Say Goodbye To Awkward Coffee Tables: The Trick To Choosing The Best One

Coffees tables are an essential piece of living room furniture. With so many choices out there, it can be trickier than you'd expect to pick the perfect one for your home. Choose the wrong style of coffee table, and you run the risk of making your beautifully curated living room look awkward or overcrowded.

Take it from interior designer Luis Carmona of VERDE Interior Design, who recently spoke with the Martha Stewart website about this common home decorating mistake. You might think bigger is always better — but in a cramped living room or studio apartment, a larger coffee table "may not provide adequate foot or walking room between it and the sofa," he explained. It's likely to make guests feel uncomfortable as they attempt to sit down or move around in your living room.

Luckily, the trick to choosing your ideal coffee table is simple: Prioritize shape and size. As a guideline, you should find a coffee table that goes with the shape of your couch — whether that's low-profile and curved or high and rectangular — and leaves about 18 inches of clearance for easy maneuvering. Take your measurements with that spacing in mind, and you have a great starting point for finding the best piece for your room.

Your first step when shopping for a new coffee table should be to measure your couch. Once you've confirmed its exact width, length, and seat height, as well as the dimensions of your living room, filter your searches for coffee tables that will leave ample room. It's best to choose a table that's at least half the length of your couch or sectional and within about 2 inches of its seat height (the table should be slightly lower than the seat) so everything is in proper proportion.

If you're shopping for furniture in person, consider snapping some clear photos of your couch so you have a visual reference for shape, style, and color. Working with a very tight space? A round table may be appropriate to open the space, relax the look, and provide easier movement around it, but there are also plenty of compact coffee table alternatives that can refresh your living room. Anything from an ottoman to a tree stump could be used in place of a coffee table for extra tabletop space without any visual overwhelm or traffic obstructions. You might even layer tables at different heights for a funky nested look and a usable surface you can expand as needed. It's also worth thinking about your lifestyle and researching newer styles with features that allow you to use your coffee table to its full potential. For instance, you might want a traditional table with storage drawers and shelves, while a tabletop that lifts up could be less awkward to use while eating or working on your laptop.