Get Grounded With Short Coffee Tables

With a lot of modern furniture, designers have begun playing around with chair and table height. Extra tall, bar-style furniture is one popular style right now, as are short coffee tables. These eye-catching pieces can really add a dynamic feel to your indoor and outdoor living areas, simply by changing up the height. It's less conventional and thus more unexpected, not to mention fabulous looking.

Look

Short coffee tables are typically around two inches lower than average tables. This means they cannot accommodate normal height chairs, but many chairs also have proportionately lower seats so that people sitting next to this style of tables will not feel awkward or have to bend over as far. Some people even use pillows with short tables so you're actually sitting on the ground and can get your knees underneath. The size of these tables varies like any other table. There are side tables, coffee tables, and full dining tables that accommodate different numbers of guests.

Ambience

Short coffee tables convey a casual, intimate setting. They are perfect for drinks and small, and are subsequently often found in upscale lounges and similar settings. At the same time, the low-lying table also has a historical basis. The Japanese tradition of eating off of low tables while sitting on floor cushions is an ancient one. Today, you can still find these tables in some restaurants as more of a fun, kitsch throwback, but it's also still a trend in modern furniture design. A low table can also open up a room and make it look bigger. They look great in small, urban apartments.

Function

Besides having a unique look, short coffee tables are more stable than regular coffee tables. They sit closer to the ground, and are thus sturdier. This makes for less spilling and knocking over when kicked and bumped into. These low tables can easily be at home indoors and out, in all types of settings.

Material

Most certainly, short coffee tables can be built from the same materials as any other table, like metal, glass, marble, etc. Traditional Japanese low tables are made from highly lacquered woods. For outdoor use, these low tables need to be made from a suitably weatherproof material. Wood is once again popular, especially lumber that has been treated with an oil-based varnish. Resin, metal, concrete, and more all have a place, so the options are many.

Uses

Like the variety of other tables available on the market, short coffee tables aren't intended solely for coffee and tea service. Use one as a TV stand so you don't have to crane your neck in smaller rooms; display books, tokens and other mementos on your table; pair with other variable height tables for a dynamic stacked look.

Short coffee tables are not a new innovation. They have been around as a long-standing part of international furniture design. It simply has not caught on as well in the American furniture scene as other design movements. Invest in one yourself to help jumpstart a trend that's been long in the making.