Contemporary Coffee Tables Designs

Tables have been used since ancient times. Various shapes and sizes of table were made and used by the early Egyptians and Chinese. The history of coffee tables dates back to the late 19th century, during the Victorian era in Britian. Before this period, coffee tables didn’t exist. Rather, tall, round tables called tea tables were used. As their name implies, they held cups of tea during tea time. As tea time became more popular, so did the production of tea tables. During the early twentieth century, coffee tables replaced tea tables. The low height of today’s coffee tables was probably influenced by floor-level Japanese tables found in tea gardens. As a result of the Industrial Revolution, wooden furniture production became widespread. Further advances in industrial technology created new design possibilities utilizing different materials to make coffee tables. Many of the contemporary designs of today’s coffee tables that use glass, chrome plating, stainless steel, formica, acrylic and aluminum have their roots in the 19th century.