CHOOSING OCCASIONAL TABLES
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Accent tables can be both decorative and highly functional. Here’s a handy guide to selecting the right tables for your home.
Occasional tables have come a long way since they first appeared in the 1700s. And they’re still evolving, with convenient new features being added to familiar designs. Whether crafted from rich woods, glass, stone or metal, occasional tables are a great way to make any living area more liveable!
Let’s Start With An Occasional Definition
Occasional tables are smaller
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“accent” tables usually named for their location (side, sofa, end, hall, center), their use (cocktail, coffee, tea, china, writing), or their form (folding, console, extension, drop-leaf, tilt-top, swivel-top, nesting).
The word “occasional” originally came from the theory that these tables aren’t likely to get as much use as, say, a dining room table.
Whatever the name, you can use occasional tables to add function and enhance the mood of your living room, den, bedroom, entryway, hallway or just about any room in your home.
Obviously, tables offer a handy place for books, magazines, candles, framed photos, a lamp, your coffee, and whatever else you want to put on them. It's always nice to have a small table next to a chair for a touch of convenience. And for the ultimate in versatility, some cocktail and coffee tables even have tops that pop up to become dining or serving tables.
In addition to all the practical aspects, the warm, inviting feeling of wood table surfaces helps give any living area a greater sense of comfort and coziness.
A Look At How Occasional Tables Are Sold
The occasional table category is a big one, with choices ranging from stand-alone tables, to tables designed to coordinate perfectly with major upholstery collections. This “whole room” approach makes decorating fast and easy for consumers. The end result is a nice one: tables specifically designed to coordinate with upholstery help bring a more comfortable look and feel to a room.
Technically speaking, a standard group of occasional tables for a living room or den consists of one cocktail (or coffee) table, two end tables and one sofa table, all located in a single setting. Here’s are some tings to look for as you shop…
Fabulous Functional Features
Style is the first priority when you’re selecting pieces, but function and storage as close behind. Especially in smaller rooms, a table should make smart use of the space it occupies. If storage is an issue, look for tables that have a mix of shelves and drawers. If your goal is to display books, magazines and collectibles, be sure the tables also have at least one finished lower shelf.
Today, popular table features range from pull-through drawers and baskets to casters and lift tops, swivel and extension surfaces, and unique storage features.
A lift-top or swivel-top function allows the surface to come closer to you whether you’re snacking, working or both. Today’s newer end tables also have storage capacity, with either shelves or drawers for books and media. Built-in and hidden casters make it easy to move a table to where it’s needed.
Drawers and lift tops provide more ways to store VHS tapes, CDs, DVDs, books and remote controls. The lift-top function on cocktail tables, in particular, is designed for the person who wants to eat dinner in front of the TV or do office homework surrounded by family.
Table Size and Scale
The tables you choose should fit both the room and the furnishings around them. Bigger isn't always better. For instance, a coffee table that’s nearly as
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long and as wide as the sofa competes rather than complements. It can also cramp traffic flow through the room.
On the other hand, a too-small table will look out of proportion and function poorly. When a table is small, its surface ends up nearly covered with accessories.
A pleasing balance is reached when the coffee table spans about two-thirds the length of the sofa. (A good range is from one-half to two-thirds of the sofa length.) That gives the table enough mass to adequately anchor the furniture grouping, yet it leaves room for traffic
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flow around both ends. Plus, there’s room to fill the tabletop with accessories without being crowded.
Size matters with end tables, too. If it holds a lamp, make sure the table is tall enough so the light spreads out around the furniture grouping. The perfect height, visually and physically, is a tabletop that is a couple of inches shorter than the sofa arm.
Should You Mix or Should You Match?
To match or to mix? If other furnishings in the room are dominant or especially striking, it’s a good idea to have all the tables match so they don’t distract from the attention-getters. Matching the tables also gives an increased sense of order and organization.
But having every table different can be quite attractive, too, if they’re all of the same theme -- say, contemporary with glass tops -- or of the same general style period, like all Mission or all Queen Anne.
A table with a formal, traditional look probably won’t suit the style of a casual sofa. A softly padded and rolled sofa arm begs for an equally casual – perhaps even rustic – coffee and end table. The goal – and it’s a very subjective one – is simply to end up with pieces that “feel” comfortable together.
Choosing Tables Is Easier Than You Think
Ultimately, the tables you choose to compliment your upholstery group will depend on several factors, including who will be using the room, how they’ll be using it, and your own personal styling preferences. Whether you prefer Country or Contemporary, the final measure of a table’s success is this: Does it serve the look of the room… and the needs of the people who will use it?
Many people get nervous when thinking about trying to coordinate furnishings, but it’s really not that complicated. You'll be surprised at how good a decorator you are if you just give it a little thought… and some comparative shopping!
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