I believe that the secret to a great living room is an excellent coffee table. Coffee tables function as the centerpiece of a living room, hence you need to pick one that truly livens it up, and sets the tone for it. And, once the perfect coffee table has been set, you can start building the rest of the space around it – a comfy sofa, cute side tables, exquisite lighting, and elegant decorative pieces. They are all brought together by the right coffee table! And even coffee tables are getting more innovative, unique, and well-crafted by the day! From a quirky red cuboidal coffee table that effortlessly stores your books and magazines, to a coffee table that features a revolving handle to hold your glass or lamp – these exquisite coffee table designs are all you need to completely bring together your living room, and meet your interior design goals!
1. The Bookpet
Designed to be a ‘coffee-book table’, the Bookpet is a visually exciting coffee table, that also doubles up as an excellent storage space for your books and magazines. It showcases a sculptural shape that evolves from a double-bent cuboid.
Why is it noteworthy?
The cuboidal form of the furniture allows for a sturdy tabletop at one end, which functions as the coffee table part of the design. In contrast, the rest of the piece has been integrated with little slits and nooks that can perfectly hold your favorite books and magazines. Bookpet has a compact and space-friendly size, allowing it to be ideal for tiny homes, and modern apartments with space constraint woes.
What we like
- Compact + space-saving design
- It looks like a sausage dog!
What we dislike
- No option to change the partition sizes to accommodate bigger book sizes
2. Vertushka
Named after Russian rotary dials, Vertushka puts a similar mechanism at the service of your coffee. An arm protrudes out of and over the table, creating a safe location to place a drink away from whatever else is on the table.
Why is it noteworthy?
Plus, it also frees up space for more of your stuff instead of forcing yourself to clear out an unobstructed space around your cup. That said, that’s not the only thing that this coffee table is able to do. That “handle” can revolve around the edge, giving you more freedom where to place your beverage.
What we like
- The design also includes a multi-angle lamp to shed more light on what you’re working on without taking up precious table space
What we dislike
- the design does not accommodate different drink holders
3. Donatas Žukauskas’ Coffee Table
There are some materials, both natural and man-made, that seem to be associated with certain emotions and concepts. Water, for example, can be calming and cleansing, while plastic is soft and pliable. Wood is warm and cozy, while stone, in its many forms, is cold and impersonal. These latter two might seem to stand on opposite ends, but they come together in a harmonious and even artistic way in this sculptural coffee table made of natural wood and new concrete-like material.
Why is it noteworthy?
The very shape of the table itself seems to convey this character of combining contrasting elements. The wide, irregularly-shaped wooden top is held up by three conical legs that end in very thin feet that seem to test fate. Its form has elements of both stability and irregularity as if challenging the mind to decide whether the table is steady or is ready to collapse on one end.
What we like
- Recycled materials were utilized in creating this table
What we dislike
- Aesthetics are a bit eccentric, and may not appeal to everyone
4. Studio Nuño’s Coffee Table
Studio Nuño designed a new type of joinery that it says reduces the assembly time down to just a few minutes while still maintaining structural strength to bear the weight of everyday use.
Why is it noteworthy?
You simply insert the legs into the slots beneath the tabletop, slide in a supporting piece, and screw that piece down with an Allen wrench. The legs come in three or four distinct pieces for the side table and coffee table, respectively, so there are no confusing angles or combinations to worry about.
What we like
- Built using 100% recycled and biodegradable materials
What we dislike
- Aesthetics are a bit too simple
5. Wormhole Coffee Table
Wormholes can hypothetically connect two disparate points in spacetime via a tunnel. And they’re quite commonly found in science fiction! And this mind-blowing coffee table by Olivier Gomis attempts to convert the hypothetical wormhole into a physical manifestation.
Why is it noteworthy?
The shape of a table is already quite eye-catching on its own. It’s almost like a wooden plank that has been bent so that the two ends are on top of each other and then joined together by a double cone. These are then glued together with sheets of maple veneer in between, which give the appearance of those faint light lines that form the grid.
What we like
- A lamp was installed in the center of the hole, giving the table an eerie appearance in the dark
What we dislike
- The downward curve means there is a chance for objects to roll inside
6. Oceanides
Designed by Alexia Mintsouli for UK studio Alexa Mint, Oceanides is a collection of tables made from sea plants and marble. The innovative collection includes a square coffee table and two round side tables. One of the side tables features four legs, while the other features a solid base.
Why is it noteworthy?
Peloponnesian Tortora marble was used to craft the base and legs of the table, while the brown-colored tabletops were built using a sea plant that imparts the table with a natural pattern variation.” The top of the tables are from the sea plant Posidonia Oceanica, one of the oldest living organisms on Earth,” said Alex Mint. Until recently, the sea plant was disposed of as waste, but now it has a newfound purpose.
What we like
- Sustainable + eco-friendly design
What we dislike
- The tables seem more suited for the outdoors than the indoors
7. The Dune Table
This beautiful center table concept is designed to make people feel at peace – with the help of loose sand. You don’t need to visit a beach or travel to a desert to enjoy the sensation of this, you can now do it in the comfort of your own home with the Dune table!
Why is it noteworthy?
The Dune table’s name makes clear its inspiration, which might not be immediately apparent simply from its form. Unlike a gently sloping dune, the table’s base rises and falls in an almost random pattern. This creates shapes, edges, and corners that wouldn’t be ordinarily possible with natural dunes. Along with its blue hue, however, it gives the table an almost mystical and otherworldly character that only adds to its soothing visual.
What we like
- The tabletop also follows this amorphous design, forming an irregular shape rather than a typical circle or ellipse. It gives a perfect view of the man-made dune underneath, serving both functional and aesthetic duties
What we dislike
- Without knowing the materials used, its difficult to get a real-world feel of the object
8. The Circus Coffee Table
Much like its name, the Circus coffee table is an intriguing concept designed to bring people together in an active, interactive, and chaotic manner. Unlike conventional coffee tables, the circus coffee table is quite tall, and it can be used as a regular desk if need be.
Why is it noteworthy?
The table’s jumble of shapes and materials is almost chaotic, just like a circus. You have a predominantly wooden table with metal components that add functionality to the table. The large circular hole in the middle turns the disc into a donut and reveals two triangular shapes that form the legs of the table. Instead of a solid cylindrical base, the table has metal bars and doors on opposite sides, creating further contrasts in terms of design.
What we like
- Designed to be the center of attraction
- Can function as a regular desk too
What we dislike
- Some people may not like the unconventionality of the design
9. The Cloth Coffee Table
The Cloth coffee table is characterized by a curved bookstand that functions as the table’s centerpiece. The rather curvy personality of the table is seen throughout its bulky bold. The coffee table perfectly strikes a balance between boldness and elegance, beautifully integrating soft and loud elements.
Why is it noteworthy?
Doing minimalism before it was cool, Japanese and Scandinavian share a lot of common design principles, including a focus on warmth, groundedness, and a subdued color scheme for an overall calming effect. With aim of merging these principles together to design Cloth, Teixeira hoped to find a “balance between boldness and elegance, depending on the angle.”
What we like
- An artful blend of Japanese and Scandinavian design philosophies
- The curved bookstand is a distinguishing feature
What we dislike
- Weighty/bulky design
10. The REVERSE Coffee Table
The REVERSE coffee table is not simply a coffee table, it also functions as a side table. You can reuse the same base and same table surface to alternate between the two kinds of tables.
Why is it noteworthy?
The only thing that changes is the middle support structure that determines how high the table can be. Simply reverse its orientation and you can either raise or lower the table, switching between its two functions. The one caveat is that the table’s height seems to be fixed in both situations, with no room for slightly raising or lowering the tabletop.
What we like
- Doubles up as a coffee table and side table
What we dislike
- Switching between the two modes can be complex and time-consuming
