Coffee Tables, Console Tables and End Tables – What’s the Difference?

With so many different accessory furniture pieces available for your home today, sometimes, it can be hard to differentiate your options. Too many people mix up the names coffee table, console table, and end table, which therefore creates confusion and misunderstandings in the purchasing process. This can lead to ill-fitted tables or misused pieces of furniture in homes, kitchens, dining rooms, etc.

If you’re in charge of furnishing a new home, apartment, or office, then it’s time we clear the air on these different accent table options.

Accent Tables

First, it’s time to throw out the idea that you need a lamp or a piece of art to complete a room. Although they aren’t terrible choices, typically, accent tables can get the job done. They are convenient, portable, functional, and perfect additions to any kind of living room setup. The right accent table can complement any style and provide added storage in even the smallest of crammed apartments.

End Tables

The most common accent table out there is the end table. End tables are ones that are at the couch’s arm height, small enough to tuck into a space at the end of your sofa. End tables are ideal for setting down a drink or a book when you get up to go get a snack.

Console Tables

Console tables are more sleekly designed than end or coffee tables, long and thin in design so they can fit between a couch and the wall or in a narrow entry by the door. These tables can be used to hold decorative vases, pictures, purses, mail, and your keys.

Coffee Tables

Coffee tables are wide, low to the ground, and designed to sit right in front of your couch. They typically reside between you and the TV, serving as a great place to hold your drink, your food, or the remote when you get up to go the bathroom. Many people will even use their coffee table as support for their laptop while they are working from home.

Do Accent Tables Come in Different Shapes?

Although the shapes are typically predefined for these different kinds of tables, round, square, and abstract, with infinite variations available, they are certainty considerations when buying these furniture pieces. The basic round shape can be stretched into an oval and the traditional square can be turned into a rectangle, etc.

There are also wavy tables, novelty tables, nesting tables, and squiggle tables if you’re into funky décor. Accent tables are a great way to explore edgier design since they don’t often overpower the room.

Should I Accessorize My Accent Tables?

Accent tables are meant to do just that: accent. Once you’ve chosen the right tables for you, use them to show off your favorite things, or to set a mood. A collection of coffee table books can entertain guests, or a bespoke sculpture can really get the conversation started.

You can even leave them empty for a modern, clean look.

Either way, here at Fine Décor Direct, we’re happy to provide you with access to a large selection of accent tables by San Pacific International (SPI) that can totally transform your home or office space.