Buying a table for your living room or dining room? Here’s your guide

When it comes to buying the right kind of furniture for your living room, the table takes center stage, at times, literally. A centre table or a coffee table is an important piece of furniture - one that’s a gathering spot for your family and friends.

There are other types of tables, too. If you’re looking for living room tables or dining room tables, it’s advisable to pick one that ticks off all your requirements. In this blog, we’ll help you zero in on table furniture that matches your requirements. Here are the points we “bring to the table”, and some more.

Types of table furniture design
How to buy tables by style
Table furniture prices

Types of table furniture

If you thought the only purpose of tables is to provide storage or serve a function, you’re wrong. There are some types of table designs that are crafted only to enhance the aesthetics of interior spaces more than making a functional addition. Here are some types of tables that you might want to consider for your home.

Centre table or coffee table

This one is more of a necessity. As suggested by its names, the centre table or the coffee table is mostly placed in the centre of the living room and used as a gathering spot for coffee and conversation. Centre table designs either provide a flat surface only on the top and/or extra storage space at the bottom as well.

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Want to buy a centre table? Some tips:

When it comes to a centre table, size does matter. Too big a table for a small space and your living room might end up feeling stuffed; too small a coffee table and it might not be useful enough when you have a bunch of friends come over. Consider the size of the room and other furniture pieces before you zero in on your centre table.
Give weight a thought, too. Are you the kind who likes to move around the living room furniture to give it a makeover every few months? If yes, pick a table that’s not too heavy or bulky to shift from one place to another. E.g. a glass table or a marble top table might be too risky and heavy to move around. Go for a wooden, plastic, or engineered wood table.
Choose a table that’ll last for years. Your centre table is a key feature of your living room. If you want it to stay with you for years, you should invest in one that not only matches your aesthetic taste, but is also strong, sturdy, and durable. Materials such as wood and metal are stronger compared to plastic, marble and stone.

Console table

Usually kept against walls, console tables have a front and two sides with its back to the wall. The back is usually plain and unadorned, while the front is decorative. Contemporary homes use console tables more for aesthetics than as a functional addition, as it is mostly used to place decorative pieces. These tables usually take up less space as they’re against walls, and for this reason, work well in spaces that have a lot of furniture.

Key points for buying a console table for your living or dining room

Choose the style of the console table - tall, narrow, ultra-slim, broad, shallow - based on the space available for it.
Next, it’s important to match your console table to the rest of the furniture. Depending on your decor style - contemporary, antique, minimalist, mid-century, pick a console table that mingles well with your existing furniture.
The room for which you’re buying the console table. The style and storage space requirements will depend on the room in which the console table will be placed. Eg., a console table for the dining room should have more storage space, while the one for the living room can be slim and without any storage drawers.

Side table or end table

Synonymous to its names, you’ll find side tables and end tables in corners or at the sides of different kinds of furniture, such as sofas, diwans, and beds. Side tables are useful as extra storage and for placing knicknacks - think phones, lampshades, decorative pieces, keys, or even a small candy jar.

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All you need to know when buying a side table

Even though it’s a side table that will mostly sit unassumingly in one corner, it has to be the right size, the perfect color, the right style that matches your existing furniture. Don’t ignore this little, but important piece of furniture.
Side tables are a good option for adding storage space as they are in corners and might not be clearly visible. Hence, look for a corner table that provides ample storage space in drawers.

Buy table by style

Today, furniture lovers are spoilt for choice. You can buy furniture online from the comfort of your homes. The furniture market is the size of an ocean and one can get easily lost and confused about what type of tables to buy. Let’s look at some of the most popular table styles:

Contemporary tables for contemporary, stylish homes. Think minimal designs, pop colors, mid-century inspirations, and styles that are on-trend. Contemporary is a broad term for furniture style and one that’s subjective, too.

Smart tables for tech-savvy people. Ever thought a table could double up as a speaker or a mobile charging point? No, you don’t have to wait until 2055. Today, smart tables are available online in many furniture stores.

Vintage and mid-century for those with classic tastes. If you’re looking for a coffee table that should take you back to the 60s and 70s, go for the vintage and mid-century furniture styles.

Table furniture prices

So many choices and as many prices for table furniture designs. Of course, it’s important to consider the price tag of the table of your choice. But price shouldn’t be the only factor. Tables made with good quality material will last longer and hence, may be priced a little higher compared to those made of less durable material such as engineered wood and plastic.

The prices of different types of tables depend on many factors - the brand, the material used, the design, the size, and its finishing, among other factors. We suggest you keep your purse strings a little loose, your mind a little open, and your taste right on top.

Over to you

Now that we’ve shared with you our pro tips on buying tables for your living room or dining room, we hope you’ve narrowed down on a few styles, material, and designs. If you have? Well done! If you haven’t, we’re here to help you. Explore a range of tables in our online store.