How To Choose The Best Lift Top For Your Living Room
Before you choose, there are a couple of important things to keep in mind. The best lift top coffee table for you will be one that:
- Fits your living room
- Has a top that performs the function you need whether that be to lift straight up or lift up AND pull forward
- Provide additional storage
- Be sturdy enough to hold in place while using it as a desk, for gaming or for eating
- Has a large enough top to serve your needs
- Has safety hinges that wont pinch fingers
In addition, HGTV shares a list of other things to consider when shopping for a new coffee table including height and the space to leave between it and surrounding furniture.
If you follow a few steps youll find it easier to make a decision amongst all the options available:
Armed with that information it will be easy to say yes or no to any of the lift top coffee tables you find while shopping.
Lift Top Coffee Tables
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Often, the first thought when looking for new furniture is how it will look in a room but as these lift top coffee tables demonstrate, function is just as important.
These beautiful pieces can improve the livability of your living room. They can provide an additional work space for a laptop, position gaming equipment at reach while youre comfortably seated on the sofa and give couples a place to eat dinner while watching their favorite television shows all without the need for moving furniture or storing separate standing trays.
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Lift Top Coffee Tables With Storage
I dont know of a house that couldnt benefit from extra storage and shopping for a new coffee table gives you the perfect opportunity to add more.
Lift tops come in two styles and one offers more storage than the other.
The first is more traditionally shaped with an open space between the top and the floor. It might have a base where you can place knick knacks or magazines.
The second style is shaped like a trunk. Theres no open area between the top and the floor but a greater amount of hidden storage space inside. Additional pull out drawers hold games, books, or craft projects. The larger inside space can hold blankets and pillows.
Besides more storage, those that are trunk style require just a little less dusting thanks to not having that added base at the floor level.
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Sauder Dakota Pass Lift
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This looks like a regular old coffee table until you discover that you can lift the top and use it as a small desk. The table also has open shelves and storage for displaying decorations on and underneath the top theres another secret storage compartment. Check out this table on and see for yourself just how wonderful it is.
Pros:
Colten Lift Top Block Coffee Table
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Going back to some of the more rustic designs, were having a look at the Colten coffee table which is made entirely out of wood and has a weathered finish. It features a rectangular lift top and a fairly blocky and robust shape with generous storage space inside. The open side section gives you a handy place to store a few items in plain sight and a cut-out makes it easy to lift up the top and turn it into a desk or a small dining table to go with the sofa.
Pros:
- Bottom shelf with extra protection.
- Can double as a desk.
Cons:
- Assembly takes long.
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Different Lift Top Shapes And Finishes
Coffee tables are often rectangular but they dont have to be and, in fact, a rectangular table may not make the best use of your space.
If you have a sectional with sides that are equal in length, a rectangle in front of them may look awkward or uneven. In those cases, a wedge or pie shaped lift top might give a more balanced appearance.
There are also square and round options available some of which offer a larger work space or multiple lift tops and more work space.
You may find it helps to mark off different shapes in your living room to see which would look and fit best with your existing furniture.
The selection of color finishes is nearly overwhelming these days but take cues from the fabric in your sofa, the color of paint in your room, and coordinating colors in the carpet and decor. If your furniture is already trimmed in oak, then look for oak tables to match. If youre room has more red and cherry tones then look for a table with a cherry finish.
Youll also find white, black, espresso and a variety of light and dark finishes and wood materials available.
How To Choose Lift
A lift coffee table is probably one of the most versatile pieces of furniture that you can have in your living room, but its normal not knowing where to begin the research process to determine which product might be more suitable for your needs. So, if youre looking to buy a lift coffee table, consider the following:
These coffee tables are made from a wide range of materials: solid wood , MDF , metal , faux marble , and even fabric .
The opening mechanism is probably the most important feature to look out for. There are three different types of lifting mechanisms found on this table: straight-up , sideways , and modern swivel .
The quality of the hinge mechanism is also super important, regardless of what the primary material of the coffee table is. The best hinges are the ones made from high-quality metal because they tend to be more durable in the long run. Powder coated metal is always a good idea to help prevent corrosion. You want to make sure that the mechanism has a smooth opening and that you can lock the tabletop in place when fully lifted.
The shape of the coffee table is important mostly in terms of design, with some models being more suitable depending on how much floor room you have available. You will notice that most lift coffee tables are rectangular, but there are also models that are round, square, oval, trapezoidal, or even triangular.
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Getting The Right Size Small Or Large
Getting the right sized furniture is important for designing a comfortable and useful room. Wayfair has a coffee table size guide that gives some helpful information about measurements to consider when choosing a coffee table that will best fit your room.
With lift top coffee tables theres the additional measurements to understand around how the top moves. Youll want to know how high the table lifts and how much forward it pulls forward, if it does not all of them do. Some have tops that only lift to reveal extra storage.
When we moved into our new house we replaced all of our living room furniture. The set wed had was pieced together from things each of us had acquired before we were even married. It was mismatched and old. It had served its purpose and then some.
We went to a local furniture store and picked out this large sectional we thought would be perfect, along with a large, square coffee table. When a salesman came to help us he asked for the size of our living room. When we gave that to him his immediate reaction was that what wed chosen was too large. We thought he was crazy but he showed us something close to what wed wanted but smaller and then told us to go home and measure out the space where that sectional and table would be sitting. Darn if he wasnt right the other table would have been way too much for the space.
What Are Lift Coffee Tables
A lift coffee table might seem just like any other coffee table at first. What makes these types of tables unique is the fact that they have a lifting mechanism that allows you to lift the tabletop to make the table higher, usually revealing storage compartments underneath.
Plenty of people opt for lift coffee tables because they can double as desks or even create a taller space for you to enjoy your meal while sitting in front of the TV. Other people choose to purchase lift coffee tables because of the concealed storage compartments that allow them to hide stuff like magazines or remote controls and store them out of sight.
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Great For Dining Gaming Desk & Games
There are many reasons for looking at lift top coffee tables and using them as an eating surface in front of the TV is only one of them.
The increased use of mobile technology like laptops, notebooks and tablets both reduces the amount of workspace needed to get things done online but also means that we can have these devices closer to us than standard desktops.
This means that you can more readily convert living room space into a work area and back again by lifting the coffee table top.
They can also be handy for crafting, sewing, doing puzzles, and playing board games. The size of a coffee table is easier to use for games but if you, like me, find sitting or kneeling on the floor uncomfortable, then youll love having the opportunity to sit on your cozy sofa while still being able to play Candy Land with your children or grandchildren.
Adding extra storage space is another benefit. Many such tables are designed like a trunk with a full base of storage underneath the top. This provides an ideal location for storing magazines, blankets, and pillows.
Hatsuko Espresso Wood Lift Top Cocktail Table
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A lift-top coffee table is convenient and practical even if youre not really planning to ever use it as a desk. The simple fact that you can lift up the top gives you more freedom and more comfort. For example, you might find yourself enjoying a casual dinner in front of the TV and this table would make the experience even better. You can find this piece on .
Pros:
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