#HTE

10 Coffee Tables Designed for Storage

A coffee table with storage is one way to make the most use of limited space, and there are many different ways to design that storage. The rectangular tables from Huppe’s MOVE collection—there are two of them in that photo—have inserts that provide storage. These would be good for larger Items like books; smaller items would get lost. 

Other designs provide for hidden rather than open storage, which helps keep the contents dust-free and provides an uncluttered look. Drawers are one obvious approach, as with the Delta coffee table from Tvilum. 

Team 7’s Lux coffee table uses a drawer that’s much shallower, which is perfect for end users who want to stash smaller items such as remote controls. There’s an open shelf below for larger items such as magazines and books.

But there are numerous other ways of providing storage space in a coffee table. VIG does it nicely with a swivel-top table, with compartments of various sizes to keep things organized.

The Turning Table from Menu, designed by Theresa Arns, uses a bolt and screw system to open and close the lid. With the reasonably shallow drawer, smaller items won’t get buried. The lack of internal dividers makes it harder to organize a bunch of smaller items (pens, for example) but also provides space for larger items (such as papers) that might not fit if there were dividers.

The Times 4 table from Polit, designed by Gonçalo Campos, segments the storage space into four sections and always has one one quarter of the storage space exposed. I can see a small child enjoying spinning this table around, so it wouldn’t work well for end users where that could cause a problem.

With West Elm’s storage coffee table, one side lifts up to provide access to the storage area. It’s not clear if there’s any mechanism to ensure a child’s fingers don’t get caught as the table top comes down; if not, this might not be the right table for some parents.

The Rian Gullwing coffee table from Semigood Design has flip up lids, mounted with gas springs. This wouldn’t be a good choice for end users who like to have things sitting out on their coffee tables, since the items would have to be removed every time the storage space was accessed.

While hidden storage has its advantages, some end users prefer visible storage. The Newton coffee table from Dovetail Furniture has three wire baskets which are removable—a nice touch.

The Tokyo Tribal collection from Industry+ includes a coffee table with a basket surrounding two of the legs. This seems like an awkward storage solution; the legs would interfere with storing some larger items, and bending down to get things from the basket would be difficult for some people. But it might store selected things just fine: a throw blanket and pet toys were the first two that came to my mind.

http://www.core77.com/posts/53396/10-Coffee-Tables-Designed-for-Storage