The origin and story behind it!
Let’s take you to the Victorian era! Yes, the first low-lying tables specifically designed and called as coffee tables were made in Europe, to be more precise in Britain. Victorian era led to so many discoveries and inventions in many fields. The design industry was no exception.
Purpose
Coffee table was designed to be placed in the living areas as a low-lying table for the purpose of keeping the tea/coffee mugs, magazines and a few books and curios. A very convenient furniture which gives you the space to keep yours and your guests essentials. Wow! Great idea. I still am thinking what were they using prior to coffee table invention. Well give it a thought yourself!
The design and evolution
Though the initial invention was for the purpose of keeping a few essential stuffs while the space was in use. Wood, the classic material was used to make the coffee table in the Victorian era but in the present days we find them in variety of materials like glass, metal, marble, acrylic etc. The shape was mostly rectangular then, now we find them in round, square, oval etc. Initial coffee table was just a rectangular plank having four legs. It did not have any storage space in it but as and when the trends changed storage space within the table was created to keep magazines, newspapers, books etc. These days it has nesting feature too to accommodate with an extra seating or an extra side table for your guest. All this started after the invention of television sets, when we started using the common rooms more and named them living room. The concept of living room was of having an informal space where a family spends some quality time watching their favorite shows together.
Journey from being a necessity to a style statement
As I said evolution plays a great role and played an important role in the process of transformation of the coffee table from being a necessity to be styled up for décor purposes and suited up to the set theme and concept. The coffee table styling is an essential part of the living room décor. An artful display plays a great role in attracting your guests and is a treat to the eyes.
I feel that the humans always found a way out to ease up their life a bit and that’s how the designs kept evolving. The evolution of design happens specially in interiors with respect to the ergonomics, anthropometry, technology, trend and to some extent budgetary restrictions too. Don’t get surprised by the last factor at all. Budget always plays a role. Though minor, but yes. But a hit or flop design does not necessarily depend on this factor only. You might have a great budget in hand but choice of material, style, shape, size, functionality and scale if not brought into consideration and not used in proportion the design can be a flop.
We will talk about the ways of styling in our coming blogs. The origin and its evolution will give you a fair idea to style it trendily. That does not mean that I will not give you tips and tricks to facelift your beloved coffee table.
Do give it a read, comment, suggest your ideas and share it further with your friends and family if you like reading it.
Love
Bharati Perugu
