Tips on Buying the Perfect Coffee Table

Most of us have had the awkward experience of being a guest in someone's home, being handed a beverage, and then finding there was nowhere to place it? Our society has grown up around coffee tables. We expect them to be there, and if they're not we're suddenly a bit lost until we get the bright idea to either put the cup on the floor or hold onto it.

Right from the time of their introduction in the Victorian Era, coffee tables have become an important -- if subtle -- requirement in polite living rooms. We need them. But us humans don't like to allow need to get in the way of aesthetics. We want them to be beautiful, stylish and fashionable. And if that's not enough of a burden, we also want them to be multi-functional and versatile.

Enter the kings and queens of coffee tables. They lift, they hide, they store, they display. They masquerade as treasure chests and games halls. These types still offer a firm, reliable service for holding your beverages.