Searching for the best coffee table is a cornerstone of a living room makeover. There are few accents as varied, versatile, and completely useful as the coffee table, and few pieces of furniture that set the tone so much for your space.
When shopping for a new coffee table, I always turn to one of the best home decor brands for inspiration. What silhouettes are they pushing? What colors and styles seem most popular? How is each table decorated? These catalogs and websites are a fountain of inspiration, full of expertly handled design schemes and ideas for the layperson to incorporate into his or her own home. And as your friendly neighborhood shopping editor, who better to distill these trends into an interactive edit than me?
When deciding which coffee table to buy, Elizabeth Burch of Elizabeth Burch Interiors recommends first thinking about the size of your couch. 'Your coffee table should be a few inches shorter than your sofa in order to kick up your feet! It should also be around 2/3 the width of a sofa,' she tells me. And where styling is concerned, 'I use something with height (a vase with greenery, something with layers (stacked coffee table books), and something with texture (draped beads or driftwood),' she adds.
So with that expert advice in mind, I've curated a varied and versatile shopping round-up of the most chic and stylish coffee tables I could find — ones that should satisfy every style and every room. This truly was a fun one to put together ... and I think you're going to love it.
The 15 best coffee tables
Price: $229
The green coffee table is made of a blend engineered and solid wood, shaped into a retro-mod design with a perfect extra shelf for blankets, games, and more.
Price: $278.99
Was: $300
Thanks to a unique three-legged design, this small, minimalist, and glass top coffee table (smoked gray tempered safety glass, that is) is quite the apartment-friendly, kid-friendly, and party-friendly pick.
Price: $159.99
Was: $219.99
Speaking of small spaces, an acrylic coffee table is perfect for areas tight on square footage — you can decorate the top as needed, but the frame itself doesn't overpower or overtake anything else in the room.
Price: $198
Drew Barrymore has made waves with her Walmart line (have you tried the swivel chair?), so it doesn't shock me that one of her products — the stowaway coffee table — made it onto this list. The base is wrapped in a lovely sage boucle, while the removable wooden top/serving tray opens to additional storage.
Price: $499
This large, well-priced, and well-reviewed Walmart coffee table delivers quite the bang for your buck. It's modern and chic thanks to the wide, curved legs.
Price: $599
All of us at Livingetc have had our eyes on the Aria table for a while now — it's playful, but doesn't overdo it; it's modern, but not abstract; and it's on-trend, but not basic.
Price: $1299
I can barely take my eyes off this stunning (in every sense of the word) low-profile carved wood table from Caleb Zipperer, a showstopping piece that's worth every penny.
Price: $599
This round coffee table would work excellently in a small living room, especially with the additional storage shelves around the bottom. I can already picture what books I would put there.
Price: $479
From West Elm comes the Marcio display table, a modern and sculptural piece whose frame impresses just as much as the decor placed atop it.
Price: $472.48
Was: $592.20
Tired of bumping into sharp corners? Say goodbye to that problem with this beautiful rounded-edge coffee table, set delicately atop three different and geometric wooden legs for the ultimate touch of style.
Price: $1598
Streamlined and artistic, this Anthropologie coffee table takes what appears to be one long piece of natural Mexican oak and bends it into a gorgeous U-shape, wherein both the top and bottom serve as spots for storage and decor.
Price: $559.99
Was: $699
You might think my favorite part of this wooden coffee table would be the scalloped edges of the tabletop, but it's actually the lovely half-moon-shaped legs, which keep the overall design of the piece minimal yet modern.
Price: $1049.99
Was: $1319.99
Shelves, materials, and supports wrap in and around one another to form the Aprile, a modern gold coffee table with a unique area for storage. I can't say it's affordable, but I can say it's inimitable (no, really — each table is made from a one-of-a-kind rock slab).
Price: $899
This monolith-style coffee table is actually cleverly disguised acacia wood, not concrete, meaning you get all the design benefits of the latter without any of the weight. Move it around, dress it up, dress it down — the choice is yours (and your back will thank you).
Price: $419
I've said it once, I'll say it again — H&M Home is underrated. If you ask me, this asymmetrical mango wood coffee table is practically begging to go viral, so you should get it while you still can.
How should I determine what style of coffee table to buy?
The beautiful thing about coffee tables is that they present something for everyone. But that's also the difficult thing. In a sea of gorgeous, stunning options, how do you know which to buy?
'Think of the furniture you already have or what the coffee table will be going with,' Elizabeth suggests. If you have two sofas, a rectangle may make the most sense. If you are looking to create more of a conversation space, a circle coffee table may be the best choice. I like to use different wood tones when choosing coffee tables.
