I've told you before that our living room is small. Like really small. So small that when people come over who have seen photos online, say "Oh...you weren't kidding this is small." One person told me it was smaller than their apartment living room. Then we have this small scaled yet still demanding sectional.
And some smarty pant McSmartness will tell me that that huge urn of sticks is completely out of balance and out of place and my picture is hung too high and they will be totally correct but I will have to say "IDHTBPTBB on you" that's what happens when you are addicted to moving furniture.
Back to lamp placement in a tight space--this is just one solution. I've always had a table or dresser behind this sofa because at least one back side is usually not against the wall and it's nice to have something to look at besides the plain, naked back of a sofa. My guess is that 50% of the sofas out there right now could benefit from a sofa table of some sort. Just make sure the table isn't higher than the back of the sofa and you'll want a somewhat squatty, Oompa-Loompa lamp so the light falls at a comfortable level.
Do you use a sofa table?
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85 comments:
I do not have a sofa table but I am always attracted to them!!! Yours is lovely with red toile~
sandy toe
I do have a sofa table in my formal LR with a lamp on it. It's the first thing I see when I walk in the door and it's so welcoming to see the warm glow of the lamp.
I don't have one in my family room, but I think it desperately needs one. My dilemma is that my couch is currently up against a wall and there really isn't any other place to put the sofa. Do I pull it out from the wall and wedge a sofa table back there? Would that look weird? My family room really needs more lamps too, after reading your lamp thread. =)
I have a small living room too. I LOVE your sectional and the drapes!
I don't have room for a sofa table.
Your's looks GREAT!
@Christy
YES! I meant to address that--expeirment and move the sofa away from the wall and put a skinny table back there with a lamp. Live with it for a few days and I bet you will like it!
One time I had a small room {hmm, I'm beginning to see a pattern} and this sofa and I turned a skinny bookcase on its side and it was the perfect fit for a small sofa table. It went between the wall and sofa so no one saw it so I just put coordinating fabric {that plaid you see on the windows} on the top and it looked just fine.
Great idea! We have a sectional in our family room and no room for more than one side table w/lamp which doesn't really light up the room enough. I might have to use your idea! Thanks :)
I don't have a sofa table, but I would love to have one. Our living room is pretty big, but only one furniture arrangement will work. My husband likes his piano where it is and that keeps me from moving anything else. I love what you've done, though. Very pretty.
Ok. Here's our dilemma. We have 1huge windown on one wall, one half wall with stairs and one wall with a cut out (so a half wall with a header) and one wall that is 80% fire place with 2 small walled sides to it (armoire at an angle on one, aquarium on other). The last wall had a horrible 1980s divider with banister railing that we ripped out and put in a little bar. The couch sits on that half wall and the chair is at an angle from the window with a table and lamp there. So, it would look weird to have a sofa table behind the couch with that right behind it. I'm on the search for 2 smaller lamps to put on the bar thing but I have yet to figure out how I'm going to hide the cords? I've moved our furniture a bunch here lately but it makes our living room teeennnnnny when I turn the couch off the wall...chops the room terribly. I feel so...stuck.
Oh it kills me I can't rearrange my living room until we move cables/wires for the TV. I would love to use my sofa table and have a cozier feel. Patience, I guess!
I do have a sofa table and love it. Our sofa is floating in the room. It seems like the table keeps the sofa from feeling like a barrier on one side of the room. Plus, it's a neat surface for pretties...including a lamp of course.
Yours is adorable! Our couch backs up to two full windows and a door leading out to the back porch, so where a table should rightly go, it is a walkway for skinny people to get to my back porch--which is covered in pollen as we speak!!
Hugs,
Susan
I do have a sofa table in the family room with a lamp on it behind the sofa (it's even in a corner) but I do love the cozy feel of the lamp. In fact, I was going to blog about that today. I'll just do that and link back to you, Nester! Thanks for the inspiration!
Suzanne
I currently do not use a sofa table but I love them. My kids broke mine :( & haven't replaced it yet.
And I love your urn of branches! It's one of the things that makes the room.
BTW, I'm having a Mr. Linky party on Friday if you want to join in the fun.
Jennifer
No I don't. Our sofa is away from a wall by a good bit (we have a good size great room). There is a large window on the wall behind the sofa. There is also a corner in which we have an antique ice chest sitting (diagonally). There is also a small secretary and chair as you come through the foyer area towards the sofa (which means the secretary is also behind the sofa). Sorry if all this confuses you!! I am trying to say that that although there is plenty of room to walk behind the sofa, etc. with the other pieces of furniture so near, a sofa table would not work. Clear as mud? LOL
tina
I love my sofa table, although I don't have lamps on it. My sofa is in the middle of the room, but my lovely ex-electrician of a husband made sure I had floor outlets - so I'm able to have a table with a lamp on both ends.
We have a sofa table that has survived 3 moves + 2 kids. It was one of the first pieces of furniture my husband and I bought 14 years ago. Its matching brother and sister, the end table & coffee table, have moved on to other homes. But the sofa table survives and it is my favorite piece of functional furniture behind our sectional with a lamp and *tons* of family photos on the top & bottom shelf. Every once in a while I see a new sofa table out there, but I'll refinish this one before I consider replacing it.
--tracy
I have a tiny living room too. In one arrangement, I use an old wooden ironing board as a sofa table. For right now I've got things a little more open. Considering how I like to rearrange furniture, that won't last for long. :)
You have probably tried it, but have you tried a skinny bench on the left side of your sofa for a endtable. I am thinking of 6" wide with simple straight legs and the depth of your sofa.
I LOVE your sofa, it's gorgeous!
I also love the tall cream/white architectural piece on the wall.
I'd try adding a few books to raise your urn a smidge so you can see the bottom.
Tell your hubby the picture height is PERFECT!!
My sofa table is an antique iron french sign that was converted into a table. An old slab of marble serves as the top. I recently moved our couch so that I could enjoy the table. I have my MAC on top of it and I'm currently using it as a desk. Revealing its unique beauty has given new life to our living room!
nope. no sofa table in my home.
and you are so right. sofa's DO NOT have to be against a wall.
take a peek at mine.
xo
Love your living room! Such a beautiful use of your sofa table to get the lamp in a small space. I used to use a sofa table in my living room, I gave it to daughter when she needed furniture.
I'm lucky to have 2 floor outlets so I can use lamps on end tables with furniture pulled out away from the walls.
Nester, thank you so much for the wonderful advice you gave me. You really inspred me and gave me the courage to paint the bed. It's on my TO DO list, as well as many other messy projects! I'm on a roll!
When we recently bought new furniture, we bought new tables and yes, a sofa table. However, the sofa table, plus the large sofa, plus the large coffee table was just too large in our not-so-large space. The sofa table has moved on to another spot in the living room. It's a fabulous table in that it will unfold to accomodate people for eating as well. Great investment. Bad planning on our part.
That picture is NOT too high!! How would you put it any lower?? People's heads would hit it if they leaned back at all!! And even if they didn't lean, their heads would still be taller than the frame!
How low do you think it should be?? Unless the photo is deceiving, it's only about four to six inches above the couch as it is! I'm so confused by your statement!
I think the room is lovely. :o)
oh, I have a sofa table that is never actually used for a sofa table. I said I was going to pull everything away from the walls and used it for it's intended purpose, but, the boys love having the open space to play. If I cut it off, they might just stay in their rooms all day, and I can't live with that! I may try and see if they go for it, very soon.
~Misti
My living area is not real large either. There is a pie safe behind my sofa. The sofa is not pushed right up on and you can pull the sofa out to get to the board games that are stored in the bottom of the pie safe. I have lamps, books and pictures sitting on the shelves of the safe and it looks pretty good.
I don't have a sofa table, but thanks to you, I think I NEED one! :) We do stare at the back of our naked love seat, so I will have to keep my eyes open for a small table to put there! Great solution!
i have always loved sofa tables and wanted to own one. I'm so eager for our new house look more like a home. But I'm afraid with 3 little ones (the oldest being 3) and the boy being a climber, that I'll have to wait a few more years. That is, unless you have some suggestions? =]
I have one, and it is all wrong for the space. I have to admit, my living room would win any competition for which room is the hardest to arrange furniture in. And I have never been able to figure it out. I need a new sofa but am scared to commit on one for this reason.
Im currently on the hunt for a sofa table-looks at garage sales right now- cuz I just invested in a sander AND power paint sprayer-oh yea! I've gone BIG TIME baby! I am tooooo over joyed. AND thanks to your sister for her WONDERFUL black kitchen cabinets-I have taken the plunge & did mine- I will be posting photos soon. I have to admit it looks awesome! anyway back to the sofa table- since I have floated my couch I have found I NEEED something back there-& it would be good for toy storage!
I have a sofa table, but it is not adjacent to a sofa. It's flat against the wall in the "entry-part" of my house. We don't have a formal entry...when you walk through the front door, you step directly into the living room. Therefore, I created kind of a "path" with the sofa table along the wall, and two side-by-side armchairs on the other side of the path. (I don't know if that description many sense at all!!)
How high to hang a picture is my favorite rule to break. :) I always hang pictures "too high." I hate the way they look when "too low" -- maybe it is because we are such tall people and don't like to kneel in order to look at a picture??? :)
No sofa table, but I do love them. My room is also really small and the sofa has to sit against the wall, but I do use a floor lamp, that really helps with the lighting. Your room looks lovely. Hugs, Marty
No sofa table here, but we sure could benefit from one more lamp around the sofa, or near it-I've been brainstorming how to work around our space and our giant sectional-I love it but sometimes hate it because it's just big!
I do have a sofa table and love it. (it's been in the same place though for 10 years...cough, cough...slinky away in embarrassment. :)
Quite frankly, I like your urn and I don't think your picture is too high. I think it is what works for you, not what others think, I have had to learn that one the hard way and yes I do use a sofa table, it has been all over my house! You always do a lovely job no matter what it is.
LeAnn:)
Your living room looks the same size as mine! I so want 2 loveseats for mine instead of the mission style sofa and chairs I have now. I like the sofa table you put into use.
I thought you had moved things around...glad to know I hadn't completely lost it.
Nope, no sofa table for me. Although, I would love one. My living room is long and skinny and I only have enough room for a path between the sofa and piano. I know...it's hard to picture. Maybe someday I'll put on my thinking cap and reconfigure.
I do have a sofa table with two lamps on but not behind the sofa. It is on a long wall.
My sofa backs up to a long window and faces the fireplace with no room for a table.
Cynthia
I love sofa tables. I don't use one in my own home but I often use them in client homes.
Well yes I do have a sofa table. I love it.
Here it is, somewhere in this post:
http://theinspiredroom.net/2009/04/06/setting-up-a-new-life-home-scenes-from-the-weekend/
I do have one and I love it!
I do love sofa tables! I have one behind my sofa in my family room. They too hold my lamps and add another area to display pictures and pretty things. I understand about a small living room, that is what I have as well. Hey, we do the best with what we have...you do a great job!! Thanks for sharing!
Hugs to you,
~Victoria~
I love sofa tables! I have one in my living room. I found the cutest kind of West Indies matching lamps to go on it. I have them on a timer and they turn on every night, creating a soft, welcoming glow that you can see from the street. So much nicer and softer than the overhead lights.
I also love sofa tables to display seasonal items on. So cute!
XOXO
Jen
I've been looking for a sofa table but keep talking myself out of it because my space is small...well more awkward than small.
So thank you for the tip!
Happy Tuesday!
No sofa table. No sofa either! :(
I currently do not have a sofa table, but I'll be thinking about it! Right now my sofa is backed against nothing. I mean literally. There's a stair rail meant to be behind it but it doesn't exsist yet. So the sofa is the rail for now. I'd hate to see a sofa table topple down the stairs if the sofa was scootched over just abit too far by a boyant 9 yr old!
In my last home, I parked a large shallow type hutch behind the sofa. It happened to have dual doors, two taller uppers and two smaller lowers. The lowers I kept closed as you couldn't see them anyway, however the uppers had glass panels. I opened the doors wide open and then propped the interior shelves with pretty baskets and things. The glass hutch doors happened to have small windows behind each of them too so I lost no light, however added a whole lotta interest!
Everyone gasped when they walked in and saw the sofa and hutch nestled together like that. It really gave the sofa substance and you had sort of a protected feeling over you when you sat down.
If I had a tall empty wall behind my sofa, I'd do the same thing again. Even a tall but shallow bookcase can achieve the same result somewhat.
Stuff behind your sofa rocks!
Donna @
Funky Junk Interiors
I think it's lovely!- and lamps are always good no matter where you have to put them!-
great job!
Blessings!
I didn't think your picture was too high? Are you going to stick some plates under it? I'd rather spend the time eating toaster strudels. On plates.
Is your husband lamenting the loss of Scott? I was disappointed mine wasn't more disappointed. He took it far too coolly. I think it's the shock.
Oh yeah--the sofa table. If I got one, maybe my kids would quit running along the back of the couch. Maybe. I do like sofa tables though.
I do use one but I'm always on the look out for a bigger, better one. :) I love them!
It's so funny that you posted this today. Thrifty Decor Chick did a post today on how to construct a cheap sofa table. Check it out here:
http://thriftydecorchick.blogspot.com/2009/04/make-sofa-table-for-under-20-for-real.html
Love sofa tables! We have two and use them both for lamps and decorative elements in both the living and family rooms. I've painted old garage sale finds and used them in different places until we were able to afford to buy real sofa tables that match the coffee table...it's still fun to mix and match them! It's fun to keep moving things and live with it for a few days, and then move it around again. Decorating is just plain fun...even for non professionals like me, it's just fun to be creative! Thanks for always encouraging us to do just that! :-)
I have a sofa table that in another life was a buffet in a tiny dining room.
I have a friend who owns a sectional and we are putting a sofa table in a weird place just to get a place for lamps and coasters for their drinks.
I will say...her sectional is a great chocolate brown leather sofa, but being a sectional it causes asymmetry and aggravation.
Ha, ha! I do NOT use a sofa table, because my living room is too small. If I put a sofa table behind the sofa, our knees would be touching the TV.
Love these 1950's California houses.
Absolutely! And I was lucky enough that the guy who had redone our home was smart enough to place an outlet on the floor where the sofa would be placed so I can plug in lamps that are placed on the sofa table. My sofa table was a bargain from Ballard Designs (on sale and also free shipping).
I love sofa tables. I have a few but only two that are actually in use. I love the look of something behind the couch, a lamp, pictures, plants. And the one in our hearth room gets the most use, I love to set my coffee there in the morning.
Girrrrrrlllll.....you are so talking my language! I think it looks amazing and don't worry one mili-second that it looks out of balance. I've been moving furniture since I was a kid. LOL Our favorite thing to do on a Friday or Saturday night was clean and rearrange furniture. I get it honest, my Mom says that's why God gave us big hips....to push that furniture around the room when the men aren't home LOL ;o)Anyway, I love having a sofa table behind the couch it really "extends" the life....it's like a good hair highlight/lowlight....everything needs depth to look real and whole!
I don't have a sofa table but after seeing yours I think one would make my LR look a little more square instead of so rectangle.
BTW, the picture is hung too high? Looks okay to me...but, then, what do I know! LOL!
I have one. But I use it in my foyer, so it's a foyer table now. :)
We have a sofa table in our front room.
A very nice site you have. I think this is my 2nd visit. I will be back!
Is the picture height really too high? I think both the picture and urn full of limbs look fantastic! Your little room is just perfectly beautiful in my opinion but I guess I don't know much....
No sofa table here but I've wanted one forever. Maybe now I'll be more on the lookout for one, as I do have a naked sofa back just sitting there in the middle of the room. YIKES! Is it too much to have both a sofa table and a small end table on one side of the sofa? Thanks! ~Jennifer
I bet my living room could beat your living room in a smallness contest...lol.
Seriously, though I think yours looks terrific.
I also move furniture around constantly. You call it being addicted...I have a much nicer outlook on it. We here at my house call it furniture twirling and it is now considered a Vaughan Family Tradition.
I'm lucky enough to have two sofa table...none of which are being used behind a sofa at the moment...I love the idea of putting it in back of the couch on the window wall...I would never have thought to try that...it looks great!
Right now I have one downstairs in the TV room holding the flat screen and the one in my living room actually flips open to turn into a small dining table. I love it, I got it at Thomasville a few years ago but, it kind of limits what I put on it(too lazy to have to move too much stuff if I want to open it).
So two sofa tables and no lamps on either one!!! And I really do neeeeed lamps!
I don't have a sofa table - or a coffee table for that matter, although I do love them. Our sofa completely reclines, thus ruling out either table. Comfort won out on cuteness this time.
I, personally, think your stuff looks fabulous - sticks and all!
I have a rehabbed garage sale dresser (painted with spray paint, of course!) that I use as a sofa table. Inside it I store most of my children's art supplies.
http://frillsfluffandtrucks.blogspot.com/2009/01/finally-garage-sale-dresser.html
I've since rehabbed the lamp shade (using hot glue and ribbon!) but you get the general idea of the sofa table/dresser from the post I linked to.
~ Sarah
I'm looking for a console table and lamps right now for my new rental house. I have another question for you though! This place has all hardwood floors and we have a great Belgium wool rug. I saw in your pic that the couch doesn't rest on the rug. What are your guidelines for furniture and rug placement?
I do use a sofa table. It is the most gorgeous piece of furniture I own and I snagged it at Walmart for $60 on clearance. I have it almost butted up to the window. There is enough room for me to squeeze through to draw the curtains closed. I love the table so much I want to use it elsehwere in the house where people could see it...but I love it far too much as a sofa table. I don't think I will ever not have a sofa table.
I have a sofa table in my Family Room, but it's not behind the sofa. I love to break rules! It is under a window and I love it. It's easy to decorate for the seasons.
I don't have one. My living room is also tiny tiny... and that just makes it cozy and comfy! Love your urn and picture placement!! ;-) It all looks great.
Hmmm.... I'm wondering now if I should look around the house for a "sofa table." Man, you are inspiring!!
I don't have a sofa table, because our couch is up against the wall that has a large window(similar to a bay window but not, with a good size ledge). so behind the couch I do have a lamp and several framed pictures. sometimes I add a brightly colored vase or a plant too.
I'm working on getting this lamp thing down, so don't give up on me now! Thanks for the great advice (as always!)
No, and actually it has kept me from moving my sofa because i don't want to see the back of my couch...hopefully i can find something at a garage sale or something...
I am a new reader, but I love you ideas. Your LR is just lovely.
I don't have a sofa table at the present time but now I think I will try and find one that is narrow, as I have a small living room also.
I don't but I may have to get one... I saw a cool one on thrifty decor chick, and I was thinking..hmmm
I would LOVE to have a sofa table but my two toddlers would just use it as one more piece of furniture to climb on and I can just picture them climbing over the couch and onto the table knocking over my beautiful lamp (which I also don't have) {sigh}. Someday, I will have a sofa table and lamps galore. For now I will just be content with my two adorable little children who decorate my home with crayons and toys.
I love sofa tables. I love the shape and size. I don't have one....but I desperately need one. I have a couch in an open kitchen family room setting. The back of the couch stares at me from the family room while I'm in the kitchen.
I'm going to be on the look out.
Right now I don't have a sofa table. We have in the past but that current table has been moved. I'd like something there.
I have an old desk that I'm thinking about putting back there as a "table." I'd like to put it there for kids to do work, me to scrapbook, etc. ... and a place to have another lamp! (Of course, since I only have ONE. )
I just found your blog and love it. I do have a sofa table, but my room is long and narrow, so the sofa and the table sit at an angle. It's weird, but it works.
I do, but mine is hidden between the back of the sofa and the front window. No end tables for me yet. Haven't found the right ones.
I have a lamp and a pot of ivy on mine. Need some kind of light to knit by.
Christy, I agree with the Nester. Give it a try, you'll love it.
~ ~Ahrisha~ ~
You are amazing. I don't know how you continue to come up with interesting topics! I love sofa tables. Unfortunately we don't have a use for one at this point and time. Our sofas are against walls. But I love how you arranged your room. Love the light behind the sofa. Seems more convenient that way, and more homey too!
Yes, but my sofa table is really a long mahogany dresser. I love it because it is the same height as a sofa table, but it has 9 drawers that hold craft supplies, school supplies, and gift wrapping supplies all neatly tucked away in the drawers. I love multi-purposing my furniture.
Karol :0)
First of all...your comment on the Target birds totally cracked me up! LOL :-)
I love the idea of a lamp behind the sofa. I actually have this arrangement in one of my rooms, and I love it. I'll bet their are folks all over blogland right now who have little light bulbs going on above their heads...and they are racing off to try this idea right now! I love your drapes, btw...sadly I am drape poor...one day...~sigh~
You KNOW I love a sofa table!!
Presently I have one sofa table and use it as a desk in my crafty guest-welcoming room. It holds my mac, a vintage floral frog turned pen holder and a small bowl of ice cream just fine. :) I like the idea of a sofa table for a sofa though. Right now ours is against the wall in our small apt. living room. We do have a bookshelf in a nook that sits behind our glider chair though. I could put a lamp on it! Maybe I should! At Christmas I had my garland with lights in it on top of the bookshelf so I still have a power strip hidden alongside at the ready! Thanks for the inspiration and the post you linked to about how we think about/use our homes was fantastic! Kelly
I loved your "IDHTBPTBB" post. It was just what I needed to hear, um, read. ;) In fact, I'll have to re-read a few more times to let that IDHTBPTBB mantra get down into my head. I put off doing so many things around my home because I don't want anyone coming in my house thinking I'm plain goofy with my decorating. Thank you Nester!
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