Winsome Wood Syrah Coffee Table, Espresso
Amazon Price: $129.00

Walker Edison 38 in. Wave Oval Coffee Table
Amazon Price: $68.00

Winsome Wood Round Coffee Table, Espresso
Amazon Price: $115.00

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Every month or so the Coffee Table Blog will scour the vast universe of the internet in search of amazingly cool coffee table designs. The object of the game is to find coffee table designs that are completely unique and have a personality all their own. If you have a coffee table design that you would like to share with the coffee table blog for one of the Wicked Coffee Table Designs installments please email us at mp.scribe@gmail.com. We’d love to see the coffee table ideas that you have and we would be thrilled to see any coffee table built by hand.

Anyway, without further adieu, here are the first five really unique coffee table designs that the Coffee Table Blog has found. Take a look and let us know what you think about them.

Arcade Pacman Coffee Table:

There’s nothing like having a video game icon serve as the center piece for your play room. This coffee table design harkens back to the good old days of video games where one big yellow mouth ruled the land. A design like this would be fantastic in a game room in front of a big couch and some video game chairs.

Set your drinks down on one of the pixelated food pellets and get busy playing some of the hottest games out on the market on a giant flat screen High Definition television. Hell yes, that sounds like a fun room.

Domino Coffee Table Design

This design is one of the most interesting we’ve seen here at the Coffee Table Blog. It’s a wood framed glass coffee table that sits upon a bed of upright and falling rectangular wooden domino pieces. I’m not really sure about the logistics of this table because we’re just judging it from the picture, but this would be a really nice center piece for any room with a wooden rustic feel to it.

Let’s just pray that if you put a drinking glass or coffee table book on top of that left most corner it won’t spill the entire contents onto the floor. As long as those dominoes are only appearing to fall down and are not actually mobile, this would be one kick ass coffee table to own.

Foosball Coffee Table Design

Here’s another coffee table for the game room, only with this one you can actually play it! This is a square coffee table design with a glass top sitting on top of a miniature foosball table. If you’re into sports bars and soccer, you’ll recognize the game underneath.

The best part about this table is that you can actually move the pieces inside and play the foosball game. Have all your friends over for some beers to watch the game and during intermissions everyone can hang around the coffee table playing foosball on their knees.

The foosball coffee table would be a fantastic piece to put in any den, sports room, bar, or basement lounge. There’s just so much you can do with a coffee table that serves as entertainment for the whole family.

Robo Alien Dog Coffee Table Design

Alright, you better keep the little children away from this coffee table. Someone has constructed a glass coffee table out of what looks like something from one of the Alien movies or maybe the latest Transformer film.

This coffee table might be frightening but it would be great in a themed room. If your a movie fan or special affects guru this coffee table would look fantastic amongst framed movie posters of sci-fi films and authentic models and action figures.

I wouldn’t recommend this one if you’ve got friends who are the feint of heart or if you know anyone will be coming over that is afraid of the dark. Imagine if the eyes of this thing lit up when the lights went out. Wow, what a coffee table design.

Outdoor Trampoline Coffee Table Design

Last but not least we have what looks like the most fun coffee table ever! The trampoline coffee table is a round wooden coffee table that’s been hollowed out in the center and fashioned with a working trampoline. I suppose you could put this in your living room but if you have children you’re asking for your television to get smashed.

Put this coffee table out on the patio and let the kids bounce on it for a while. It’s a bit hard to tell how large the trampoline is inside, it looks like it would only be suitable for one person and that jumper might whack his ankles every now and then. What a cool idea for a coffee table though.

That’s all for now

That’s it for the first installment of Wicked Coffee Table Designs, keep checking back with us to see more unique coffee tables. We’ve got lots to cover as the internet is quite vast. You’ll never know what kind of strange coffee tables we’ll come out with next.

Winsome Wood Round Coffee Table, Espresso
Amazon Price: $115.00

Magnussen Brunswick Wood Round Cocktail Table
Amazon Price: $319.00

Winsome Wood Maya Round Coffee Table, White Top, Metal Legs
Amazon Price: $94.61

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You’ve read the coffee table book about coffee tables, you’ve browsed hundreds of coffee table pictures and magazines, and you already own about seven different kinds of coffee tables and now you’re looking to branch out and hand craft your own coffee table, eh?

Well, maybe you’re not that excited about coffee tables but you do love making furniture with your hands. Maybe you’ve already tried building something like a corner bookcase on your own and it turned out pretty good and now you’re looking for a little bit more of a challenge. You could go ahead and build a full sized dining table if you wanted to but a coffee table is a little bit easier and it won’t take much time.

For all you hobby workshop do it yourselfers out there the Coffee Table Blog has put this article together to help you construct your very own one of a kind (well, everyone who follows these steps will have one too) coffee table custom built by you. Just follow these six easy steps and you’ll have yourself a brand new piece of furniture.

It should only take a few hours so let’s get started.

Before we get started with the steps you’ll need to gather all of the necessary tools. You’ll need to cut a bunch of wood at different lengths to make the legs, top rails, table top, corner supports, fillets, and coach bolts and you’ll have to go out and buy yourself some wood screws.

Materials and Measurements

Here’s a list of all the stuff you need:
• (4) 50mm x 50mm (2” x 2”) wood slabs for the legs.
o For length make sure all (4) are 16 inches.
• (4) 100mm x 40mm (1.5” x 4”) wood pieces for the top rails
o For length cut (2) at 37 inches and the other (2) at 16 inches.
• (1) 20mm (3/4”) slab or board
o For length it should be 2ft by 4ft
• (4) 100mm x 50mm (2”x 4”) wedges for the corner supports
o Cut all of them to be 6 inches long and angle the ends to 45 degree angles.
• (2) 25mm x 25mm (1”x1”) pieces to serve as the fillets
o Cut (2) of them to 6 inches and the other two at 28 inches.
• For the coach bolts you’ll need (4) 6 inch washers and wing-nuts
• You’ll need about (30) wood screws or so, all of them about 1.5 inches long and then you’ll also need to pick up about 16 wood screws that are 2.5 inches long.

Now that you’ve collected all of the necessary materials and have your wood working tools at the ready, it’s time to get to work. Here’s what you need to do, step by step:

Six Easy Steps to Build a Coffee Table

1. Cut all of the wood pieces to the proper measurements and make sure that the lumber widths and thickness match up. Just stop by your local hardware store and show them the above list and you will be able to get what you need cut out, most of those cuts are common sizes.

Choosing the right wood for your furniture is a personal choice. The color and texture of the wood is what is going to give the foundational style to your piece. Choose wisely and don’t get carried away. Some woods will look best without being painted so if you are going to paint your wood, decide at this step.

2. Flip the table top so that it is upside down on a flat even surface. You can also prop it up on stools or chairs if you have to but that’s not really necessary. Place your top rails on the under belly of the table top so that they form a rectangle.

Drill some screw holes into your fillets so that they can attach both to the table top and the top rails. Now you’ll have to lay the fillets down against the top rails so that they will support them as the table top sits on them. With your wood screws and a handy screwdriver, screw down the fillets to the table top and then screw them to the top rails.

3. Place your corner supports against the top rails and screw them into place. You’ll want to have four corner supports for each corner. It should look like an upside down trapezoid.

4. Take a chisel and slowly edge out one side of each of your table legs. You want to go about 10mm deep with the chisel so that the table leg will fit snug into the corner slots we built for the table.

5. Attach the legs to the top rails with some more wood screws.

6. Stand the coffee table upright and decide whether you want to paint or stain it. Your work is almost complete. If you decide to paint it, go out and buy some nice paint or stain and then come back to work on your coffee table. Otherwise, you’re all done.

All done!

Go put your brand new coffee table in front of your sofa and have a relaxing drink. Your work is complete, now you just have to wait for someone to come home and let you know what they think of your hand crafted coffee table. Good luck.

Coaster Storage Ottoman Coffee Table with Trays, Brown Vinyl
Amazon Price: Too low to display

Convenience Concepts Sheridan Faux Leather Storage Bench
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Contemporary Dark Brown Leather Storage Coffee Table Ottoman
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If you’re browsing the web on your laptop right now, lounging lazily on the couch with a cup of tea or coffee while you read web pages and check emails, you’re probably resting your feet on the coffee table. Some call it a cocktail table but no matter the name a coffee table is that cute little piece of furniture that sits comfortably in front of the sofa and sometimes below the television.

The coffee table is the greatest way to maximize the functionality of a room.  You can store things in them, put your drinks and plates of food on top of them, and always have easy access to them from an upright sitting position on your most comfortable of chairs. These tables are more than mere coffee holders, hell, I wouldn’t be surprised it there’s a coffee table out there today that actually dispenses coffee! Coasters, small plants, magazines, napkin holders, and works of literature all find their way to the coffee table in one form or another.

Coffee tables can be put anywhere in the house too. They aren’t just restricted to the living room. You can put them in a sitting area for quiet reading and contemplation or you can put them in the kid’s playroom. These are versatile pieces of furniture that can meet any need. The coffee table has withstood the test of time as far as furniture trends go, these babies are here to stay. They can be some fantastic antiques and collectibles.

The concept of the coffee table is simple: a low lying table that sits close to the ground and nearby a seat with the purpose of holding hot or cold beverages. The basic idea existed well before the rise of the actual term “coffee table.” You can find similar designs in the Victorian era in Europe and there are some tripod tables in early India. The Ancient cultures to the East have always been known to use square tea tables.
The function of the coffee table remains just as useful today as it was back then. However, the coining of the phrase “coffee table” is more of a modern development. It is widely believed that the very first reference may have occurred in the later years of the Victorian era.

E.W. Godwin created a table which he describes as a coffee table. You can find reference to Godwin’s coffee table in reputable furniture literature like R.W Symonds. The only difference between Godwin’s coffee table and the common coffee table we see today was the height. His was a little bit taller than most modern coffee tables.

When revivalism hit the furniture industry in the late 19th century the history of the coffee table became cemented in time. No longer was it going to be called a “cocktail table” that name didn’t even make sense. Joseph Aronson in 1938 wrote a brief description of the coffee table that sticks even today. He wrote that the coffee table was a “low wide table now used before a sofa or couch.”

That about says it all. The coffee table is not some mystical piece of furniture with a shadowy past. It is a common everyday table that has been used for centuries to entertain a wide variety of cultures.

Everyone loves to sit around and chat with family and friends while they drink and be merry and the coffee table is the answer to that. Rather than sit uncomfortably around a huge dinner table just to have tea and crumpets, you can sit around the living room in comfortable chairs and rest your dishes and books on top of a coffee table.

Planet Earth: As You’ve Never Seen It Before
Amazon Price: $23.79

Coffee Table Coffee Table Book
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Journeys of a Lifetime: 500 of the World’s Greatest Trips
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As the coffee table became more prevalent in homes it became necessary to decorate these tables with accent items or knick-knacks. The coffee tables main purpose of course was to provide an area in a sitting room where one could place coffee or tea and entertain guests or lounge while reading a book. As rooms began to fill with coffee tables and the people in the rooms needed something to do while sitting there they started resting their books on top of the table.

It started out small and then started to grow. Before pictures were so easily printed in books, the reader would simply place their novel on or inside their coffee table and save it for easy access to continue reading later on. As book covers began to develop more artistic quality it became even more appealing to leave the book out on the coffee table as an accent to the décor. These books were also fantastic conversation starters: “Oh, you’re reading such and such? I love that book!”

It wasn’t until the 1960’s that the coffee table book took the hardcover picture rich form we know and love today. David R. Brower is widely credited with the invention of the modern coffee table book. He developed a series of books that wrote about nature and featured beautiful nature based photographs.

The books needed to be rather large to support the brilliant photographs and give them enough perspective. The first book of the series, if you want to get it for your own coffee table at home was This is the American Earth and it features work by photographer Ansel Adams and Nancy Newhall. Eventually Brower published about twenty different titles in the “exhibit format” and that style became the most popular to rest on coffee tables.

The coffee table book today is generally a large hard cover book that’s sole purpose is to sit on the coffee table and be thumbed through by visitors and residents alike. They both inspire conversation and serve to rid the party guests of boredom. Often you can find these types of books in the waiting rooms of doctor’s offices and the like.

The hit sitcom Seinfeld features a famous plotline involving a coffee table book and it is this episode that inspired the creation of the Coffee Table Blog. In the episode, the character of Kramer (played by Michael Richards) decides to produce and market a coffee table book all about coffee tables. The stand out quality of Kramer’s book is that the book itself can become a coffee table because it features two cup holders on the front cover and foldable legs on the back.

The running gag on the episode is that Kramer’s book, even though based on a horribly bad pun, takes off. The character does interviews on talk shows like Regis and Kathy Lee and surprisingly does pretty well for himself with this odd ball idea.

Cosmo Kramer wasn’t the first to come up with a coffee table book about coffee tables though. In fact the British comedy team Smith and Johnes created a coffee table book of their own called: The Lavishly-Tooled Smith and Jones Coffee Table Book. Much like Kramer’s book in Seinfeld, the cover of Smith and Jones’ book was designed to look as though it could double as a coffee table of its own.

Coffee tables are great pieces of furniture and they are even more fantastic because they inspire works of literature. I own a few coffee table books that I love thumbing through on a rainy day or a relaxing afternoon. Do you own any coffee table books? What are some of your favorite coffee table books and what do they do to impact the style of your room?

Jofran 280 Series Wood Lift-Top Coffee Table in Merlot
Amazon Price: $186.96

Steve Silver Primo Rectangular Lift-Top Oak Coffee Table with Casters
Amazon Price: $301.04

Larchmont Rectangular Lift-Top Cocktail by Ashley – Natural Wood
Amazon Price: $379.00

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There are at least five major categories for coffee tables these days. They all serve a unique purpose and bring a highly specific look and feel to the room you’ll be placing them in. It is always a good idea to first decide what kind of décor you’re going for with your entire room before choosing a coffee table.

Remember, coffee tables are accent pieces but they also serve a higher purpose. They can act as foot rests, tables, or hidden storage places. You aren’t just selecting any old forgotten junk furniture here; you’re defining the entire room with one signature piece.

Here are the five main coffee table categories as the Coffee Table Blog sees them:

•    Lift-Top Coffee Tables

The lift-top coffee table design is a relatively new take on our old friend the coffee table. It harkens back to the good old TV-dinner days where friends and family would sit comfortably in front of the television watching Johnny Carson while munching on plates of steak and potatoes.

The basic concept of the lift-top design is in the utility of the piece. The top of the coffee table is detachable and it can be raised or lowered in order to adjust the height of it as a table. Some tables allow full mobility and can be adjusted to move the top of the table anywhere. These tables are great for eating in front of the television or working on your laptop as you don’t have to sit on the floor or crouch forward to access the contents of the table. It moves seamlessly to you.

These lift-top coffee tables used to have a more utilitarian look to them. They were ugly pieces usually were purchased to serve their dinner table use. However, today the designers have gotten a hold of these great functional tables and turned them into elegant pieces of furniture.

•    Glass Coffee Tables

The glass coffee table was once revered as a luxury. You wouldn’t see anyone with these fine pieces of furniture unless they were well above the upper crust of society. However, as the furniture industry evolved it became far easier to construct these coffee tables and therefore much more affordable. Now they are everywhere.

The great thing about glass coffee tables is their refined look. You can turn any sort of object into a beautiful and elegant piece of furniture by placing a carefully cut piece of glass on top of it. For instance, my family owns an antique New England lobster trap that we turned into a coffee table by placing a pane of glass on top of it.

The glass coffee table can work well in any décor and it offers a wide variety of shapes and sizes as the glass can be custom cut to match any space. Just watch out for sharp edges and be careful not to slam anything down on these pieces, they aren’t exactly durable and have been known to shatter.

•    Square Coffee Tables

Diversity is the name of the game with the square coffee table. Tables have been coming in square shapes since the beginning of furniture and by now those coffee table makers really know what they’re doing. Just be careful when selecting a square coffee table so as to make sure that it fits the style of your room.

The square coffee table will come in a multitude of textures and designs and it is a common mistake to choose a square coffee table that doesn’t match with the rest of your décor. Generally the square coffee table will be made out of a type of wood. A contemporary glass table won’t look very good amongst ornate living room furniture and an Asian style square coffee table certainly wouldn’t match a Nautical theme.

•    Round Coffee Tables

Much like the square coffee tables the round style table comes in a variety of textures, materials, colors, and sizes. The best placement of a round coffee table would be in a sparse room with little furniture and bright colors. Kids rooms are usually great for round coffee tables as they usually have that cartoonish child-like feel to them.

•    Modern Coffee Tables

The coffee table has been taken over by furniture artists and designers a like and the pieces that come from that wealthy of creativity have been labeled as modern coffee tables. These tables are ones that aren’t going to yell out “coffee table” at you. They are in all different awkward shapes and sizes and will splash color here and there.

If you’re going to choose a modern coffee table design for your room be really sure that the room can handle that much design. These tables have a tendency to over accentuate and cause havoc when there is no need for that much flare.

Take your time when choosing your coffee table and make sure you pick a type of coffee table that is right for you. Have fun with it, these are great pieces of furniture and they serve both in function and in aesthetic appeal.