Updated : August 2, 2025
Published : July 24, 2025
Guides

A coffee table isn’t just a place to drop the remote or rest your espresso (although it does still come in useful for doing both of those). Instead, it’s a statement piece – a connector between furniture, architecture, and lifestyle. So how do you choose one that fits? Not just in size, but in spirit.

We’ve lived with too many tables that didn’t earn their footprint. Either they overwhelmed the room, or they vanished into it. At Furl, we think choosing a coffee table is about more than shape and surface: it’s about how you move through your space and how you live. Let’s break it down.

Start With Function

Before you fall for the walnut veneer or sculptural legs, ask: what do you need it to do?

Are you someone who eats dinner on the sofa (no judgment)? Do you entertain? Need storage? Or just a platform for a few beautiful books and a vase of eucalyptus?

At Furl, we design clever tables that don’t just look good – they work. Our tables come with hidden drawers, surfaces that rise; pieces that glide from coffee table to full-sized dining table in seconds. And if you’re looking for perfect tables for small rooms, they’re genuinely useful innovations for modest living spaces.

Size Matters

There’s a tendency to pick a coffee table based purely on sofa size. But that’s only half the story. The real question is: how does it shape movement?

As a rule of thumb, you want around 40–45cm of space between sofa and table. Enough to stretch your legs, not so much that you’re lunging across the void to grab your tea.

And when it comes to height, aim for something roughly in line with your sofa seat – usually between 40 and 50cm. Lower looks more laid-back; higher can double as extra dining space. Our extending tables offer just that balance: elegant at rest, purposeful in motion.

Consider Form and Shape

You’ve got round, rectangular, oval. Even modular. The shape you choose changes how your room feels. Rounded corners soften things – good for smaller rooms or where flow is important. Long and lean suits a stretched sectional, while a square can act as an anchor in a more open-plan setting.

Our experience? Oval is often underrated. It feels classic but moves well, especially when the room is already full of straight lines and right angles.

Choose a Material That Lives Well

Materials age, and in some cases, this can actually be more of a design feature than an inherent flaw. For example, solid wood warms with time. Glass reflects light, but shows every fingerprint. Metal adds edge, but can feel cold in a room that needs softness.

At Furl, our tables are crafted with purpose, with engineered wood for strength and hand-finished for depth. If you’re looking for something that wears in, not out, our pieces - all made in the UK - do just that.

Think About Storage

It’s 2025, and we know that most of us are living with less space and more stuff. Storage therefore isn’t a luxury anymore, it’s a strategy - unless you want to spend your time dodging piles of books or knocking over poorly positioned ornaments.

To tackle this, some coffee tables go the hidden route, with compartments and lift-tops that keep clutter out of sight. Others opt for open shelving, letting beautiful books and objects take centre stage.

At Furl, we build both. Our multi-functional tables solve the problem, with no plastic tracks and no clunky hinges. Just smooth, well-balanced mechanisms that feel like part of the design.

Style Without Sacrificing Space

Trends come and go; whether it be oversized marble slabs, skinny-legged Scandi chic, or Brutalist cubes. But we believe that good design doesn’t need to shout.

We prefer the Furl way: clean forms, thoughtful proportions, and materials that hold their own next to your other pieces instead of competing with them. Ultimately, a coffee table should ground the space, not overwhelm it.

So choose something that aligns with your aesthetic – not just today’s Pinterest board, but where you see your home heading.

Invest Where It Counts

Mass-market tables can be tempting. They’re quick, they're cheap, and they’re made quickly to satisfy every mass-market micro trend.

But we’ve seen the seams split, the joints wobble. At Furl, everything is handcrafted right here in Britain. We don’t cut corners – we mitre them perfectly. Our joinery is tested, our finishes resilient, and our mechanisms guaranteed for five years.

You don’t need to replace our tables every few years, and investing in something built to last often ends up being more cost-effective than replacing a poorly-designed model every 6 months.

The Takeaway? Think Long-Term

When you choose a coffee table, you’re not just filling a gap in the room. You’re choosing how you want to live in that space.

Is it calm? Is it clever? Is it quietly confident?

Furl coffee tables are all three. And if you need more help creating a cohesive layout, our living room furniture guide covers layout, balance, and how to make multi-functional design work without compromising elegance.

Because choosing a coffee table isn’t just a question of taste – it’s a question of intention.