Ming Opium Table
Antique 19th Century Chinese Chinese Export Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Wood
Early 20th Century Chinese Ming Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Wood
Recent Sales
Vintage 1980s Ming Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Glass, Wood, Burl
Vintage 1980s Chinoiserie Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Wood
Late 20th Century Ming Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Chrome
Antique Late 19th Century Chinese Ming Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Teak
Antique 19th Century Chinese Ming Daybeds
Wicker, Elm
Late 20th Century Chinoiserie Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Wood
Antique Late 19th Century Chinese Ming Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Elm
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21st Century and Contemporary Vietnamese Modern End Tables
Wood
Vintage 1970s Japanese Industrial Wall Lights and Sconces
Brass, Copper, Iron
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Chairs
Steel
Antique 19th Century Chinese Qing Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Elm
2010s American Organic Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Hardwood, Walnut
Antique Late 19th Century Italian Louis XV Dining Room Tables
Walnut
Antique 15th Century and Earlier Indonesian Stone Sinks
Wood, Petrified Wood
Antique Mid-19th Century English High Victorian Taxidermy
Other
2010s American Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Wood, Walnut
Vintage 1940s Italian Art Deco Credenzas
Marble
Antique Late 18th Century Spanish Baroque Center Tables
Chestnut
Antique 19th Century Chinese Furniture
Wood
Early 20th Century Thai Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Teak
Early 20th Century Chinese Qing Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Rattan, Wood
Antique 19th Century Chinese Qing Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Rattan, Wood
Early 20th Century Chinese Chinese Export Furniture
Wood, Elm, Lacquer
Finding the Right Coffee-tables-cocktail-tables for You
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.
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