Side Tables

Choosing a side table

A side table is the small table that makes a sofa or armchair usable: somewhere for the cup, the book, the phone and the lamp. It is also the easiest way to bring a material into a room that the big pieces cannot, which is why marble, travertine, burl timber and brushed metal all appear here. Whether you call it a side table, a lamp table, an end table or a corner table, choosing one comes down to height, footprint and what it is made of.

Height: level with the arm of the sofa

The top of a side table should sit within a few centimetres of the arm of the sofa or chair beside it, so you can put a glass down without looking. Most sofa arms are 55 to 65 cm high, so most side tables are too. A tall side table, 65 to 75 cm, suits a high-armed sofa, an armless modular or a bed, and gives a lamp the height it needs to throw light over your shoulder. A low side table, 40 to 50 cm, sits beside a low, deep lounge or doubles as a stool. If the table will hold a lamp, check the combined height: the bottom of the shade should land about at eye level when you are seated.

Footprint: round or square, small or generous

A round side table has no corners to catch a hip in a walkway and tucks close to a curved sofa or armchair; it is the shape to choose in a tight room. A square or rectangular side table gives more usable surface and lines up with a straight-armed sofa. A small side table, 35 to 45 cm across, holds a drink and a phone and fits between two armchairs; a larger one, 50 to 60 cm, carries a lamp, a plant and a stack of books and works as a corner table where two sofas meet. Nesting side tables slide apart when guests arrive.

Marble, timber, stone, metal or glass

A marble side table is the piece that makes the room: white, cream, green or black marble with its own veining, usually on a solid plinth or slim metal legs; no two tops are the same. Travertine and stone side tables have the same weight and a softer, matte surface. Timber side tables, in oak, walnut, teak and burl, bring warmth and match a timber coffee table or lounge legs. Metal side tables, in black iron, brass or brushed steel, are the slimmest and lightest and suit a modern room. Glass-topped side tables keep a small room feeling open. Ceramic and gloss-finish pebble tables add colour. Mix two: a marble side table beside a timber coffee table, or a metal one next to a boucle armchair.

Where side tables earn their keep

Beside a sofa or modular lounge at each end, so nobody reaches across; next to an armchair with a table lamp to make a reading corner; between two chairs facing a coffee table; as a bedside in a small room; or on a covered patio in stone or powder-coated metal. A pair of matching side tables tidies a symmetrical room; one different side table at each end of the sofa feels collected rather than bought at once.

See them in a Perth showroom

The Furniture Gallery is WA owned and family run, with showrooms across Perth and regional WA. Compare the marbles and timbers in natural light, check the heights against the lounges on the floor, and lift them to feel the weight. When you have chosen, add the table to your cart and enter your postcode for a delivery price; our white-glove delivery team will unpack it and take the packaging away.