Cool Coffee Tables Ideas for a Family Room

Haven’t found the perfect coffee table for the family room?  It’s difficult to find a good casual coffee tables, as the whole idea of a table for coffee is fairly formal.  The rustic pieces available tend to look to contrived to be casual cool.  The more modern tables tend to look too formal for a family room.  Do you forgo the coffee table?  Absolutely not!  Where else can you set your coffee when watching the morning news?

Try one of these ideas to see if you can’t come up with the perfect match for your room.

Antique Cobbler’s Benches

I love these in family rooms – they’re the perfect coffee table, they were literally used by cobbler’s with a curved end on one side for seating and a galleried work area on the other for their tools and implements.  They’re the perfect height for a coffee table and the galleried work area keeps the drinks on the table where they belong.  Even better is they tend to not have any sharp corners for toddler’s to knock themselves out on.

The warm patina’d wood of the bench adds nicely to a casual family room.  These may be a little small in scale for a large great room, so try….

A Dining Room Table

Yes, I know, it’s a little high for a coffee table, but antique dining room tables tend to have an issue – their legs are too short.  They tended to be a bit short in the first place, as people weren’t as tall back in the day.  Compounding the issue is general wear and tear, through the years the lower legs have been damaged and cut down.

If that’s the case, cut them down even more.  Now don’t go ruining a fine antique table.  But if there are other issues with it, might as well put it to good use as a coffee table in a great room.  Older country farm tables work well in more casual décor.

Wrought Iron Fencing

There some lovely wrought iron fences available, the older pieces are really works of art.  In fact, how about having some legs done up, either in wood to warm up the piece or a similar wrought and topping with a piece of beveled glass.  You can do any size appropriate for your family room.  For a contemporary family room, this is a great way to add some good texture and a different finish to the room.

Don’t limit your family room coffee table choices to your run of the mill, off the rack pieces, customize your own using any material, even a piece of beveled glass with an interesting base.  This is one custom piece that wont break the bank.