.: Coffee tables - Time for a break?
By:Jeff King
Category:Home / Food and Drink / Coffee
Coffee tables take many shapes and forms but, generally speaking, a coffee table is considered to be a fairly small, low sitting table that would typically be the centerpiece of the common waiting room, lounge, or family room. Coffee tables are utilitarian, in that they are normally used to store remote-controls, for the entertainment suite, books and magazines, and fittingly, are a great place to set down snacks or one's coffee mug when entertaining guests. However, as the center-piece, contemporary coffee tables are also usually chosen to suit the style and match the existing interior-decoration of one's home to add to the overall effect.
Accordingly, it is easy to find a very wide variety of modern coffee tables in different sizes, colors, shapes, fashions, and construction materials. Glass coffee tables are quite popular and if kept free of dust, add a pleasing aspect to the room. If combined with a stainless-steel or chromed frame, a glass-top coffee table will help to add to an overall clean, sleek, modern feel in a room.
Art-deco style tables are still readily available too as something of a relic from the 80’s that is one style that seems to be diminishing in popularity as we now approach the end of the “noughties”. Even still, one can still find lopsided pastel-colored plastic blobs and planes that appear to be stretched straight from some Picasso work, serving as coffee tables. Due to their diminishing popularity and simple construction, they tend to be cheaper these days. It should be noted that it is possible to find more “tasteful” designs built around similar themes.
If you are after a more classical look in your coffee tables then you probably want to be looking at wooden construction. On the cheaper end of the scale you can find new tables made from plastic imitation-wood, or veneer-covered “chipboard” coffee tables, but these can have a somewhat tacky appearance and will tend to be poorer in quality.
If you are willing to spend big money, anywhere upwards of US$200 for this small article of furniture, then you can find good quality solid wooden coffee tables that can really set a room off. With supplies of good timber and the loss of most of the world's old-growth forests, the only place one can find beautiful coffee tables made from solid wood (with the exception of pine) for less than about $1000, is at an antique furniture store.
If your pockets aren't quite that deep do not despair! If you're prepared to put some work in the best option is to look around for something you like at second-hand stores. For bargain prices one can find beautiful coffee tables in need of sanding down, staining, possibly some filling or new fasteners, and a couple of coats of clear varnish. The end result can be quite stunning, rendering a $60 stick of furniture into a $400 centerpiece that any homeowner would be proud of.
With the nature of business today the cost of producing complex hand-crafted mosaic coffee tables, either made with inlays of slices of wood with alternating patterned shades, or ceramic-tile based table top surfaces, has become prohibitive. One may still purchase machine manufactured tables like this, with a less pleasing effect, or one could import such furniture from places like Pakistan and India at great expense. Once again real masterpieces in need of a little attention can be sourced at second-hand stores and the like, rewarding industrious home-improvement enthusiasts with coffee tables of outstanding quality and appeal.
Article keywords: coffee tables, modern coffee tables, coffee, table
Article Source: http://www.articles32.com
Jeff King writes on many consumer topics.
There's more about tables at
Table Land
.: New Coffee Articles
1). Some Instructions On How To Use Your Espresso Machine
The word espresso literally means an extraction of coffee using high pressure from a special espresso machine. But you may need some special espresso machine instructions if your machine is different from some of the other types of machines are available, but basically to make an espresso is much the same no matter what machine you use.
2). Fair Trade Coffee Products
We are all becoming increasingly familiar with the Fair Trade logo as we go around our stores and supermarkets.
3). Find The Best Commercial Espresso Machine Available
Because of this and the proliferation of coffee shops and cafes producing these drinks this has created a demand for commercial espresso machines and manufacturers are producing them by their hundreds. But with so many massed produced espresso machines on the market how do you which is the best commercial espresso machine for your business?
4). An Explanation On How To Use An Espresso Machine
Now you place the ground coffee into the basket and tamp it down. The best coffee to use is one that has been freshly ground as after grinding the volatile oils which were previously protected by the bean are exposed to the air which then oxidize and the coffee becomes stale
5). Espresso Coffee Machines What Are The Differences?
There are several different types of espresso machines available. You need to decide how much control you want over the coffee brewing procedure. There is a fine line between how hard the machine is to operate and how much control you want.
6). How To Master The Art Of Buying Coffee
It used to be a trip to the corner store netted a single choice or maybe two for the coffee lover. One-size-fits-all in a can to go, thank you very much. With the appreciation for coffee hitting an all-time high, this is no longer the case.
7). Great Coffee Is Like Fine Wine
To the true coffee connoisseur, the beans, roast and resulting aromas and flavors are not unlike fine wine. Rich, rewarding and full of flavor, good brews are meant to be savored, enjoyed and taken in.
.: Top Coffee Articles
1). Can Coffee Be Used As A Fertilizer?
My garden has never looked so good and it is all due to used coffee grounds. It is amazing what used coffee grounds can do for your garden.
2). Caffeine Benefits - Does It Boost Memory?
Caffeine, like chocolate, often receives bad publicity. Whilst in some instances, and in excess, these can have negative effects on our body, they can also be quite beneficial.
I am not disputing that some people are more sensitive to the negative effects of either caffeine or chocolate. For example, excess caffeine can create anxiety, nausea (particularly if taken on an empty stomach), an increase in heart rate, and even depression in some people.
3). Coffee is an mysterious drink and so is its past
About 850 A.D it is said that a lone shepherd and his flock came across a strange and mysterious plant growing upon a secluded and forgotten hillside. Before he could stop them some of his herd had began to gnaw away at this unusual berry. After about fifteen minutes or so the herder started to notice that his sheep were behaving in an odd manner.
Not only were they unusually alert but they also appeared to be extremely hyperactive.
4). Coffee Or Tea - Which Is Better For You?
Most people cannot function without either their morning cup of coffee or tea. While, it’s mostly the caffeine that gets people going, a side benefit from drinking these beverages is that you may be boosting your immune system and helping to fight disease.
5). Is That Hot Coffee Really Good For You?
It is common knowledge that the caffeine content in coffee is not good for human health. In spite of that caffeine consumption the world over has increased in the past decade. If you are a regular hot coffee drinker and still not familiar with the health issues it poses, it might be worthwhile to read this article.
Tremendous amount of research time has been spent to study the effect of caffeine on people.
6). Espresso Cups
Serve your java in style with beautiful, elegant espresso cups. You can find a great selection of espresso cups that are cute, elegant, trendy or classic. The best espresso cups available are double-layered to hold in the heat and to keep your espresso hotter longer. You can find double-layered cups in glass as well as ceramic, and there are a great variety of designs to choose from.
7). Wake Up! Smell the Coffee…
Coffee is everywhere. It’s a staple for morning and many people swear they can’t live without it. Whether it’s Maxwell House, Folgers, Eight O’Clock or Starbucks, Colombian, Hazelnut or French Roast, coffee is coffee, right? Wrong. Coffee isn’t just a drink, it’s an experience. And to fully experience coffee, you need to go gourmet.