There are plenty of ways for you to decorate your room and bring up all its best qualities. It is indeed a tough choice when it comes to the living room – while often being the most spacious place in the house, it is also multifunctional, and all the elements should support every one of the functions separately and together.
A coffee table can become just the perfect decision if you have an empty stop in the room to cover and have trouble maintaining the right balance of the furniture and free space in the room, but what is the average coffee table sizes that will suit your room?
What does “the average size of a coffee table” stand for?
Choosing a thing as “trivial” as a coffee table should not be that hard, however, finding the perfect fit for your room might consume quite some time and effort. What style should the table be to complete the room design? What is the standard coffee table size that you should look for in your search? What design rules to follow in terms of shapes, color scheme, and edges? See, standard coffee table dimensions play one of the key roles here.
Here’s a little hint for you to bear in mind before we dig into details. For a coffee table to be comfortable to get around, it should have about 16 inches of space surrounding it. Average coffee table sizes come with a width of 18 to 24 inches and a length of 36 to 48 inches.
When you place a coffee table in front of a couch or on a carpet, ideally it should not take up more than 2/3 of its width.
The good coffee table is not higher than a seat of the couch cushions next to it; it would be even better if they fall an inch or two below that level.
Have we told yet how well a coffee table can play out in the living room?
If you think it through well enough and make your choice with the help of thorough analysis, not as a spur-of-a-moment whim, you will find a neat complement to the other objects in the room, an astonishing piece of furniture on its own, and a great conversation piece.
Such a table can make you feel at home, support you in different gatherings, and bring all the people together around it.
Coffee table in Charming and Effortless Chic styles
Decorating a room with a coffee table that you found, evaluated, and picked is a great way to show your sense of style and flair and donate a part of yourself to the house. It is thanks to its flexibility by design that coffee tables are often chosen as a finishing touch to the look of the room.
They offer more space to put the beverages on that side table, can store books and magazines, all displayed beautifully, or provide additional shelving for the stuff that is not for the display.
When you dig into the coffee tables styles and designs, you would find that the vast majority of them falls into the three categories:
- Modern style. These tables come with open shelving, swiveling parts, secret compartments, and often have architectural details in natural materials, like wood, stone, or glass, or a combination of several.
- Classic mid-century style. Such tables are available in highly polished wood and often give the note of magnitude.
- Industrial style. The tables of this style come in all shapes and sizes and will add a unique touch to the place.
The right style for you always correlates with the overall style of the living room. It can be organic, round, square, rectangular, ottoman-style, but should go well with the rest of the furniture. That said, if the room style has edgy points in it, a round table is quite unlikely to work out well in it (unless you want to put a strong geometrical accent on this piece).
We should not forget about the decorations too: make sure that the books, flowers, lighting, sculptures, and other objects coexist peacefully with the table and look natural next to it. If you are a lucky owner of a pet, take the nuances of your animal’s behavior, temper, weight, and size into account too.
Whether you have selected vintage of a modern table of glass and steel, have your measuring tape ready, because now we are moving to the measurement – the utmost important part of the procedure of picking up a coffee table. You can make some preparations before your search and take the measurements of your couch, or sitting, or carpet, next to which the table is to be placed.
How do I choose the size of my coffee table?
We get it, the process may seem slightly overwhelming and putting a decent portion of pressure on your shoulders. However, do not worry, there are always some loopholes you can use to back you up in unpredictable situations.
For instance, if you do not feel good about the measurements of the free space that you took and now are concerned that your perfect table would be impossible to move around even if having all the perfectly calculated coffee table measurements, consider taking a round table of the one that is adjustable to the different spaces.
When selecting the size of a coffee table, particularly for models like the Burleigh coffee table, several key factors should be considered to ensure it fits well within your space and meets your needs:
1. Purpose of the Coffee Table
- Storage Needs: If you require storage for items like remotes and game consoles, a larger coffee table with drawers or shelves might be ideal.
- Entertainment Functions: For hosting and serving drinks or snacks, a table with a larger top would be more practical.
- Simple Use: If the table is mainly for placing drinks like coffee or wine, a smaller, less obtrusive table might be sufficient.
2. Space Considerations
- Measure Your Space: Before choosing a coffee table, measure the area where it will be placed. Ensure there is enough room around it for easy movement and accessibility.
- Proximity to Other Furniture: Consider the table’s location relative to sofas, chairs, and entertainment units. It’s important that the coffee table doesn’t crowd other furniture or disrupt the flow of the room.
3. Proportions Relative to Other Furniture
- Height: The height of the coffee table should generally be the same as or slightly lower than the seat height of your sofas and chairs.
- Width and Length: These dimensions should be in proportion to surrounding furniture. A good rule of thumb is to allow for about 12-18 inches of space between the coffee table and any seating around it.
How to choose the Best Coffee Table
How to choose the best coffee table which will be practical and look great:
These shapes visually increase the flow and make the unoccupied area look bigger than it is. The very same way square or rectangular tables fit perfectly to medium and large rooms, taking with their angles just the right amount of space. These two types are also good storage facilities since they are perfect to put a hidden drawer or shelving in.
Remember the tip at the beginning of the article for the coffee table not to be as high as sitting next to it? Let’s elaborate on that a bit. According to the rules of interior design, a coffee table must be no more than 4 inches higher than a couch or sofa cushion’s seat.
Practice shows, it is way easier and comfortable to have one that is the same level or slightly shorter than the sitting.
The coffee table must never overpower the couch or be higher than the main furniture; remember, it is a finishing touch, not the last destroying chord. On the contrary, a side table is always standing higher than the couch for the sake of easy access.
An average coffee table size can fall into 21 inches in width or length, but also larger pieces can be found, which is a common phenomenon for odd shapes and custom pieces. The height of a coffee table usually is around 18 inches, or shrink down to 16 inches (other variations are also possible, however less spread).
Remember, that it is always the composition of aesthetic treatment, style, and material together that dictates the final coffee table dimensions design.
How wide an average coffee table sizes should be?
Planning to put a coffee table in the room, do not prepare to occupy too much room; in the case of this piece of furniture, smaller is often a better choice than bigger.
The average length of a coffee table varies between 36 and 48 inches, but surely you can have it higher (or lower). As we mentioned in the beginning, the table should not be longer than 2/3 of your couch’s length to not take upon itself all the attention.
For an extended sofa, it is approved to have a coffee table longer than average, around 56 inches or longer. As for the average width, it stands at 18 inches (though variations are possible). We strongly recommend you to ensure that you have 12 to 18 inches left between your sofa and the table to move freely around it.
How high an average coffee table should be?
So, what is the average height of a coffee table? The height of a coffee table greatly depends on the sitting that it stands next to. Most couches’ seating is around 18 inches high, thus it is preferable for the coffee table either to hit the 18-inch limit sharp, or be shorter for 1-2 inches.
As a rule, a coffee table does not exceed 18 inches in height, but you can always custom it up to your preferences.
Is the height of a coffee table adjustable?
It is a common request – to adjust the coffee table height – due to the change of furniture placement in the room most often. The easiest way to change the height of your coffee table is to use risers or spacers on its feet.
Some coffee table makers take care of this issue for you and provide adjustable legs using pegs. Others address the adjusting problem through the construction with the usage of a combination of leaves that can be extended or retracted to change the width and the area occupied.
If your table is not adjustable in height by any means and you only need to make it the tiniest bit higher, you can place a thick piece of glass on top of the table (please make sure it matches perfectly the shape of the original top of the table).
How to pair a rug with your coffee table?
When choosing the right rug size for your space, it’s essential to ensure that the dimensions of the rug are adequate to create a cohesive look and enhance the overall ambiance of the room. Here are a few guidelines to help you select an optimal rug size:
1. Minimum Rug Size
Extend Beyond Coffee Table: The rug should be large enough to extend past the four corners of your coffee table. This helps to anchor the table visually and maintain balance in the room.
2. Ideal Coverage
Under All Furniture: Ideally, the rug should be large enough to fit under all the pieces of furniture in the area, including sofas, chairs, and side tables. This arrangement prevents the rug from looking like an isolated “island” in the middle of the room.
3. Creating the Illusion of Space
Extend Beyond Furniture Legs: To make the room appear larger, choose a rug that extends at least 6 inches (15 cm) beyond the front legs of your sofas and chairs. This not only adds to the visual spaciousness but also helps to integrate the furniture pieces better.
4. Room Size Consideration
Proportion to Room: Ensure that the rug is proportional to the size of the room. There should be a balance between the exposed flooring and the rug-covered area to maintain a harmonious look.
5. Avoiding Common Mistakes
Too Small Rugs: A common error is choosing a rug that is too small for the area, which can disrupt the flow and feel of the space. It’s better to opt for a larger rug than one that might look undersized.
How do I place my perfectly measured coffee table?
As you know now, the coffee table is a finishing touch; that said, it comes last – after the main furniture, the paint color choice and wallpaper placement, lighting set, sitting places adjustment. A coffee table is the most flexible part of the furniture, so choose it wisely; it should fit the room in different layout and furniture placements.
A properly chosen coffee table will become your best friend, that will always be there for you and your family members, and all the visitors, to hold your cups, offer you a nice journal to kill a minute or two, help you out on the account of storage, and would always find a way to surprise you with a new way it can contribute to your life.
Summing it up, average coffee table dimensions usually meet 36-48 inches in length, 18 inches in width, and 18 inches in height; however, you can always have each of them adjusted.
We have talked a lot about how do you make indeed the best choice for you and how important it is, and it may feel overwhelming, to have such a huge responsibility on your shoulders, especially if you are going through the process right now.
However do not fret – there are so many different coffee tables in the world, big and small, thick and thin, long and short, of all shapes, colors, and sizes, that you have absolutely no chance of not finding your one and only one among them.
Even if you do not, by chance, succeed, there’s always a possibility to hire professionals to create a tailor-made table, one of a kind and just for you.
FAQ
What is the standard size of a cafe table?
The standard size of a cafe table can vary depending on its intended use and the space available, but typically:
Round Cafe Tables: These usually have diameters of 24 inches (61 cm), 30 inches (76 cm), or 36 inches (91 cm). These sizes can comfortably accommodate 2 to 4 people, making them ideal for small group interactions.
Square or Rectangular Cafe Tables: Common dimensions are 24 x 24 inches (61 x 61 cm) or 30 x 30 inches (76 x 76 cm). These sizes are also suitable for seating 2 to 4 people, providing enough surface space for drinks and light meals without occupying too much floor space.
Is 14 coffee table too short?
Yes, a 14-inch high coffee table is generally considered too short for most standard sofa and chair seating arrangements, where the typical seat height is around 17 to 18 inches. A coffee table that is significantly lower than the seating can make it uncomfortable to reach down for items and may look disproportionate in relation to the rest of the furniture. For optimal comfort and aesthetics, the recommended height for a coffee table is usually between 16 to 18 inches. This height range tends to align better with the height of the seat cushions on most sofas and chairs, making it easier to access whatever is on the table.
Is a 12 inch coffee table too low?
Yes, a 12-inch high coffee table is generally considered too low for most conventional sofa and chair setups, where the seat height usually ranges from 17 to 18 inches.
How many feet is a standard coffee table?
A standard coffee table typically measures about 4 feet in length (48 inches or about 122 cm). The width of a standard coffee table often ranges from 2 to 2.5 feet (24-30 inches or 61-76 cm). These dimensions allow the coffee table to function well within a typical living room setting, providing adequate surface space without overwhelming the area.
The height of a standard coffee table is usually between 16 to 18 inches (40 to 46 cm), which aligns well with the seat height of standard sofas and chairs. This makes it comfortable for use while sitting on typical living room furniture.
