30 Fantastic Coffee Tables + Sofas + End Tables! Parts 1 & 2

Hi Everyone,

This post is a continuation of Wednesday’s post about coffee tables. Today, I’m attempting to tie it all together in a way that’s worked for me my entire career. And to that end, part 2 we will be discussing coordinating end tables and how I go about doing that.

I found some amazing pieces. Most of you know the drill by now with these 2-part posts. If you’re here for the first time please continue reading from the top of the page. Everyone else, if you’d like to skip ahead, to part 2, please click the link below.

 

Part 2 Begins Here

 

Part 1 is below:

Dear Laurel,

Who knew that this decorating your home thing was so difficult? Oh, I know. You do. And now, I do too.

You would think something seemingly as easy as choosing a coffee table would be easy. But, I began looking around and am hard-pressed to find a coffee table that doesn’t look like the top came from a 200-year-old oak tree. Or, else it’s some bizarre modernesque shape that I don’t understand.

 

I do love your beautiful table, Laurel. It looks chic and classic.

Where did you say it came from?

 

How do you do that?

 

Please know that I’ve been working on my plan. I bought some graph paper and one of those architects’ scales to get it as close as possible to the actual size. Oh, and I got a little template to trace the approximate sizes of the furniture.

 

I also love the 12-step decorating plan post.

 

If you do a blog post about this, it would be terrific if you could go over scale and proportions.

And of course, I’d love to see one of your widgets filled with some of your favorite coffee tables.

 

Sophie Andatabel

 

***

 

That’s a very good question, Sophie.

First of all, I recommend that everyone embarking on purchasing home furnishings get my 333 Hard-to-Find Rules & Tips You Need to Know Guide. It’s only $79, and I think it is useful to avoid costly mistakes.

 

But, how do I know which coffee tables look good with which sofas?

 

That’s a very good question.

Perhaps you’ve noticed, but I love Asian coffee tables, particularly those that originated in China, featuring Ming or chow legs.

The ming legs are the more delicate legs, and the chow, the heftier legs.

 

Proportion is a difficult thing to handle these days. At least it is for me, with much of the new furniture in the marketplace.

 

That’s because sometime in the late 20th century, furniture became BIG.

And, for the most part, it has remained large.

Oh, I’ve devoted several blog posts to bloated, boxy furniture.

That isn’t to say that all large furniture is bad, but a sofa with a seat that’s 21″ high will be difficult to pair with a coffee table that’s only 13″ high.

Most Asian coffee tables are quite low, typically between 13″ and 17″, but most are no more than 15″ high, and some might only be 9″ high. The reason is that most of them started as beds, and their beds were fairly close to the ground.

 

95% of the time, I prefer a relatively low coffee table. Why? In my experience, lower tables look better.

 

For example, my vintage Chinoiserie table that I got on Chairish is only 13″ high. However, my sofa seat is only 15″ high.  Please, let’s not have a slipper-chair-type discussion about that. It’s English, and that’s the style; it is exceedingly comfortable and easy to sit down and get up from.

However, the Serena & Lily Miramar seat height is 18″, and therefore, a 15″ to 17″ coffee table would be wonderful. I would not recommend going lower than 14″.

 

What are some other rules for coffee tables?

 

Coffee tables should sit about a foot away from the sofa. But, if it’s a little more, that’s okay.

 

What size coffee table do you need?

 

My rule of thumb is that a rectangular piece should be approximately 1/2 to 2/3 the length of the sofa.

 

For an 84″ sofa, I usually do a coffee table of about 48″-50″ long and 20″-30″ deep, but a 48″ square is fine, too.

 

I’ve also done 42″ wide. And, also 54″ wide. All of them are fine. You can scale proportionately if you have a smaller or larger sofa.

However, another aspect is the visual weight of the table. The coffee table needs to coordinate with all other pieces in the room without being a matched set. In other words, I wouldn’t do the same style of coffee and end table.

 

That’s another reason I love Asian coffee tables. They look so fantastic with just about every style of sofa.

 

Still, I believe the secret to creating an interesting room is to incorporate a few vintage or antique items. When everything is new, a room could feel bland. It depends. Furnishings that are done in the manner of antiques count the same. The only thing is, they tend to be atrociously expensive.

 

I’m using the beautiful sofas from Serena & Lily for demonstration purposes.

 

• One, because I LOVE them!
• Two, because they’re currently on sale, through August 4th. In fact, all of the custom upholstery pieces, including ottomans, benches, chairs, and beds, are on sale. (well, everything that goes in a living room.) ;]

 

Above is the standard-sized 81″ Spruce Street Sofa in salt linen and a bench seat. It is a classic contemporary piece which I feel is the perfect new-trad, casual piece with great proportions. I’ve done it many times in the sectional version.

The Chelsea Cocktail Ottoman in Natural Raffia measures 43″ square. This is a beautiful proportion with the 81″ sofa. I would not recommend a 48″ square table unless it were made of glass. However, a rectangular 48″ coffee table would be fine.

Cocktail ottomans are wonderful because you can put your feet up, but if needed, you can place a tray on them for drinks, etc.

 

To recap, the size of the sofa is 81″ long; therefore, a rectangular coffee table that’s 42″ – 48″ is ideal.

But what about the 106″ long version below, which is just shy of nine feet!

 

The four-seater version of the Spruce Street is still sleek but at 106″ long, requires a far larger coffee table.

If you had a large seating area with a deep room, you could do this stunning 60″ square but low coffee table from Century Furniture.

In addition, there are some stunning vintage coffee tables in the upcoming widget that would be fantastic with this piece. However, Serena & Lily doesn’t have a coffee table that’s large enough. Their largest length is 48″ and according to our rule, the minimum should be 53″. They do have an ottoman that’s 56″, but I’m not a fan of this blocky piece. 

 

Does 5″ really make a difference?

 

It’s not terrible, but depending on the angle might look a bit dinky. Please note that 50% is the minimum size.

Still, if the coffee table has enough presence, such as one of the beautiful Chinoiserie tables, then 48″ with the Spruce Street would probably be okay. However, 54″ would be better.

 

 

The St. Germain round coffee table, positioned in front of the Grady 84″ sofa, is a beautiful piece. At 44.5″ in diameter, it is a great size for an 84″ sofa and could also work well with a 72″ sofa. It’s quite a versatile coffee table.

 

Above is an interesting situation. The gorgeous sofa is the Grady 8-footer. There’s also a 9-foot, but not with a box-pleated skirt as shown above.

 

Okay, there was a big rule busted here.

 

The chairs should never overlap the sofa they are perpendicular to.  The only reason they’re mildly getting away with this is that they are see-through– AND the coffee table, while lovely with an 8-foot sofa at 48″ wide, is too small for this sofa. I would design a coffee table that is 54″ to 60″ wide and at least 24″ to -36″ deep.

 

 

Above is a 48″ coffee table that is like the Driftway, only I think this was the discontinued Blake table. It’s the same as far as I can tell. It is in front of the gorgeous Miramar sofa. The one pictured above appears to be the 8-foot version of this classic English roll-arm sofa. And while this size is fine as it’s half the width, it could definitely be a 60″ table.

 

 

Above is the aforementioned sectional version of the Spruce Street style. Sectionals are sometimes a challenge when it comes to coffee tables. Normally, the coffee table should not extend beyond the arm of the sectional, and in fact, be about a foot away from the end. However, they placed the coffee table in the center of the seating area, so that’s a valid excuse to break that rule.

 

It’s situations like this that make it imperative to do a room layout before you plunk your money down.

 

Custom upholstery is never returnable.

The St. Germain table pictured earlier would work well here. It would not service the two chairs. In that case, I’d put a small 20″-24″ round occasional table between the chairs.

 

The Serena & Lily Belgian Club Loveseat above would look good paired with a smaller, round coffee table or a lighter, rectangular coffee table.

However, the Loveseat is only 50″ wide, so in that case, a 36″ round coffee table would be about as large as I would go.

While there are some lovely new tables in the marketplace, I thought it would be fun to round up a bunch of beautiful Asian-Chinese-Ming-Opium coffee tables.

 

Below is a widget I made with two dozen beautiful vintage coffee tables.

 

 

I hope you enjoyed these lovely coffee tables. If you’d like me to continue this topic and add some new coffee tables, I’ll be happy to do that. Please let me know in the comments.

xo,

 

*********************************************************

Part 2 Begins Here

Sunday, August 3, 2025

Hi Everyone,

Oh, what a glorious day it was here in Boston. I was out and about doing a few errands in my hood, and of course, heard lots of people not speaking English. That usually means they are visiting. I want to grab them by the shoulders and say, “You have no idea. No idea at all! This weather is not normal! It’s the exception, and don’t expect it to last very long.”

During my travels, I revisited the partially renovated Copley Square Park.

They hastily got a part of it open for the Marathon last April, but it looks like there’s still a lot more to do.

 

Still…

 

The photo above was taken on May 18th at 8:15 PM.  Straight ahead is the Beaux-Art Boston Public Library, and behind me is the legendary Trinity Church. (Oooohhh, that’s a lovely post from 2023.)

Yes, guys. I know. I know! They’ve got to be kidding. However, Mayor Wu insists that when it’s completed, it will be beautiful, featuring plenty of green space.

More about Copley Square will be coming soon.

 

In the meantime, I will continue this post with some end tables, or side tables, if you prefer.

 

Now, I’ve written about end tables before, and it’s a fairly old post; however, it contains a lot of terrific information regarding proportions for side tables. 

Then, there’s a more recent post that discusses end tables and lamp pairings.

However, no post discusses coffee table and end table pairings.

 

So, here’s the deal with that, and something that comes instinctively to me.

 

I find that keeping the lines simple and classical, such as Georgian, or Louis XVI in style, goes well with anything Asian, such as Ming or opium coffee tables.

But, here’s the thing.

If you do an Asian coffee table like a Ming or Opium style with the heavy chow legs, can you do a Chinese Chippendale end table?

Sure, why not?

Another style that works super-well, is a faux bamboo-style table.

 

 

We did this table about ten years ago. I think you can see it in this post.

Actually, it’s not faux bamboo. I recalled it incorrectly.

 

Above is a living room we did at least 20 years ago. And yes, that’s Benjamin Moore Moroccan Red on the walls. It’s one of the 144 beautiful paint colors in the Laurel Home Paint and Palette Collection.

I know those pillows look like they clash, but in real life, they did not. The client had the lamps and the vase. Everything else she got from me. I found that vintage table in one of the design centers in New York. I wasn’t looking for it, but as soon as I saw it, I knew it would be perfect for this job.

 

The end tables were from Milling Road, the more casual, far less expensive division of Baker Furniture.

 

Back in the late 90s and early 2000s, we did dozens of pieces of furniture from that line. They had lovely, affordable, classic end tables that retailed for between $600 and $800.

They had other pieces as well, like my Milling Road Chest. You can see it below in an image taken shortly before the renovation began.

That chest is now at the bottom of the stairs. Its design is in the Louis XVI style, and I still love it 25 years later.

Okay, I looked up the current Milling Road line.

Here, you can see for yourself what the Milling Road Collection looks like today. 

Guys, do you see what I mean when I say much of the furniture in the marketplace is weird, clunky, bloated, and tired-looking?

 

Vintage furniture is never that way, which is the reason I love using it.

 

Now, there are some nice-looking, more affordable tables. The best I’ve seen are from Woodbridge, particularly their end tables. I find their coffee tables to be a tad high, but not ridiculously so.

Gosh, furniture prices have nearly doubled over the last ten years. And that’s another good point. Vintage furniture is often a lot less money, too.

 

The image above is my den, taken approximately 90 minutes before sunset today.

 

My end table could use some Restore-A-Finish for sure, but I’m weird.

 

I kind of like that old, beaten-up look. I adore the lines of this Louis XVI-style table, with its gracefully tapered legs. I found those tables in a consignment shop in Katonah, NY, in 1999 and paid $100 for the pair.

I know. Those were the days… sigh…

They are the perfect size, too. 22″ square by 25″ high.

 

My end tables, like the ones above with the Benjamin Moore Moroccan Red walls, go with everything.

 

Below is a mini widget of one of my favorite vintage end tables, the Chinese Chippendale fretwork table by Baker Furniture. (There’s a big widget coming up.)

 

 

The pair is available at Chairish, and the individual pieces are listed on Etsy, but from two different vendors.

If these tables were new, they’d retail for at least $5,000 EACH.

I love these tables so much, I was trying to figure out a place for them, but alas, I’m all out of options.

There was a pair of these beauties for months, if not years, in my Hot Sales Vintage Widget. Finally, they sold. I couldn’t figure out why no one had bought them. However, there were two sets of these tables, also in the widget, but in the original finish, that were sold immediately.

 

The words I always look for when searching for my favorite tables are as follows:

 

Louis XVI, Hepplewhite, Sheraton, Regency, Neo-Classical, Georgian, Regency, Chinese Chippendale, and Gustavian.

Gustavian reminds me that one way to prevent the end tables and coffee tables from being too matchy is to paint one of them.

With all of these tips in mind, if your end tables and coffee tables are the right proportions and in one of the styles above, I can pretty much guarantee they will coordinate with each other and your sofa, which will also be in a classic style.

For those who didn’t read the post with all the end table information, here it is again. I recommend that for a regular arm sofa, 27″ is the height limit. The bottom limit is approximately 22″ for an English roll arm or low track arm sofa, like the one I have in the den.

 

Laurel, what’s the difference between a nightstand and an end table? 

 

That’s a great question. ;]

Oftentimes, there’s no difference, and it is also perfectly fine to do a small nightstand-type chest as an end table in a living room.

There is one difference to keep in mind.

I used my 22″ tables that are now in the den, in my Bronxville bedroom.

 

22″ deep is really a bit too deep, and I did accidentally catch my thigh on the table’s corner on occasion.

So, I wouldn’t use a table deeper than that for a nightstand. And I wouldn’t do a nightstand that’s only 12″ deep for an end table for a sofa. 16″ deep is a good minimum number for the depth.

 

Okay, I’ve put together another widget with many wonderful end tables.

 

Hope you enjoyed all of the tables!

xo,

 

 

PS: Please check out the Hot Sales page!

The Nordstrom Anniversary Sale is still on but ending TODAY at mignight!

This is the ground zero post which shares some of my favorites from the sale in women’s apparel, home furnishings, and beauty products.

 

The Serena & Lily Living Room Event ends tomorrow on August 4th at 11:59 PM PT. Also, brand new, all of their outdoor furnishings are on sale, up to 40% off!

 

However, their summer tent sale is also fantastic. I just got some beautiful sheets. For more of my faves, please check out the Hot Sales Bed & Bath Page, here.

.

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