Maurizio Tempestrini Butterfly Cocktail Table, Outdoor
By Maurizio Tempestini
Located in Washington, DC
Original Maurizio Tempestrini "butterfly" cocktail table base (18.5"H) with new 48"dia. x 1/2"H
Iron
Nakashima Style Live Edge Walnut Coffee Table
By George Nakashima
Located in Oaks, PA
Nakashima style live edge walnut coffee table, with butterfly joints, unmarked.
Walnut
Lion in Frost Lucite Coffee Table, by Leon Frost
By Lion in Frost
Located in San Francisco, CA
Large 1970s Lucite Butterfly shaped base coffee table, with it's original heavy and large beveled
Glass, Lucite
As a practical focal point in your living area, antique and vintage coffee tables and cocktail tables are an invaluable addition to any interior.
Low tables that were initially used as tea tables or coffee tables have been around since at least the mid- to late-1800s. Early coffee tables surfaced in Victorian-era England, likely influenced by the use of tea tables in Japanese tea gardens. In the United States, furniture makers worked to introduce low, long tables into their offerings as the popularity of coffee and “coffee breaks” took hold during the late 19th century and early 20th century.
It didn’t take long for coffee tables and cocktail tables to become a design staple and for consumers to recognize their role in entertaining no matter what beverages were being served. Originally, these tables were as simple as they are practical — as high as your sofa and made primarily of wood. In recent years, however, metal, glass and plastics have become popular in coffee tables and cocktail tables, and design hasn’t been restricted to the conventional low profile, either.
Visionary craftspeople such as Paul Evans introduced bold, geometric designs that challenge the traditional idea of what a coffee table can be. The elongated rectangles and wide boxy forms of Evans’s desirable Cityscape coffee table, for example, will meet your needs but undoubtedly prove imposing in your living space.
If you’re shopping for an older coffee table to bring into your home — be it an antique Georgian-style coffee table made of mahogany or walnut with decorative inlays or a classic square mid-century modern piece comprised of rosewood designed by the likes of Ettore Sottsass — there are a few things you should keep in mind.
Both the table itself and what you put on it should align with the overall design of the room, not just by what you think looks fashionable in isolation. According to interior designer Tamara Eaton, the material of your vintage coffee table is something you need to consider. “With a glass coffee table, you also have to think about the surface underneath, like the rug or floor,” she says. “With wood and stone tables, you think about what’s on top.”
Find the perfect centerpiece for any room, no matter what your personal furniture style on 1stDibs — shop Art Deco coffee tables, travertine coffee tables and other antique and vintage coffee tables and cocktail tables today.
Coffee tables were originally used in living spaces during social gatherings to support a tray containing multiple mugs, a coffee pot, creamers and sugar bowls. Low to the ground and centrally located in the space, coffee tables reduced the host or hostess’s need to constantly stand and serve her guests.
A coffee table should generally be two-thirds as long as the sofa it stands in front of and around the same height as the sofa’s seat cushions.
The difference between a sofa table and a coffee table is that a sofa table is always behind the sofa and a coffee table is in front of it. Additionally, a sofa table is the same height as the sofa and a coffee table is much shorter.
On 1stdibs, a coffee table costs between $160 and $495,500.
Top interior designers show — and tell — us how to create delectable spaces for hosting dinner parties.
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Whether you’re just moving in or ready to give your home a makeover, our guide will give you pointers on tables that are fitting for every room, nook and hallway.
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The designer’s innovative use of an unexpected material gives this console a lift.
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Use them as tables or stools, indoors or out.