Coffee tables find plenty of use in any living room. Problem is, when you don’t have a lot of living room space, the couch will always take precedence over the coffee table, especially if the latter can make it feel a little too cramped for comfort. Fortunately, there are plenty of options in small coffee tables, giving you a place to set down drinks, controllers, and remotes without taking up more space than you can afford to lose.
Small coffee tables bring excellent utility to any living space without overwhelming it. You still get plenty of room to move around, while adding a handy spot for storage, desk work, or just putting your feet up after a long tiring day. Some of the best small coffee tables offer just a tabletop and nothing else, keeping its function to the bare minimum. Others bring extra storage room, some organizational options, and even the occasional lift-top table surface, so you can use it as a functional workspace.
The best small coffee table for your space will also depend on the kind of style you’re going for. There are plenty of simple options in small coffee tables. However, there are also plenty that come in more unusual shapes, less common materials, and more creative designs. Regardless of your personal preferences, chances are, you’ll be able to find the perfect small coffee table to really put a space together.
In this list, we cover some of our favorite small coffee tables that you can bring to your living room today.
IKEA Nodeland
PROS
- Very affordable price
- Bottom shelf for storage
CONS
- Doesn’t line up easily during assembly
- Includes plastic elements
With a rectangular tabletop measuring 31.5 x 20 inches, this small coffee table has enough room to accommodate drinks, books, and a variety of small electronics, while a bottom shelf offers another layer of storage for neatly putting away even more stuff. A particleboard construction gives it a beautiful wooden aesthetic while keeping things very affordable, allowing it to complement most any type of living room setup on a budget. Assembly is surprisingly less straightforward than we expected, requiring a bit more adjustments that we’d actually like, but it did finish off pretty decent in the end. Maximum load it can handle is listed at 88 pounds, so absolutely no sitting on the table.
Household Essentials Jamestown Round Coffee Table
PROS
- Sturdy metal legs and frame
- Simple minimalist design
- Adjustable feet to help level it when placed on rugs and carpets
CONS
- No additional storage space
Sometimes, you just want something simple that looks nice. That definitely fits the bill with this round coffee table, whose 31.5-inch diameter table top offers ample room for all your living room essentials, whether it be remotes, reading materials, beverages, or a brand new Apple Vision Pro. Construction is engineered wood with wood laminate for the top and steel for the legs and frame, giving it both a classic aesthetic and a reasonably sturdy build. It also comes with round feet to keep the steel off the floor, which can be adjusted to let the whole thing stand level even on rugs and damaged floors. The table is rated to handle up to 100 pounds.
Bewishome Hexagonal Coffee Table with Open Storage
PROS
- Cool hexagonal shape
- Three storage areas
- Can be used as coffee table, side table, or even nightstand
CONS
- Very low at under 14 inches tall
- No feet
This small coffee table’s hexagonal shape adds instant dimension to any living room, allowing it to make meaningful impact despite its more compact size. Seriously, it brings quite a character on its own. We love how they divided the bottom storage into three sections, each accessible from different sides of the hexagonal panel, allowing you to hide some stuff and put others in prominent view, depending on its placement angle. In case you ever decide to replace with a bigger coffee table, the whole thing can be stood on its side to serve as a functional side table that, again, brings a unique character with its multi-faceted shape. We do wish it was a little taller, since the 13.8-inch height is just a tad too low to comfortably use a laptop on without hunching over. Construction is MDF wood for all panels with metal hardware.
Mufico Round Lift Top Coffee Table
PROS
- Lift top design allows you to work or eat at a comfortable angle
- Looks nicer than in the photos
- Covered storage lets you keep things out of sight
CONS
- A bit heavy at 42 pounds
The first lift-top coffee table in our list, this one consists of a steel frame and legs, along with three round particle board panels and a square box between the top and middle round panels. Yes, it feels like there’s a bit too much going on. For all that, though, you get a reasonably spacious 31.5-inch diameter tabletop, a 27.5-inch diameter bottom shelf, and a boxy storage area that measures 18 inches on all sides and 3.9 inches in depth, so you can put away your remotes, controllers, and even your kids’ action figures out of the way. To access the storage area, you need to lift the round tabletop, which moves up and forward, so you can use it to work on a laptop or eat some TV dinner. While the table itself is rated to handle 90 pounds of weight, it handles much less (just 30 pounds) with the table top lifted, so you definitely won’t want to lean on it or put anything heavy while it’s in that position.
IKEA Jattesta
PROS
- Steel and bamboo construction
- Open storage shelf underneath with central divider for organization
- Very easy to assemble
CONS
- Only rated for 66 pounds
- Feels a bit expensive for a small IKEA coffee table
There’s something about square coffee tables that make them feel bigger than they actually are and we love that about this IKEA piece, which complements the square tabletop with a square shelf underneath for extra storage room. We also appreciate the fact that they put a central divider for the bottom shelf, which separates it into four sections, while still allowing full access to all areas from any angle. It’s such a nice touch. This uses better materials than the very economical small IKEA coffee table above, using bamboo for the main panels and powder-coated steel for the frame, making for a bit more refined piece to better suit more discerning tastes. It comes in white and black colors.
Safavieh Jesse Natural Wicker Coffee Table
PROS
- Beautiful woven rattan construction
- Sturdier and more stable than it appears
CONS
- No storage space even though it looks like a cubby
This looks more like a storage cubby for the bedroom than a small coffee table. However, it really is meant for use as a coffee table, with the stable surface able to hold drinks and other items with ease, while the Kubu rattan construction gives it that traditional handmade feel. In fact, we were more disappointed by the fact that’s it’s just a coffee table, since we definitely expected it to pull double duty as a storage cubby. Turns out, it isn’t, with the cylindrical housing at the base probably housing some framing to make it more stable than your typical storage cubbies. It also has feet at the bottom, which helps keep it from sliding around. Like many woven rattan pieces, we do expect this to start unraveling at some point, although the build feels solid enough that it should take a while. Plus, you can always cover it up with some nice fabric when that time comes and it should still be very functional.
Williamspace Nesting Coffee Table
PROS
- Attractive-looking
- No assembly needed
- Gives you two separate tables when you need them
- High load rating, with the outfit claiming it supports up to 350 pounds
CONS
- Very small (the bigger one measures just 18.9 x 14.9 inches, diameter x height)
- Clunky nesting action
Most nesting coffee tables we’ve seen slide out a smaller table underneath a slightly bigger one. It’s a fancier way of doing things. Not the case here, as it employs a more primitive nesting style that simply puts a bigger cylinder-shaped table on top of a smaller cylinder-shaped one, so you have to lift the big one up to use the smaller counterpart. While the nesting action isn’t smooth, the tables will definitely blend easily into your living space, with their simple shapes, compact sizes, and decent selection of finishes. Construction is just particleboard that, the outfit claims, stands up well to both water and wear, so it should make a place in your home for a decent length of time, especially with its simple construction. It ships built, by the way, so you can just open the box and use it instantly.
Urban Outfitters Huron Coffee Table
PROS
- Beautiful mango wood tabletop
- Curvy shape that lends character to the space
CONS
- Uses MDF with mango wood veneer in parts
- A bit wider than other tables in the list at 45 inches
When we first saw this small coffee table, we thought the top looked like a giant shoe insole. As it turns out, the outfit claims it’s inspired by topographical shapes and patterns. We’ll take it, but we’re still calling it the insole coffee table all the same. The curvy and uneven shape actually gives it a unique character that stands out among other coffee tables in the list, making it a great piece to put in your space without taking up a lot of room. The tabletop is made from solid mango wood, although the plank legs are MDF with mango wood veneer, with the whole thing showcasing the rich stains of the swirling natural wood grains of the source material.
Burrow Carta Coffee Table
PROS
- Handy storage tray
- Top panels can be taken off to serve as lap desks
- Solid ash wood frame and top
CONS
- Design might be a bit too simple for some
We love how simply this assembles – just attach the powder-coated steel legs to the pre-built top and you’re done. It’s got a modern look, too, despite the rather simple rectangular top, which actually hides a storage tray underneath. Do note, the tray is just an inch deep, so it’s a good place to store magazines, tablets, and similarly small items, but won’t work for anything bigger (you better hide those throw pillows somewhere else). To access the tray, you simply lift up any of the three wooden panels on top, which are also designed to serve as lap trays, in case you want a handy spot to set down food or a laptop without having to reach over for the table. Construction is solid ash wood for the frame and top panels, although the tray underneath is cut in MDF. We’re partial to the hairpin legs, by the way, although they also offer a straight option if you prefer that instead.
West Elm Monti
PROS
- Looks like an ancient sculpture
- Very sturdy
- Suitable for outdoor use
CONS
- Very heavy at 60 pounds
If you have the money, but the not the space for a really nice coffee table, we’d definitely consider this one, which adds instant visual intrigue to any living room it makes its home on. It has a nice round surface that’s available in either 30 or 40 inches in diameter, with sculptural legs that make it look like it belongs in a museum or a fancy hotel somewhere. The whole thing is hand cast in glass-fiber reinforced concrete composite, with a desert sand finish that brings the look and feel of aged stone, making it look like a heirloom piece straight out an ancient civilization. Seriously, it’s gorgeous. It’s also not that heavy, tipping the scales at 60 pounds, while being rated to hold up to 300 pounds, so you can use it as a sturdy stool in a pinch.
