Small Space Coffee Tables for Living Rooms

Plenty of us hear someone say they’re looking for a small scale coffee table.

But the question is what exactly is a small scale coffee table?

What’s considered too big or too small? Where do you draw the line? What features can you look for that aid to that space saving look and feel?

Well, if you’ve found yourself in the predicament of looking for a small coffee table and these are some of your questions, rest assured, we’ll be talking about them and answering them today.

What Features Should You Look For?

At the very least, you probably already know that you can get a drop-leaf or extendable coffee table to save space. You get the best of both worlds since they offer you more room to accommodate more people if you need it but still meet your demands to save space.

But say you’re looking for something else. What if these type of coffee tables just don’t do it for you?

Well, one thing that you will hear quite frequently is that glass can do wonders. Since glass is transparent it lets light and visuals pass through.

This means it doesn’t block dimensions of items that surround it, thereby allowing your space to feel as open as possible. In short, it can satisfy your needs while providing your living room with the illusion of space saved. So this is a feature you’ll always want to consider.

Do Shapes Count at All?

What about shapes? Do they ever factor into to saving space?

I’m glad you asked. In a way, yes they do.

In all honesty, the best shapes change for each circumstance. That simply means that coffee tables are best sought after on an individual basis. What works for one room may not work for another.

But having said that I do have other things I’d like to mention. So, if you’ll humor me for a minute I’d like to tell you about certain shapes that I think might be great to consider and why.

Shapes that I think might work wonderfully for small living rooms are the following…

Round
Oval
Miscellaneous circular shapes (with no angles)

And as for the reason why…

Scottie Coffee Table

Well, an obvious reason is that often enough they look smaller than their counterparts.

However, I also think these shapes work wonderfully because coffee tables with curves tend to be less intrusive.

They often feel light and airy.

If you take a look at one, you’ll notice that the lines are soft and subtle.

The discreet curves don’t call great attention to themselves while they still manage to catch your eye, which means they still make great focal points in spite of their subtlety.

Whereas, rectangular shaped coffee tables feel big and heavy to me.

They have hard lines and rough angles and due to their acute and loud formation it can sometimes lead them to dominate a room and scream for too much attention.

And because of that, I believe they can sometimes make a room feel quite a bit smaller in size.

So, it leads me to believe that circular shaped coffee tables are able to work in harmony with small living rooms a little better than rectangular and square shaped coffee tables.

Now, keep in mind this is all my personal opinion.

And there are situations in which round shaped coffee tables won’t work as well as rectangular or square shaped coffee tables. Because as I said, the right coffee table is a based on individual circumstances.

But I figured it was a good idea to mention my thoughts on the matter, because you might find yourself wondering where to start.

But now that I’ve said that, I’m going to contradict myself and offer you public knowledge of what coffee tables are generally said to work best for small spaces.

The two types are…

round coffee tables
square coffee tables

Like dining tables, oval and rectangular shaped coffee tables are said to work better for bigger places. But that just goes to show you, that it really is just a matter of individual circumstance.

So don’t put too much emphasis on any of it. Take the information that was mentioned and go with what you feel is best for your living room.

To better help yourself, it’s a good idea to use measurements of a coffee table you’re considering and then mimic the size of it by laying down several sheets of paper in the area where the coffee table will be so you can see if it’ll work in your home.

What Exactly is a Small Scale Coffee Table?

Speaking of measurements, say you just want a basic idea of what sizes are actually within the appropriate range so you can understand what a small scale coffee table is.

Well I think I can help you with that.

Milo Cocktail Tables

Let’s use 2-piece coffee table sets as an example.

If you don’t know what those are, they are simply two small (square) tables grouped together to make the size of one large coffee table (see Milo Cocktail Tables to your right).

We can easily use those as a starting point since each of those are about half the size of a small (rectangular) coffee table.

Measurements for one of the Milo Cocktail Tables range around 20 inches wide and deep and 18.5 inches tall.

In the past I’ve said that a good small scale coffee table is about 24-30 inches wide. Well, now we can even adjust that starting point at 20 inches.

So, a great place to start would be a coffee table ranging from 20-30″ in length and width or in diameter.

Generally speaking, 20 inches might be a little too small, so you’ll only want to go for a size like that if you’re absolutely sure it would work for your living room. Otherwise, a good starting point would be along the lines of 24 inches.

Keep in mind, these measurements will only work for round and square shaped cocktail tables.

Consider This…

Small Scale Rectangular and Oval Coffee Tables

If you’re looking for small scale rectangular or oval shaped cocktail tables, then a good size would be around 30-40″ in length. A good depth/width range is 18-21 inches.

Consider This…

Now that that’s all said and done, I’ve created a nice selection of small scale coffee tables in hopes that it will all be a no-brainer for you and you’ll find something you like.

Now you won’t have to guess what a small scale coffee table is. You know. So even if you can’t find what you’re looking for here, you can go just about anywhere and find the perfect space saving coffee table.

And don’t forget. If you can’t find actual coffee tables that are small enough, you can resort to looking for end tables that fit the measurements that you need.

All and all, I’d say that ain’t half bad.

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