Decluttering the coffee table (as in getting rid of the entire thing)?

[PoetryLover]

DH and I have a small apartment. Recently he suggested getting rid of the coffee table. I'm used to moving the coffee table to the side when I exercise in the living room. Honestly, it seems to collect junk more than anything. But it's nice to have a place to set a cup of tea when I curl up on the couch with a good book. We don't currently have an end table. I'm curious about how getting rid of the coffee table has worked for others. I've never considered not having one. I do see how it can make the room appear bigger and less cluttered, though.

Opinions? Anyone gotten rid of their coffee table? How has it worked?

[Chamomile Girl]

Originally Posted by PoetryLover

DH and I have a small apartment. Recently he suggested getting rid of the coffee table. I'm used to moving the coffee table to the side when I exercise in the living room. Honestly, it seems to collect junk more than anything. But it's nice to have a place to set a cup of tea when I curl up on the couch with a good book. We don't currently have an end table. I'm curious about how getting rid of the coffee table has worked for others. I've never considered not having one. I do see how it can make the room appear bigger and less cluttered, though.

Opinions? Anyone gotten rid of their coffee table? How has it worked?

We removed ours because DS needed playspace in our tiny livingroom. I don't miss it, but I do have a (tiny) endtable for my coffee, and a couch arm to hold my laptop.

[AZgirl2207]

We have never had a coffee table. Our two (50 lb each) dogs like to lay right at our feet when we're sitting on the sofa, so a coffee table seemed like it would get in the way. (And DH and I would have to AGREE on something to buy, so we never bothered) That being said, we do have one side table (with a basket full of kid books underneath) and random 'stuff' seems to collect on top of the entertainment center. I am not a decorator and my house isn't decorated (it too us several years to get some photos on the walls), so the lack of knick-knack space doesn't bother me.

[ToadJode]

We don't have a coffee table in my home, but we do have a foldable table that can be used for a cup of tea or a remote control if we want to use it. Usually I keep it next to our recliner to use for bottles and burp cloths when I'm feeding my twins.

[wholewheatchick]

Interesting idea. I don't think we could get rid of ours, because DH absolutely loves to put his feet on the table while we watch a movie. It certainly is a pain to move to exercise and vacuum around, though. Sometimes I wish I could get rid of my dining room table, because that is where our household clutter spot is!

[homemademom]

We've never had a coffee table. We have an end table for drinks. We also have a basket on a shelf of our entertainment center for remote controls.

[Drummer's Wife]

We haven't had a coffee table in probably a decade (since our first apartment). Once we had kids, it just seemed like it took up space and collected clutter - and setting a hot cup of tea on it wasn't very practical with LO's around. Never missed it.

eta: no end tables, either. Our family room and living room just have couches and TV/Computer with entertainment center/desk (and a gas fireplace, which I place magazines and a few books on the ledge of it when we have company). They are huge rooms, but I don't want tons of furniture to collect dust and crap.

[*bejeweled*]

We got rid of ours. We just use an ottoman with a tray for drinks. Or you can use it without the tray to prop up your feet.

Something like this is cool. And you can use it for storage
http://www.roomstogo.com/index.cfm?f...&ipac_id=31739

[CherryBomb]

We got rid of ours, don't regret it! We do have end tables, though. Our coffee table just took up space in our little living room.

[boheime]

We got rid of the coffee table when I was pregnant with ds1. I have never regretted it!

[OnEarth]

We got rid of our coffee table and don't have a side table, but DD has a small little table that kind of gets shoved around the living room as she plays throughout the day. We occasionally drag it into use when we want some kind of table by the couch. We really appreciate the extra floor space and the freedom from another place to pile junk. Also- you could get one of those trays people serve breakfast in bed on, that way you'd have a place for your tea.

[texmati]

we got rid of ours, and now I have to put my tea on the floor. . I wish I had a side table.

I also feel like our room looks less anchored, but ds kept getting hurt on the table.

[sunnysandiegan]

We had an old trunk as a coffee table that came from DH's life before he met me. Our older cat at the time puked on it a few too many times AND I got sick of it taking up space in our small living room. We gave it away and have not regretted it once. It used to hold all our family games. We also gave away the entertainment center we had at the time, which was really big and a waste of space. We purchased a more useful entertainment center (2 pieces; but overall smaller), which had space for games and the TV and electronic equipment and a few knick-knacks. Once DD was old enough to know better than shove things into the electronic equipment, we gave away the top portion of the entertainment center and moved the equipment down and ditched a few pieces so it would all fit. Less knick-knacks, too. Then, in May 2009, we had a major flood and that entertainment center was the only piece of furniture ruined in the flood. Particle board swells something awful when sitting in ankle-deep water. Out it went. We replaced it with an even smaller entertainment center (technically called a TV console), which holds everything we need and has zero room for knick-knacks and takes up less space than anything we've owned. That and new flooring from the flood, and our living room looks WAY bigger than ever before!

We do have a couple end tables and a small, oval-shaped storage ottoman with a reversible lid to hold beverages. We mostly use it to rest our feet during movie night or when playing on our Wii. Once in awhile, I flip the lid over for hot tea or hot cocoa. We mostly drink water in the living room and place it on an end table or the floor. We also have our speakers on either side of the large sofa and I put a coaster on one of them for water.

[zoebird]

i actually use my window sill as a place to hold my tea while i'm curled up and reading. seriously. i know, i'm odd.

[treeoflife3]

We don't have a coffee table, but we have an end table. Two actually, although I want to sell them and build my own. Ana-white.com has awesome free plans. I recently built a platform bed... king size, solid wood (no plyboard or mdf etc) for under 100 bucks. I vote get rid of the coffee table that takes up space and buy or build (or freecycle!) a little end table. If it is small, it won't collect junk as easily and you can use it for your drink

[cyncyn]

We moved ours to another room when dd came along 7 years ago. We have 3 nesting end tables and 3 small ottomans. This gives us plenty of space to set things down.

[Nicole730]

We got rid of ours because it was hindering DS' play, plus I didn't want him knocking his head on it. We have 2 end tables though to set stuff on if we need to. I would probably get some tv trays to use as end tables when the kids were in bed if I was you.

[Kuba'sMama]

Originally Posted by zoebird

i actually use my window sill as a place to hold my tea while i'm curled up and reading. seriously. i know, i'm odd.

Me too! It's right behind the back rest of my couch and i usually sit sideways on the couch, with my laptop on my lap.

[PoetryLover]

We've decided we're definitely getting rid of the coffee table. Thanks for the perspectives! It will really open the living room up. For now we have a plant stand we can sit on the side of the couch when we want to have tea or hot cocoa. I like the tray ideas and also when we can afford it, an ottoman will be nice.

[ollyoxenfree]

We don't have a coffee table in the family room. We could use end tables, but the book shelf is a step away, so cups tend to end up there.

We use a large ottoman (it actually folds out to a single bed) as a coffee table in the living room, and it is always cluttered with papers and books and sundries. I would consider getting rid of it, but we would need end tables to replace it.