.
- Size
- Not listed yet. Ask before you buy, and measure your doorway first.
- Materials
- Marble, Gold-finish base
ROYAL-CT104
Marble top coffee table
A coffee table with a marble top on a gold base.
- Size
- Not listed yet. Ask before you buy, and measure your doorway first.
- Materials
- Marble, Gold-finish base
Buying guide
Before you buy
Match the height to the sofa seat
The top of the coffee table should sit within about 5 cm of the sofa seat height, either level with it or slightly below. Most sofa seats are 40 to 50 cm from the floor, so most coffee tables are 40 to 45 cm tall. A table much lower than the seat means bending down for a cup. A table much higher looks wrong from across the room and gets in the way of your knees. Measure your sofa seat before you look at tables, because it is the only number that matters here.
Leave a gap you can walk through
Somewhere between 40 and 45 cm between the front of the sofa and the edge of the table. Closer than that and you cannot get past without turning sideways. Further and you cannot reach your cup without standing up. If people have to walk between the sofa and the table regularly, take the gap to 50 cm and accept a slightly smaller table.
Length follows the sofa
A common rule is that a coffee table should be about two thirds the length of the sofa it serves. For a 2.1 metre sofa, that is a table around 1.2 to 1.4 metres. Round or oval tables are worth thinking about in a small or busy room, because there are no corners to catch a hip and no sharp edges at toddler head height. Two small tables side by side work where one long one would block a walkway, and they can be moved apart when people come over.
Storage, or a clear top
A shelf underneath takes the things that otherwise live on top, which is the difference between a table you can put a cup on and one you cannot. A lift top raises to eating or working height, which is genuinely useful in an apartment with no dining table. Drawers hide remotes and chargers. If you like a clear surface and have somewhere else for the clutter, a plain table looks better and costs less.
Materials, and living with them
Solid wood marks and can be sanded. Veneer looks the same and cannot. Glass shows every fingerprint, is easy to wipe, and makes a small room feel more open, though it needs care with a young family. Metal frames are slim and strong. Stone and stone effect tops are heavy, cool and hard wearing, and can stain if a spill sits. Think about what will be put on it daily rather than what it looks like empty in a photograph.
sizing
Coffee table sizes and clearances
Measure the sofa first. Every figure here is relative to it.
- Table height
- Within 5 cm of the sofa seat, usually 40 to 45 cm
- Gap from the sofa
- 40 to 45 cm, or 50 cm if people walk through
- Length
- About two thirds of the sofa
- For a 2.1 m sofa
- A table around 1.2 to 1.4 m
- Clearance to other furniture
- At least 45 cm
Questions
About coffee tables
Within about 5 cm of your sofa seat height, level or slightly lower. Most sofa seats are 40 to 50 cm from the floor, so most coffee tables are 40 to 45 cm tall. Measure your sofa before you shop.
Between 40 and 45 cm. Take it to 50 cm if people regularly walk between the sofa and the table.
About two thirds of the sofa's length is a good starting point. For a 2.1 metre sofa that is roughly 1.2 to 1.4 metres.
Round in a small or busy room, or with young children, because there are no corners to catch. Rectangular where the sofa is long and the room can take it.
Also worth a look
Come and sit on it
Bring your measurements. The doorway, the turn at the top of the stairs, and the wall it has to go against. Those three numbers prevent most of the problems.