5 insane but (true) reasons to buy a coffee table

5 insane but (true) reasons to buy a coffee table

At Carafina it’s fair to say that we’re avid fans of the coffee table, and we make it our sole mission in life to craft some of the most beautiful coffee table styles in home interior design history. However, beyond the aesthetics of the coffee table, there lies plenty of surprising reasons that make the case for this being an essential, staple item of furniture – and here are five of the most insane (but totally true) ones.

1. Boys, Women and Men – Use your coffee table well and look forward to a trimmer waist line!

In today’s age there’s not a day that goes by that we don’t hear about some new food rule, or scary statistic informing us of an obesity epidemic that worsens by the minute. However recent research has found that, for boys and adults of either gender, the more sociable a dining experience is, the lower their average BMI (which is a key indicator of how tight those sweat pants are [Ladzinski]). So go drop to the ground, gather the cushions and do dinner over the coffee table.

2. It’ll make you more sociable (seriously, we have scientific research to back it up, too)

In a ground-breaking study of social behaviours within coffee shops a key trend emerged: those with comfortable furniture (of which the tables where central) were also home to patrons who exhibited healthier social interactions (Waxman 2006). So sit down, drink up and socialise around what may become your social life’s new best friend: the humble coffee table.

3. They’re lucky (apparently)

Choosing the correct placement for your coffee table, as well as the right shape, can bring luck and energy into your home, as dictated by the laws of Feng Shu. You might even like to add a bowl of crystals or coins to enhance your wealth; just don’t, whatever you do, put your shoes on it – traditional superstition warns that, at the least, this will bring about a family argument, and at the most serious, will bring about death – neither of which will go far to improving your social life.

4. The Western home needs a place to perch all those many (many) cups of coffee that are consumed

Within the US the average person sips upon 3.2 cups of coffee each and every day (e-Imortz) whilst over in the UK this figure falls to 1.6 cups (RealCoffee.co.uk); although you do then have to account for the 876 cups of tea that the average British person consumes annually (The Telegraph).

In any event, and whatever your tipple of choice, you’re going to need a whole lot of table to host those coffee mugs and tea cups.

5. The humble coffee table is just about the most flexible piece of furniture going

This last reason may well be more on the practical side, rather than the truly insane, but hey, we’re nothing if not pragmatic.

From serving as storage to being a makeshift dining table when paired with cushions – the coffee table is one seriously flexible piece of furniture and makes for a real must have item for every type of home – from the decidedly short on space to the positively humongous mansion.  

So that’s it. A coffee table can make you thinner, more sociable, luckier (if you avoid the shoe situation) and serve as a practical item which will hold any coffee mug or tea cup. What more could you ask for? It truly seems that the good old coffee table could well be the most intriguing of all when it comes to the otherwise uneventful world of furniture.