Glass Coffee Table

A coffee table is generally considered as a must-have furniture piece in any living room of a home. Like other tables in the house, its purpose is to allow you to place various items such as drinks, food, magazines and small ornamental pieces if you so wish. Coffee tables can be made from a number of materials and even a combination of different materials including wood (e.g. pine, oak and mahogany), iron, chrome and glass. This variety exists mainly to accommodate the various tastes and budgets of people.

Since there is so much you can cover on coffee tables, for now I’m just going to focus on glass coffee tables in this hub. When it comes to choosing a glass coffee table for your living room, there are two main areas that you need to keep in mind – functionality and style. I’ll go over some of the main aspects within each of these two areas.

The higher quality glass top coffee tables are generally constructed from tempered glass as supposed to the normal glass. The difference is that tempered glass has greater strength, but please note that this doesn’t mean it is unbreakable. The advantage that this kind of glass has is that when it does break, the glass shatters into small pebble-like fragments. On the other hand, when normal glass breaks, it ends up as shards that are sharp and hence much more dangerous.

Another attribute of the higher quality of glass top coffee tables is that the glass should be coated or laminated such that scratching and chipping won’t occur easily. Having said that, you should still avoid doing things and placing items on the glass that could result in damaging the surface. For example, I find it common for people to place their keys directly on the glass surface which can be easily avoided by putting them in a bowl. Just remember to place the bowl on top of a mat or piece of felt.

The point here is to ensure that you check the type of glass used in the construction of the coffee table at which you are looking. Paying for a good quality glass coffee table will be better over the long run compared to getting cheap glass coffee tables.

This is applicable to any kind of coffee table but because it is very important, I thought I should take some time to emphasize the point here – ensure that you purchase the right sized glass coffee table. It could look incredibly beautiful and impressive, but if it is going to make your living room more awkward and uncomfortable to move around in, then you won’t be able to appreciate the coffee table.

The best approach would be to make measurements of your living room, taking account of any other furniture items in the room as well as the shape of the room. After this, as you look at the different glass coffee tables in your local stores or online, ensure that the size of the table you choose will allow for easy maneuverability.

Another important point I should make here is that the length of the glass coffee table should be relative to the length of your sofa (if you have a sofa). For example, if you have a 4-seater sofa, you might want to get a glass coffee table long enough for all seated people to conveniently access the items on the table.

There are generally four regular shapes that glass coffee tables come in – square, rectangular, oval and round. Probably the two most sought after types are the round glass coffee table and the square glass coffee table. I think the main reason is because these tables are well suited for compact living rooms where space is not available in abundance.

Another major influence on deciding the shape is going to be taste. Some people dislike having corners on a coffee table, finding them to be more obstructive and instead prefer a softer look of round glass coffee tables. Other people might like having the additional space provided by the corners of square glass coffee tables.

If you’re not familiar with glass coffee tables, the first image that comes to mind when you hear about them might be a clear glass top. This may be the case in the past, but nowadays there is definitely greater choice. For example, a very popular style amongst people who live in a modern home is a black glass coffee table. At the time of writing this, Avenue Six currently sells a rectangular coffee table that has an overall minimalist design with a tempered black glass top and chrome frame.

Don’t get the wrong idea that you are limited to only a modern glass coffee table. For example, if you want a traditional look, you can get an antique glass coffee table that has a clear glass top and wooden frame which has intricate carvings.