Choosing great end tables

It requires a lot of patience to find the perfect end tables for a room. These tables are  part of your overall room design and you should follow some general guidelines to make sure they don't distract from your focal point or create too much conflict with everything else that is going on in the room. It's a delicate balance between your personal preferences and basic standards of design.

 Do end tables have to match the coffee table?

NO!  Having three tables in a space all matching sounds like a recipe for boredom in my opinion.  I know it's easy when you buy a set and  I know many homeowners opt for this solution, but I like a more curated look where each piece has obviously been given careful consideration and chosen for the space.  It is important that the pieces harmonize in the space or provide an impact whichever you are going for.

 

Tobi Fairley

In this room the end tables match each other and are light and airy which is in  opposition to the coffee table which is upholstered and dark. While they don't match the whole room is harmonized.

Tobi Fairley

This is another living room design by Tobi Fairley which has matching end tables with a very different coffee table. I would argue that the end tables, while very interesting  in the overall design scheme, are too high.  I could see more than one elbow smacked on these! That leads to the second consideration.

  
What's the perfect height for end tables?

 By function an end table is usually placed by a chair or sofa and you have to lift your arm over the arm of the furniture to lay something on the table.  Remember function first.  They also need to be tall enough to provide a base for a lamp which should be a reasonable height to shed light.  24 - 26" is the usual  the  height of an  end table (some are as tall as 30in.), but the chosen table should work with the proportions of your other furniture.  A simpler way to say this is have your tables just  below the height of the arm of the sofa/chair. But these are guidelines. The round table in the room below is taller than the chair but doesn't look out of proportion with the other furniture.

 Claudia Leccacorvi

 There are  also four different types of tables in this room and it doesn't look disjointed  because they are all in the same wood tones. When you have this many tables, a mix of shapes is imperative.  Some should be round  to play against all the rectangles.

Domicile Interior Design

 While this is a lovely room, I personally find the end table too low for the high arm on the sofa.  You would have to reach way up and then down to place a drink on the table.  The lamp is also overpowering the table.   Tables and lamps have to work together, but that's a topic for another post. 

 

 The Design File

 Strictly speaking this is a side table, but the same principles apply to its selection. These nesting tables work beautifully with the lines of the chair.  I like the use of the floor lamp with this vignette rather than having an overpowering lamp on these delicate tables.Threes always make interesting pairings.

How do you choose a style/shape/colour?

Your end tables can match the style of your other furniture or they can make a statement by having a dissimilar style. There are many ways to go when choosing shape. A square shape is a good connecting piece when you have sofas or sofa and chair at right angles to each other.  It fits into the shape well and creates continuous flow.    Some may find it too continuous and seek out a round shape to soften the look.  

If you have soft furniture with rounded lines, a table with clean, straight lines adds variety to the look. The colour should be different enough so that it stands out from the floor colour.   If you don't plan to invest in an area rug on hardwood floors, choose tables that are lighter or darker than your wood floors. This is one of the biggest mistakes homeowners make when choosing  tables of any kind. I call it the disappearing furniture syndrome.

Where do I put my bed?

 Some  bedrooms are so small that you have no option other than placing the bed in front of a window. Even in large rooms sometimes putting the bed in front of the window is just the right placement for it.  So much for "design rules".  It's all in how you do it!  

In some rooms that are narrow you can dress the window across the wall ending up with wall to wall drapes providing a soft backdrop for the bed.  When the headboard is upholstered you have the option to layer various fabrics for a totally soft look.  This solution can also rectify a window that is off centre.

Vanessa De Vargas

houzz

 But sometimes a room is so small and the window is so off center you have to just accept it and line the bed up with  the window and bring balance in other ways.

Elements of Style

An attic room is often a challenge to decorate because of the slanted ceiling and often lack of usable wall space. There's nothing like a pelmet and drapes to provide a picture like canopy for a bed. This room works  well because everything is so symmetrical and the window draperies frame the bed perfectly.

Elements of Style

 If you need  proof that  you don't need expensive draperies to make this look  work - here it is.  The Roman shades do the trick and the strong verticals point at the bed and support the perfect symmetry of the placement .  This is not a place were two different night tables and lamps would work. 

 Decor Pad 

The gentle curve of this headboard softens the look of the bed against all the horizontal and vertical lines.  The vegetation outside serves as a gigantic landscape painting. If I were designing this room I would have played up the green angle  to make the inside an extension of the outside.   

Michael Merrill Design Studio, Inc

Sometimes a window can act as part of a canopy.  This flawless design does everything right. Notice the bedside tables don't match and they don't need to.  This layout is more about strong verticals than symmetry.

 

Thursday tip # 9 - small rooms

Hugh Jefferson Randolph Architects

There are many options when one has to decorate a small room.  These ideas are built on the principle of keeping all aspects of the decor as minimal and connected as possible. Since this is the look I prefer in any room, small rooms are never a challenge and I even prefer them. 

• choose a monochromatic colour scheme (as above), or a neutral one with pops of colour
• keep accessories in one colour range (in this room it's brass)
• use multipurpose furniture ( stacking tables)
• consider adding a shelf for storage/display to move things  off the floor
• use multipurpose accessories (lamp that looks like a sculpture; interesting mirror instead of art work; beautiful boxes that can be used for storage
• use many textures instead of bold patterns (in pillows, window treatments)
• use furniture that is in proportion to the room
• keep the lines of larger pieces simple
• when choosing artwork focus on one striking piece and have anything else play a supporting role.  
• use strong verticals to move your eye up (long drapes, vertical art work, tall slim lamps)
• use your window as a backdrop for the placement of a prominent piece of furniture (bed i or chair)