Our beds may be the place where we do our sleeping but when it comes to unwinding at home, the living room is king.
Whether you’re settling down to watch the latest blockbuster, curling up with the papers, or entertaining friends and family, it’s where we spend the vast majority of our time.
A great sofa, comfortable yet stylish is, of course, key and there are dozens of styles available to suit your space. If you love hosting, a sofa bed offers an extra bed to sleep guests, while sectionals are better suited to big spaces giving you plenty of space to sprawl out. For households with pets and small kids, an anti-stain sofa is a wise investment.
Beyond that, there are some essentials every living room needs to feel welcoming and comfortable; a lamp for mood lighting, a decent telly and stable places to put down snacks and reading essentials.
While a coffee table acts as an anchor to the room, side tables make a great alternative, with the added bonus that you can easily move them around to change your living room configuration to suit you.
They’re perfect beside the sofa, giving you easy access to drinks and snacks without overreaching and they make excellent settings for plants, candles and magazines without hogging space in the middle of the room.
There are thousands of styles to suit all interiors, and plenty with added storage to hide clutter out of sight. We’ve rounded up the best below to make shopping for one easier.
See our edit of the best side tables for the living room here.
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M&S X Swoon Figueroa Side Table
Perfect for tucking in corners or adding interesting lines to the room, this M&S and Swoon table allows you to get a touch of designer style in to your space for less. Supported with brass-coloured hardware, the triangle side is small but has just about enough room for a statement lamp or a Happy Hour G&T.
Buy now £149.00, M&S
Dunelm Carlo Side Table Black
Dunelm is excellent at offering statement furniture at a pleasingly low price. This side table is a classic example and will suit contemporary homes best. We’d use it as a plant table for our favourite fern.
Buy now £89.00, Dunelm
John Lewis Grayson Side Table, Dark
Fully paid-up member of the midcentury fan club? Then you’ll adore this Grayson side table from John Lewis, which offers two levels to keep essentials. Available in light wood as well as this dark version, the tripod design is especially practical for smaller rooms. It’ll also make a smart nightstand if you’re after something different for your bedside table.
Buy now £179.00, John Lewis
Anthropologie Livia Inlay Side Table
For those nervous about colour, monochrome accessories make foolproof additions to any home. Anthropolgie’s inlay side table plays on form instead, offering a sculptural look for flower-filled vases, candles and coffee table books.
Buy now £598.00, Anthropologie
Urban Outfitters Alana White Side Table
Functional with three tiers and pretty thanks to the rounded edges, this 1960s-inspired iron design is less of a table and more of a living room caddy. There’s plenty of room to store all your sofa-side essentials without the table feeling packed, and the raised legs means you can vacuum underneath easily.
Buy now £169.00, Urban Outfitters
Dunelm Bath Side Table, Iron
Metallic accessories give a luxe edge to interiors, and this gold-coloured tripod side table available at Dunelm meets the brief. As well as two levels to keep throws, magazines, drinks and snacks, there’s also an integrated handle so you can move it around with ease.
Buy now £79.00, Dunelm
John Lewis Rattan Side Table, Black
Rattan’s position as the darling of the interiors world isn’t changing any time soon. Get in on the trend with this design, which features a floating style lower level with a rattan panel under a solid oak and MDF frame. Perfect for styling with accent armchairs.
Buy now £229.00, John Lewis
Urban Outfitters Willow Tall Side Table
Turn an empty corner into your favourite place to look at with the help of this folk-inspired wooden side table. It’s taller than most at 86.9cm, all the better to admire the ornamental legs. Use it to display your favourite houseplant and give it an elevated position by the window to catch essential rays.
Buy now £139.00, Urban Outfitters
The Jelly Table
Looking to up your living room’s style stakes? Enter this pink and red jelly table with squiggly legs that promise to make a real statement. A bold choice that maximalists will fall for.
Buy now £138.35, Etsy
Mrs Alice Scalloped Rattan Tray with Stand
The resort vibes are strong with this one. Every night in will feel like a holiday with this scalloped rattan design, which is actually a tray set upon a bamboo-themed metal stand. It’s an update to a classic butler’s tray and means you can load drinks and snacks in the kitchen and carry it over in one go instead of ferrying to and fro to the kitchen. Practical, and so pretty with it too.
Buy now £134.00, Mrs Alice
Paper Lounge foldable circular paper table - blue
Space is a luxury in London, so furniture that you can pack away out of sight when it’s not needed is worth its weight in gold. Luckily, you needn’t raid the family vault for bullions when shopping at the Paper Lounge - its line of collapsible furniture made using honeycomb papercraft methods start at around £120.
There are accordion-style tables in all the shades of the rainbow, adding a bright pop of colour to your space when unfurled. When you don’t need them - and this is the genius part - they fold flat, easy to store in a cupboard or drawer. Not to mention as they’re made from paper, they’re completely recyclable too. Win-win.
You’ll need a felt pad if you want to use it as a stool, but if it’s only going to be a table, simply add a tray to act as a tabletop instead.
Buy now £137.99, Paper Lounge
