Many folks who are looking for a new coffee table or are wanting to upgrade their old coffee table are looking to purchase one of the many contemporary coffee tables that are available now. And the good thing is, that just because you want a contemporary coffee table does not mean you’ll have to pay an arm and a leg for it.
In fact wooden coffee tables with that contemporary look are around the same cost as you would expect to pay for most other wood coffee tables. So let’s take the rest of this article to explore some of your options if you’re looking for one of the many contemporary coffee tables out there.
Some options for contemporary coffee tables
As you might know, my oak coffee table is not one of the most modern coffee tables out there, but you get attached to these things and with all of its dings and dents, scratches and scuffs, I love my wooden table with all of its character. I’m saying this, because whether you are looking to buy a pine coffee table a lift top coffee table or any other type of coffee table you’ll probably get attached to it, so you’ll want to buy something that will last a long time and that you will often admire and enjoy.
Although you can find a contemporary looking square coffee table, you’ll likely find that most of them are rectangular because this is usually the best shape to match your couch and love seat or lounge chairs. Having said that though, I have seen square coffee tables and even round coffee tables work quite well depending on the size of your living room area and the set up and type of couches or other furniture you have in there.
You’ll want to give the design of your home a lot of relevance when you’re buying your next coffee table especially if you’re looking for that modern design touch. For example, a white coffee table works well in contemporary homes with neutral colors and a spartan design, but it wouldn’t work well in a busier home with the current darker colored hues of paint that are popular nowadays.
So your overall decor and home design will play an important role in your choice of contemporary coffee tables. A black glass coffee table is one of the popular modern coffee tables I’ve seen and would work well in the situations mentioned above where white coffee tables would be just too gauche. But again, for a glass top coffee table such as the elegant Noguchi coffee table, more of an oval coffee table, and especially the black glass coffee tables we were just talking about you want clean lines, uncluttered decor and darker hues on the walls.
But as with everything that is artistic and creative and this is true for home design and decor, you’ll find that you can occasionally buck the rules to great affect especially in the simple choices amongst contemporary coffee tables.
Wooden contemporary coffee tables
It is my personal belief that wooden coffee tables are the ones that are most forgiving. I’ll say this with one caveat. A marble coffee table that is seated on wooden legs would be the exception to the rule. However, for what it’s worth, I’m not a big fan of marble coffee tables generally and find them to be socially awkward when it comes to fitting in with most home decor and interior designs. They just seem to finicky to me. But wooden coffee tables are so accommodating if only because they come in such varieties and different colors of wood.
Lift top coffee tables as we mentioned earlier are a great idea if you’re looking for an added purpose or benefit from your table and many of them can be found in contemporary styles. Oak coffee tables are very versatile and work especially well in brighter homes with neutral to warmer colors and decor designs. That is if you’re looking for contemporary coffee tables that are showing their natural face. One of the benefits of the wood coffee table is that it can be stained, varnished and painted leaving you with all sorts of other options which is beyond the scope of this short discussion.
If you have a modern home that has muted and darker tones with matching furniture and settees, a mahogany coffee table with its natural darker face showing would be a wonderful compliment to your living room’s decor. However, mahogany is extremely expensive because we’ve historically almost used it to extinction and it is very difficult to find a modern coffee table made with recent wood. Your best for something like that is to look for an older table that still has that contemporary look but is made from mahogany. A few that I’ve seen that fit this idea is the older trunk coffee table. Just a bit of refinishing and it should be as good as new.
The joy of contemporary coffee tables is that they are more of an idea than a concrete object. There is a lot of leeway in what can be considered and modern and contemporary coffee table. Because of this, so much depends on the extraneous like your home’s decor, the furniture you already have and even your home’s design. But isn’t that what makes this so much fun. Making your home, your castle and sweet retreat from the hustle and bustle of the world? Part of that is finding the right furniture and the right contemporary coffee tables to suit your needs.