The winner: Modloft's Berkeley Low Coffee Table
Recently, my husband and I had the pleasure of designing our own newly built home. We couldn't be happier with our place. The dig: it's about the size of both of our last apartments combined. The place is about 2,200 square feet. Not too large, but definitely larger than we are used to. What we found: our current furnishings didn't quite fill up all of the space. We have extra rooms that are empty. Hardly homey when you can hear yourself echo in the living room.
I have the luck to do what I love: photograph beautifully inspired spaces. Big or small, they have the owner's stamp on each. In a fortuitous turn of events, my husband and I share the same aesthetic vision for our home.
We need a new cocktail / coffee table for our home. Currently, our sofa and a few accent chairs sit all alone, crying out for a cocktail table and rug to bring them together.
I have seen a lot of houses. I have seen even more furniture; both in my personal research and in my work. Finding the "perfect" piece to fit our new space took a lot more searching than I ever thought it could.
I am not ashamed to admit that I regularly check Joss & Main and One Kings Lane for their fun, curated collections and daily sales. That said, sometimes what they're offering isn't what I'm looking for. I ended up using an app called Keep. I put in the search term, "coffee table". I came back with a veritable encyclopedia of coffee tables in all shapes, styles, and sizes. I ended up on Pinterest. My favorite board ended up looking like variations on the theme, "round, low, and modern". I have a penchant for cleanly designed furniture. Not so modern that it's cold, but just modern enough to keep too much intricate detail in the decoration at bay. You can find my Pinterest board on the search results here. Below, a round up of the top 10 and the winner!
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Noguchi: Our favorite all-time coffee table is the modernist Noguchi table designed by Herman Miller in 1947. I'm sure you've seen it, or a knockoff. Why we didn't choose it: it's better suited to a smaller living room than the one we have now. It's a classic, though, and maybe some day we'll find a place for it. |
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CB2's smart round marble coffee table is a classic. It's simple, functional, and durable. The problem: it's not quite "warm" enough for what we have in mind for our living room. It's also a bit more neutral and our color palette needs a bump: grey couch, white accent chair. |
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I'm not sure who makes this coffee table, I found it on Pinterest through clipzine.com. Is there an app where you can show a photo of a piece of furniture and you can find out who makes it? If there isn't, there should be. I like the storage capability of this cute little drum. The wooden top softens the stark white base. The problem: we are looking for something a little less casual for our living room, a little more glam. |
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Add to the mid-century feel of this coffee table that my husband and I are attracted to, the functionality of this piece, and it was a strong contender. The problem: it might be a little too functional. I feared for the mass of magazines that would end up looking messy. I found this one through digs digs, though that app would really come in handy right about now, as I couldn't find more information about it. |
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Modern disc coffee table: Speaking of functional and modern design, this coffee table designed by Gabriella Asztalos is definitely a winner. Each of the discs is fully operational. You can customize the table how you'd like. Why it wasn't right for us: A little too modern and a little too casual at the same time. It would be great in a family room. |
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Modernist coffee table by DesignLush is lovely. I like the clean and slightly glamorous design, not to mention the real wood construction. It was definitely moving in the right direction, but I was starting to realize I wanted something my nieces and nephews couldn't crawl under. |
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This large silver leaf cocktail table was definitely a contender. Offered by HauteLook, unfortunately, the table is no longer available. And speaking of crawling under coffee tables, this one is just asking to be crawled through, like a tunnel. |
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The Crosby coffee table is part of the Bobby Berk Home industrial collection. I love the unique reclaimed wood and grey shagreen (shagreen is so hot right now!!). The problem for us: a little too industrial. It would be better suited for my alter ego who lives in a loft in Tribeca. Dream a little dream. |
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With the Adelphi Low Coffee Table by Modloft, I knew I was close. I absolutely love the low profile (8" high) and the wood/lacquer finish. I wasn't sold on the legs, though. |
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The winner: the Berkeley Low Coffee Table, also by Modloft. At only 8 " high, it will be perfect for our low sofa and accent chairs as well as for the tall vases and fronds I can already see resting on its lacquer top. It is so clean and so beautiful, with a touch of Mid Century, to boot. It's not just a cocktail table, it's a piece of art. The price of art: this table takes about 15 weeks to deliver. Each piece is custom. We can't wait for it to arrive. |