Tuesday, May 19, 2009

Thumbs down-giant coffee tables


They say "no man is an island unto himself, " but I've seen quite a few coffee tables lately that would definitely qualify as islands. I'm not talking about oversized, I mean huge--over 50 inches wide and 35 inches deep. I saw one in House Beautiful this month that had a previous life as a daybed.

Even if you have the room, it just seems silly. It makes it much harder to build a comfortable conversation area since the size of the table forces your seating to be much further apart than it should be.

There's also the issue of how to dress the table once you've got it in the room. Such a large surface invites clutter-the sworn enemy of good design. And yet, a simple arrangement of 3 items (of varying heights, of course), looks sparse on such a large table.

So trade in your huge table, downgrading is the chic thing to do these days, or haven't you heard? Unless, of course, you're living in a 5,000 sq. ft. home with lofted ceilings. Then, you need to call me so I can help you furnish it beautifully.

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