 CENTER STAGE
Coffee tables and ottomans’
important place in today’s living rooms
BY PRISCILLA KOHUTEK
PHOTOGRAPHY BY ROBERT FRENCH
Coffee tables, those familiar features of today’s living rooms, are relatively new additions to the American furniture scene. It is said that coffee tables became popular in the United States in the 1920s during Prohibition when a great deal of entertaining was done in the privacy of one’s home. These long low tables were given the benign name “coffee tables,” even though some were equipped with secret compartments to hide illegal liquor bottles. After Prohibition, these became more appropriately known as cocktail tables. Although both terms are still recognized, coffee table is the name most commonly associated with these living room centerpieces.
In Europe and America, living room tables have always been important decorating elements and have always been present in one form or another. By the latter half of the 1800s, some serving tables were even called coffee tables. But these tables were of a standard kitchen table height and, therefore, not normally placed in the middle of a conversation area where they would have blocked the view of those who might be seated. It is the Americans who are credited with moving a long low table in front of the sofa and calling it a coffee table.
The coffee/cocktail table has taken many forms over the years, and its evolution continues today as styles and usage change. The trend toward building palatial homes and decorating with massive-scale furniture has led side pieces like coffee tables in the same direction. Coffee tables have stepped up in size and height to anchor conversation areas with jumbo sofas and oversized armchairs. Anything less may look too delicate or out of proportion with today’s weighty furniture.
Current style trends for coffee tables are extremely varied, and most are taller and more imposing than before: Elaborately detailed coffee tables in exotic woods; tables with natural stone, hand-painted leather tops and tables with heavy wrought-iron bases and thick glass tops are all popular.
But, the hottest looks for 2008 are ottomans and benches upholstered in tufted leather which are used in place of coffee tables. People love the flexibility of these pieces that can play so many different roles. With the help of a tray for stability, they make great tables with plenty of room for cups, glasses, snacks and even entire meals. They can provide extra seating for a house full of guests at party time. And if they aren’t too high, they can provide a place to prop your feet when you’ve got a minute to relax or watch television. Many such ottomans are very large and heavy, so for maximum maneuverability, look for those that are on rollers.
These up-market leather ottomans cum coffee tables are making some surprising matches. They are being paired with formal sofas upholstered in luxurious fabrics — sophistication, style and weight are the keywords here. The look works because all the parts are equal, and one piece complements the other.
Large puffy ottomans upholstered in all kinds of fabrics have also made their way into living rooms. They make comfy spare seating and footrests, but they aren’t meant to display much more than books and magazines. They definitely need trays to balance cups and glasses.
Rough and tough leather furniture that’s perfect for the Texas Hill Country style is usually grouped around heavy wood coffee tables with drawers and bottom shelves or large, sturdy chests and trunks with flat tabletops for convenience and display as well as storage. Spanish mission-style chests and benches, and more conventional coffee table shapes, are naturals for Texas Hill Country, Southwest ranch and Colorado mountain décor.
For loftier-styled settings, there are coffee tables in contemporary designs, ranging from large creative shapes in interesting woods, to straight no-nonsense styles in metals and glass, to totally whimsical Lucite tables that would work equally as well in a formal setting as in an ultra-modern California setting.
 At the other end of the spectrum, we have large low Japanese tea table designs. These tables are traditionally rectangular in shape with short, heavy curved legs that hug the floor. Even though they are low, their mass still complements large-scale sofas.
For those who are dealing with smaller spaces, modern Lucite coffee tables may provide a perfect match: They are attractive and serviceable, and their translucent appearance doesn’t take up any room visually. They are real space savers.
Individual nesting tables and tray tables also have their place with small-scale furniture pieces that would be overpowered by larger, heavier coffee tables.
There are so many choices now and something to suit everyone’s taste and situation — from over-the-top expensive to utterly affordable. So go for it: Shop, look and listen! You’ll find just the right thing to take center stage in your living room.
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