Decorating your home seems exciting when you’re picking out paint colors and couch configurations, but what about tables?
These are often just seen as necessities to put beside the couch and in the dining room. The right table can make or break a room.
There are different types and styles of tables that can elevate your room aesthetically. They also provide surfaces for decorations and convenience.
This quick round-up of 27 different types of tables for your home will give you the information you need as you shop for tables.
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Types of Tables
There’s more of a difference between a kitchen table and a dining table than size. Knowing the specific types of tables can help you decide what will best fit your space.
Coffee Table
You use coffee tables in the living room, often positioned in front of the couch. You can use it to keep food, drinks, and books when you’re relaxing on the couch. You can also use it as a surface for plants and decorations.
It’s usually long and low—about the height of the couch seat itself. Manufacturers make coffee tables from different materials, like wood, glass, and metal. They come in different styles to suit your home decor.
Accent Table
An accent table refers to small tables that include coffee tables and end tables. An interesting thing about accent tables is that they don’t have to be a table! You can use an antique trunk as an accent table because of the style it adds to your room.
Console Table
Console tables are long and narrow, so they can fit comfortably in your entryway or behind a couch. They’re wide enough to be a place where you can leave your keys or stack the mail. You can also use them in your living room to display your television.
Side Table
Side tables go on either side of a couch or armchair. While a coffee table provides a long, low surface, a side table is a smaller surface right at the sofa’s arm height. You can put your book, drink, or a lamp on this table.
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C-table
C-tables are unique and versatile. Instead of having four legs, they have two legs going down into a C-shaped base. This means you can swivel this small table around to situate it over your lap when you’re on the couch, in an armchair, or even in bed.
Drinks Table
Drinks tables are just big enough to hold a drink. Some can be tall enough for you to stand comfortably as you sip your beverage. Others are shorter, so you can put them around various places in a furnished room.
End Table
An end table is similar to an accent table. Though it sounds like you’re supposed to put it at the end of a couch, you can put it anywhere it fits.
Some styles of end tables might be bigger than an accent table, so you’ll want to pay attention to dimensions before buying one for your space.
Nesting Tables
Nesting tables are also called stacking or bunching tables. You can use them like accent tables, end tables, and side tables. You can buy a set of two or three nesting tables and use them in one location or spread them across the room.
You can pull them apart to give a bigger surface space while you’re sitting down and then nest them back together to save space when you’re not using them.
Drum Table
A drum table is a circular table that comes in many styles. Some wooden drum tables have a cabinet or shelves inside. Marble and stone drum tables are solid cylindrical tables you can use as accent tables. These tables can be as tall as your chair’s arms or low, like a coffee table.
Foyer Table
A foyer table is a narrow table that can go in your foyer or entryway. While you can also use a console table here, foyer tables are more likely to come in eye-catching designs that showcase your style as soon as someone walks through your door.
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- Perfect for a living room, den, library, bedroom or study
- Assembly required, this console table measures 35.8 inches wide by 13.8 inches deep by 29.5 inches tall
Ottoman Table
Ottoman tables pull double duty. You can use them as a coffee table for surface space but are also comfortable to put your feet on. In a pinch, an ottoman table can also give your guests somewhere else to sit when you have a full house.
Bedside Table
A bedside table, also called a nightstand, is a small table that provides a surface in a bedroom. You can have one for each side of your bed to keep a lamp, book, a glass of water, an alarm clock, and more.
You can get innovative with your bedside table. People with small bedrooms may benefit from using a chair or small shelf next to the bed because you can use it for other purposes.
Dining Table
A dining table is a table where people eat their meals. This is usually a formal table, often made of solid dark wood. These tables have room for at least six guests. Some come with extra leaves that you can insert to seat more people.
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Kitchen Table
A kitchen table is more casual and gets more use than a dining table. While these tables are also for meals, you might also use this table for projects, playing games, and doing homework. These tables usually have room for four to six people to sit at once.
Pub Table
Pub tables are tall tables that seat anywhere from two to four people. Their surface is higher than a dining table but not quite at standing height. They usually come with stools as the seating option.
Bistro Table
Bistro tables are a small, stylish kitchen table that typically only seats two people. They stick to the signature compact, intimate design. Bistro tables can be the same height as dining tables or counter-height.
Patio Table
A patio table is made for you to use outside on a deck, patio, or in the yard. It will be treated for the elements, but you might want to store it away in winter, depending on the climate. You can get stylish plastic, wood, or metal patio tables to comfortably spend more time outside.
There are different designs to choose from when you’re picking a patio table. You might want one that has an umbrella you can put up to create shade on sunny days. You can also look for chairs that have cushions to make your experience even cozier.
Picnic Table
Picnic tables are another type of outdoor table, but they’re mostly designed just for eating. While patio tables have chairs that are more comfortable for a long visit, picnic tables have two long benches. They’re built to give you enough space to accommodate many people.
Picnic tables are the outdoor equivalent of kitchen tables. You can use them for meals, but they’re also comfortable for projects and crafts—especially those that are too messy to do in the kitchen!
Work Table
A work table is a simple table that you use for a certain task. You might need a woodworking table in the shop or a gardening table you can wheel around the yard. Depending on the purpose of the work table, you’ll be able to find different height options and materials used to build them.
Conference Table
A conference table is the work version of a dining table. It’s a solid, dark table that often looks very sturdy and upscale. It is large enough to seat anywhere from six to 12 people comfortably. There are ports on the table’s surface so people can plug in their phones, tablets, and laptops.
Computer Table
Computer tables are work desks with your computer featured front and center. Some of these desks are only big enough for a computer, while others have an additional workspace on the side or pulling out from underneath.
These tables have holes for cords to funnel down the back, so you won’t have to struggle to find a way to thread your wires from the computer to the outlet. They might also have computer-specific features like a printer shelf and keyboard drawer.
Game Table
Game tables refer to fun tables you can put in your den or basement to create a fun space. These tables include pool tables, ping pong tables, foosball tables, and card tables. All of these tables are available in different sizes.
Pool tables and foosball tables are solid and stay in place once you move them in. Ping pong tables and card tables are lighter, so you can fold them and store them out of the way.
Folding Table
Folding tables are portable tables that are usually made of lightweight plastic or hollow metal. The legs fold up or pull off so you can take the table down and store it flat. These tables can be square, round, or rectangle. Often the tabletop itself will also fold, so it will be even smaller to store.
Square or Rectangle Table
Square and rectangle are the most common shapes of tables. When you think of coffee tables and dining tables, you most likely picture something rectangular. Kitchen tables and end tables probably make you envision a square.
Rectangular tables are ideal if you have a long room and need to fill the space. It can give you plenty of seating options without making a room look crowded. When used behind a couch as a console table or in front of the couch as a coffee table, rectangular furniture will help your room seem longer and more spacious.
Round Table
Round tables can easily fit in smaller spaces when compared to square or rectangle tables. They can also seat more people since you can shift everyone around without leaving someone on a corner.
Using a round table for your kitchen or dining table is a great idea because everyone can make eye contact with those seated around them. This will help conversations flow, even in a larger group.
Polygon Table
Though square, rectangle, and round tables are the most common, that doesn’t mean you won’t find other styles while you’re browsing. Other table shapes include diamonds, hexagons, octagons, and semicircles.
These unique shapes can add a lot of style to your home. They also might fit better in a specific area. For example, a semicircle end table will fit in a smaller space than a round end table would.
Antique Table
When you’re table shopping, you’re most likely looking at big-name furniture stores. Don’t overlook antique stores if that style will suit your home. Antique tables come in a wide array of styles, designs, and materials. They’re so unique that they might be just what you want.
Don’t let the “used” aspect of antique tables bother you. You can clean and refinish them. Experts can even refurbish antique marble tables to a like-new sheen.
Table Materials
In addition to knowing what type of table you need in your home, you also should consider the material they’re made from. While wood and metal are the most common materials, you can also find tables made from marble, glass, and more.
Wood can be wood veneer, laminate, or solid wood. A wood veneer is a thin panel of wood attached to a core panel of particleboard. Laminate is plastic printed to look like wood. Solid wood comes in various grains and colors and is sturdier than the other wood options.
Marble tables can be a beautiful addition to your home decor, but they are high maintenance. The surface scratches easily, and you’ll have to seal it regularly.
Glass tables look slick and modern. You’ll need to clean them frequently to eliminate smudges and handle them carefully since they’re fragile.
Metal tables can give an industrial look to your home. They’re also ideal for outdoor use, but be sure to protect them against rust.
Wrap Up
Tables are a useful piece of furniture because they’re sturdy and give you a surface to place various items. However, tables are not just functional. You can find a unique table to fit your aesthetic and add style and purpose to your home.
