Coffee table

Key facts and history

The first tables specifically designed as coffee tables appear to have been made in Britain during the late Victorian era.^[2] A table designed by E. W. Godwin in 1868 and produced by William Watt and Collinson and Lock may be one of the earliest coffee tables in Europe.^[3] The concept of a long low table likely came from the Ottoman Empire, based on tea garden tables, or from the Anglo-Japanese style popular in Britain in the 1870s and 1880s.^[2][4] Joseph Aronson in 1938 defined a coffee table as a "low wide table now used before a sofa or couch" and noted there was no historical precedent.^[5]

From the late 19th century onward, many coffee tables were made in earlier revival styles, such as Louis XVI or Georgian styles.^[5] Coffee tables became more common with the increasing availability of television sets from the 1950s onward, as they are low enough not to obstruct the TV view.^[5] Mid-century modern coffee tables, popular between the 1950s and 1960s, feature clean lines and bent wood or molded plastic construction.^[2] Contemporary coffee tables often have glass tops and metal bases.^[2]

For optimal balance, a coffee table should be about two thirds the width of the sofa.^[2] There should be around 45 cm of space between the sofa and the table for easy movement.^[2]

What the cited sources add

It also notes that the Anglo-Japanese style is an equally likely source for the long low table concept.^[2] The same source describes mid-century modern coffee tables as having clean, simple lines and bent wood or molded plastic construction.^[2] It specifies that contemporary coffee tables commonly use glass tops and metal bases.^[2] The article provides practical sizing advice: the table should be two thirds the width of the sofa, with 45 cm of clearance.^[2]