CategoriesFurniture and Lighting
Coffee Table
A low table placed in front of a sofa, a 20th-century form that designers have made in glass, wood, metal and stone.
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About
Low tables have long existed in homes that sit near the floor, from Japan and Korea to the Ottoman world, where trays rest on folding stands. The Western coffee table, however, became common only in the early 20th century, as living rooms grew less formal and seating dropped lower.
Mid-century designers made it a centrepiece. Isamu Noguchi set a heavy glass top on two interlocking wooden supports in a design issued by Herman Miller in 1947. Philip and Kelvin LaVerne etched bronze and pewter tops with scenes drawn from ancient art, Jorge Zalszupin in Brazil worked in jacarandá, and Richard Schultz made weatherproof aluminium tables for outdoor living. Today tables in stone, resin and cast metal often act as sculpture. Look at the height against nearby seats, the strength of the surface and whether storage is built in.
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