Interiors
THE COFFEE
Regarded to be an integral part of your living room design, the coffee table comes in many styles and sizes, Georges Karam explores.
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Antique Asian table by GK. Image by Loredana Mantellos & Carlos Villaroel
o matter how you envisage laying out your living room there is always the point of departure or centre point, and this attribute falls on the coffee table, which is an essential element of interior design. If we go back in time there was no such a thing as coffee table. It is quite a recent object that has become a must in our interiors. In Europe the first tables specifically designed as coffee or low tables appear to have been made in Britain the late nineteenth-century, influenced by the Japanese trend and the Ottoman tea ceremonial. As fashion evolved many coffee tables were subsequently made in what is called the Revival Style, plus Renaissance, Louis XIV, XV, XVI, Baroque, Regency and Gustavian among others. A wide range of materials and finishes have been used to create coffee tables over the years, such as patina and gilded wood, or exotic essence of wood in the 1930s, Formica in the fifties, not to forget the rise of plastic and its derivatives in the sixties and seventies. In
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Ohlala! I June 2012 I www.ohlala-magazine.com
modern times tempered glass and metal have often been used as well as the upholstered version either in leather or fabric. Coffee tables were a late development in the history of furniture, and of course, since the invention and democratisation of television in the middle of the last century, it has shifted the way we layout our furniture accordingly to accommodate our new modern devices. The ideal coffee table is one that is in proportion with its surroundings. I would recommend a slightly larger size than what is required functionally, bearing in mind to keep around 50-centimetres of space between the seating and table. If the table is made from wood, and particularly a dark colour, it’s better to have a gloss or semi-gloss/satin finish as it is easier to maintain and less porous then the natural finish. Your choice will also depend on the type of style you’re looking for, such as modern or more classical. Whatever your inclination and style, place comfort before any other aspect when choosing a coffee table, as in the long run it is the first criteria for happy living.