Posted by
Elana Safronsky, Managing Editor
Monday, September 20, 2010 3:41 PM EDT
The Steal: Framed Side Table from West Elm, $149; The Splurge: "Bishop Table" by esteemed Canadian brand, GUS Modern, $325.
A ray of light has shot through the dense cloud of traditional, lumbering coffee tables, and that ray of light is telling us it's ok to scale down. I don't know about you, but I don't often spread out blueprints, work on 1000-piece puzzles or serve dinner for four on my coffee table (ok, the latter I've done, but it wasn't chic.)
Why then, is it necessary to plan one's living room around such a space-hogging shin-bruiser? With the trend toward sprawling sofas not going anywhere, no matter how big your coffee table, it's still too small to follow you around as you flip flop on your couch, looking for a place set down your tea (scotch.) Ah, but a modular coffee table can! If it's small and agile it can follow you all the way over to the lounger part of your L-shape! You don't even need a small space to qualify: simply get more than one if you've got space to spare -- preferably in different finishes -- and split them up as fancy takes you!
